Threatened

The Sri Lankan government has taken yet another step to silence critical media coverage, banning non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from holding press conferences and issuing press releases, as well as running workshops or training sessions. The action, announced Sunday by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defense, left the country’s many press groups wondering whether they are even…

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif: We are writing to express our deep concern about the deteriorating climate for press freedom in Pakistan, which undermines recent commitments made by your government during CPJ’s mission to the country.

Bangkok, June 10, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Filipino authorities to determine the motive in the murder on Monday of radio journalist Nilo Baculo Sr. and bring the assailants swiftly to justice.

New York, June 6, 2014–The Nigerian military this morning confiscated or destroyed copies of at least four leading newspapers, Punch, Leadership, Vanguard, and The Nation, around the country, according to news reports. A defense official claimed that authorities were looking for “materials with grave security implications,” the reports said.

Today, Pakistan’s most watched news channel, Geo News, was ordered off the air and fined by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). Earlier this week, CPJ documented an attack on Zafar Aheer, an editor of the Urdu-language Daily Jang, by six masked men–the latest in a series of attacks, threats, and acts of intimidation…

New York, May 29, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Trinidadian authorities to ensure the safety of a local journalist who fled the country after learning of a plot against his life. 

A Kenyan journalist working for the privately owned daily The Star went into hiding on May 7, 2014, two days after she received threats, she told CPJ. Lydia Ngoolo said she was told via a text message to stop writing about “us.”

On Wednesday, Azerbaijan will assume chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. The chairmanship process is automatic; the position is rotated every six months among all of the council’s members, in alphabetical order. But Azerbaijan’s chairmanship has proven more problematic than most, as it comes at a time when the country’s fulfillment of…

Here is a cut and paste email message sent to staffers at The News, in Islamabad. We have their explicit permission to use it. Actually, they requested that we use it, in the hope that publicizing it will somehow protect them.