Is Chávez promoting free expression? Check the facts
Venezuelan Information Minister Andrés Izarra declared on the state television channel VTV last week that “never has so much been done to guarantee, promote, and drive freedom of expression than in the government of President Hugo Chávez.” Izarra needs to hire a fact-checker.
Journalist released on parole, allowed to stay in Cuba
New York, February 14, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Cuban authorities today to place no conditions on the release of journalist Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, who was freed on parole Saturday. Maseda Gutiérrez is a founding member of the independent news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro and a winner of CPJ’s International Press Freedom…
Courage in documenting Egypt’s revolution
Today, on its 18th day, the Egyptian revolution has finally achieved its goal, deposing Hosni Mubarak and his regime. Egyptian journalists who have courageously found ways to work under the yoke of Mubarak’s censorship and repression are releasing a sigh of relief that they’ve held in for three long decades.
Cuba’s Maseda Gutiérrez balks at conditions for freedom
New York, February 11, 2011–The Catholic Church in Havana announced today that jailed Cuban journalist Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, a CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee, at left, would be released after nearly eight years behind bars. But news reports, including one citing the journalist’s wife, said Maseda Gutiérrez has balked at conditions placed on his release…
Paris and Brussels mobilize for Hrant Dink murder trial
On January 19, 2007, Hrant Dink, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish weekly Agos, was gunned down in front of his office building in Istanbul. The murder sent shockwaves through the Turkish and international human rights and press freedom communities. It also triggered a mobilization of thousands of Turkish intellectuals, activists, and citizens that…
As Uganda election nears, fear among reporters
As Ugandan journalists prepare to cover presidential elections on February 18 amid political tensions and security concerns, uncertainty and fear are on the minds of reporters. That’s particularly so after a year in which 52 press freedom abuses–ranging from physical and verbal intimidation to state censorship and murder–were recorded, according reports by Ugandan press freedom…
Burmese video journalist given 13 years in jail
New York, February 11, 2011–Burma’s new government under Prime Minister Thein Sein must put an end to the former military junta’s despicable policy of imprisoning independent journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The most recent case to come to light is the 13-year sentencing of Maung Maung Zeya in a trial held within…
Andrzej Poczobut sentenced to prison in Belarus
New York, February 11, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s imprisonment in Minsk of Andrzej Poczobut, a Grodno correspondent for the largest Polish daily, Gazeta Wyborcza, and calls on Belarusian authorities to release him immediately.
Broadcast offices attacked in Mexico; engineer killed
New York, February 11, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Wednesday’s violent attack against two media companies in the Mexican city of Torreón, Coahuila state, during which a TV engineer was shot to death and equipment was destroyed and stolen.