Kyrgyz ambassador pledges to address Askarov case
Washington, D.C., June 13, 2012–The Kyrgyz ambassador to the United States has agreed to present CPJ’s findings on Azimjon Askarov, a journalist unjustly sentenced to a life term, to the president of Kyrgyzstan after a CPJ delegation met with him today to review the case.
CPJ urges Kyrgyzstan to release Azimjon Askarov
Dear President Atambayev: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to bring to your attention a new report we have issued on Azimjon Askarov, an investigative journalist and human rights defender who was sentenced in September 2010 to life in prison. CPJ’s review of Askarov’s case, outlined in the attached report, has found that his probe and trial were marred by numerous procedural violations, including his torture in custody and the lack of any evidence implicating him in criminal activity.
Brazil restates commitment to press freedom, UN plan
CPJ has received an encouraging letter from Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Brazil’s permanent representative to the United Nations, affirming the country’s support for the UNESCO-led U.N. Plan of Action for Security of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
Philippines’ Aquino demonstrates selective political will
Some weeks ago, the body of Esmail Amil Enog was found. The corpse had been chopped to pieces and then thrown together in a sack. Enog was a witness in a grisly massacre in November 2009, which took the lives of 57 people, 32 of them journalists, on a stretch of lonely highway in the…
Journalist assaulted by police in Ivory Coast
New York, June 12, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Ivorian police’s assault on a journalist on June 5 and calls on authorities to ensure the officers are brought to justice. Two officers attacked Cybèle Athangba, a reporter with the daily La Nouvelle, while she was covering a protest of about 100 police officers…
Amid violence, lack of unity among Honduran journalists
On May 25, the Honduran press corps took to the streets of Tegucigalpa and four other cities to reject the growing levels of violence against members of the media. Many marchers donned yellow-and-black t-shirts emblazoned with the words: “Killing journalists will not kill the truth.”
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…