In response, Ecuadoran secretary misses the point
Back in April, before leaving on a research trip to Ecuador, I contacted Communications Secretary Fernando Alvarado by phone and email in hopes of meeting with him to discuss press freedom concerns that have emerged under President Rafael Correa. The secretary was among the high-ranking administration officials who did not respond to CPJ’s requests for…
Egyptian military institutes new media restrictions
New York, September 13, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the new measures taken by Egypt’s ruling military council. In recent days, the military announced that it would actively enforce the Hosni Mubarak-era Emergency Law, which allows civilians, including journalists, to be tried in state security courts. Other recent anti-press measures include an…
NATO responds to CPJ, but questions remain unanswered
On August 4, CPJ wrote to NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen requesting information about the July 30 attacks on broadcast facilities in Libya in which NATO aircraft destroyed three broadcast dishes. As we noted in our letter, CPJ is concerned any time a media outlet faces a military attack. Such attacks can only be…
Israel must grant Samer Allawi the right to due process
Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the Israeli government’s ongoing detention without charge of Al-Jazeera correspondent Samer Allawi and calls on you to ensure that the journalist is allowed due process.
Radio journalist shot to death in Brazil
New York, September 12, 2011–Brazilian authorities must thoroughly investigate the September 1 murder of a Brazilian radio journalist who was known for his criticism of local authorities and had allegedly been threatened with death by a local mayor, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Journalists continue to be targeted in Somaliland
New York, September 12, 2011–Authorities in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland are obstructing independent journalists from covering government politics, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Four reporters have been harassed and arrested while on assignment since early September.
Menem misuses privacy claim, CPJ says in IACHR brief
New York, September 12, 2011–A lawsuit alleging invasion of privacy brought by Argentina’s former president, Carlos Saúl Menem, against two journalists with the local newsweekly Noticias violates Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a legal brief filed Friday before the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human…
Iran adds to its list of press freedom violations
New York, September 9, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the forced closure of two independent Iranian newspapers on Monday and the arrest of an Iranian writer in the city of Tabriz. In July and August, Shahrvand-e Emrooz (Today’s Citizen), a reformist weekly, ran two covers depicting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a satirical light. The…
A quiet victory for The Namibian
Namibia’s information minister recently announced that a decade-long state advertising boycott of The Namibian, the country’s largest daily newspaper, would finally end. An action intended to punish the paper for its independence had failed. It was back in December 2000 that former President Sam Nujoma told his cabinet to block all government advertising and purchases…