CPJ calls for release of jailed reporters in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the second leading jailer of journalists, according to CPJ research. This month, CPJ and Africa Media Initiative met with Ethiopia’s senior communications official to discuss the country’s press freedom record and review laws affecting freedom of speech. Voice of America reported on this visit and spoke to CPJ’s East Africa Consultant, Tom Rhodes.…
Gunmen shoot Somali journalist in Mogadishu
Nairobi, June 11, 2012–A Somali radio journalist was shot by two gunmen in Mogadishu on Friday, according to news reports. Mohamed Nur Mohamed, who was hit twice in the abdomen, survived the attack, the reports said. Mohamed, a correspondent for Radio Bar-Kulan, a U.N.-sponsored radio broadcaster with headquarters in Nairobi, was walking home in the…
Afghan media is under political and economic pressure
Danish Karokhel, who won a CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2008, messaged this morning concerned that the news agency he runs, Pajhwok Afghan News, and some other media outlets have been referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the Ministry of Information and Culture for reporting on an alleged bribery scandal involving a member…
CPJ and Africa Media Initiative meet Ethiopian minister
Addis Ababa, June 11, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists and the Africa Media Initiative (AMI) called for the release of journalists being held under Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism laws and requested a review of those laws as they affect freedom of speech.
Amid assaults on press, Uganda police promise reforms
Joseph Mutebi, a photojournalist for the popular vernacular state-owned daily Bukedde, spent his afternoon trying to file a complaint with the police in the capital, Kampala. “First they told me the officer who assaulted me was based at another station, so I went there and now they are telling me he is based at the…
Anti-press crime amendment offers hope for Mexican press
New York, June 7, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the final approval yesterday of a constitutional amendment that makes attacks on the press a federal offense in Mexico, a country where journalists are regularly targeted for their work.
US should address press freedom during talks with India
Dear Secretary Clinton: We are writing in advance of the third India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue coming up on June 13, which you will co-chair in Washington, D.C., with Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna. India is host to a vital and thriving news media, but CPJ has documented several violations against Indian journalists that are undermining the country’s tradition of a free press.