Nobel Peace Prize for Yemeni press freedom activist
New York, October 7, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is delighted that the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to renowned Yemeni press freedom activist Tawakul Karman, Chairwoman of Women Journalists Without Chains, along with two other female leaders.
Justice still pending in Politkovskaya murder case
New York, October 7, 2011–Five years after the brutal assassination of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to prosecute the masterminds of her killing and end impunity in the murder of journalists.
Guyana president suspends television station
New York, October 6, 2011–Guyanese president Bharrat Jagdeo has suspended television station CNS6 from broadcasting for four months in the period leading up to the presidential elections, according to local news reports. The suspension stemmed from a May 4 broadcast that aired comments about a local bishop who is a close associate of the president,…
U.S. Watchdog urges release of jailed Turkmen reporter
Reuters covered the CPJ’s call for the conviction of Turkmen Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent Dovletmurad Yazguliyev to be overturned. The article quotes CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova describing the conviction as “an attempt to silence an independent reporter.” Click here for the full story.
Reporter gets five years in Turkmenistan
New York, October 5, 2011 — The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the sentencing today of Dovletmurad Yazguliyev, a local correspondent for the Turkmen service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), to five years in prison on charges of inciting a relative’s suicide attempt.
Provincial Colombian journalist threatened
New York, October 5, 2011 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by threats made against Ana María Ferrer, a freelance Colombian journalist in the northern state of Cesar, who has denounced government corruption and the mishandling of mining royalties.
Obiang prize shelved… for now… again
UNESCO’s executive board Tuesday again deferred action on the life sciences prize named after and funded by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea. The Committee to Protect Journalists joined with other human rights organizations to call on the board to eliminate the prize permanently.
Obiang prize goes down to the wire
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is a stubborn man. In 2008, the president of Equatorial Guinea made a $3 million donation to UNESCO to underwrite a prize in the life sciences. But a groundswell of opposition from human rights groups, press freedom organizations, and governments appalled by Obiang’s record of kleptocracy and human rights abuses helped…
In Vietnam, crackdown on journalists in past six months
New York, October 3, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the recent crackdown on freedom of expression in Vietnam and calls on the government to immediately and unconditionally release all of the journalists detained in the country.
Burundi media defy censorship order
Tensions between the Burundi government and the local press are bound to increase as several media this week defied an order not to investigate or discuss a recent massacre. While officials say the measure is “temporary” and necessary to safeguard national unity and the course of justice, independent journalists are asserting their right to publish…