2015
Nigerian soldiers confine Al-Jazeera journalists to hotel
Abuja, Nigeria, March 26, 2015–Nigerian military authorities on Tuesday confined two Al-Jazeera journalists to their hotel room and have forbidden them from leaving, according to a statement published on Wednesday by the Nigerian Defense Headquarters and both journalists who spoke to CPJ. The journalists were covering a story on military activities in the area as…
Press Uncuffed: Free the Press Campaign
Collaboration with University of Maryland students highlights journalists jailed worldwide New York, March 26, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists today launched the Press Uncuffed: Free the Press campaign at the Newseum in Washington to raise awareness about journalists imprisoned around the world in connection with their coverage of news in the public interest. The campaign,…
Long silence from Nicaragua’s president as first lady keeps press at arm’s length
It’s been nearly 3,000 days since Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega last held a news conference, according to the opposition newspaper La Prensa. But when journalists complain about the lack of access to Ortega they often direct their ire not at the president but at the first lady, Rosario Murillo.
Authorities in Crimea should allow Ukrainian outlets to broadcast freely
New York, March 24, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Crimea to allow television and radio outlets based in Ukraine to broadcast in the region, following a statement made by Sergey Aksyonov, the Russia-appointed prime minister in Crimea, indicating that Ukrainian broadcasters that have been taken off the air will not be…
In election year, Nigeria’s press feeling the pressure
“Nobody is safe. Not the voter, not the journalist, not anybody!” The fears of Femi Adesina, president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, is echoed by stakeholders and observers of Nigeria’s general election. Amid the tension in the run up to presidential and federal parliamentary elections on March 28, and governor and state parliamentary elections…
CPJ welcomes Indian Supreme Court decision protecting online speech
Manila, March 24, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the judgment by the Indian Supreme Court today that struck down as unconstitutional Section 66A of the country’s Information Technology Act. Section 66A criminalized, among other types of speech, the transmission of “grossly offensive” information, as well as information for the purpose of causing “annoyance” or…
Acclaimed journalist Marques de Morais on trial for defamation in Angola
On Tuesday, less than a week after receiving an award for his journalism from the London-based freedom of expression group Index on Censorship, veteran journalist Rafael Marques de Morais will stand trial in Angola on charges of criminal defamation.
Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy
What to make of Singapore’s first and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who died Monday morning in the city-state? Under the banner of the People’s Action Party, Lee held government power for three decades. After stepping away from the prime minister’s office in 1990, he held positions of senior minister and later “minister mentor”…