Otunbayeva must put words into action in Askarov case
World leaders like to invoke terms such as press freedom, human rights, and the rule of law in their speeches, especially to international audience. But in post-Soviet Eurasia, such high-minded words are rarely accompanied by genuine action. A recent commentary in The Washington Post by Roza Otunbayeva, president of Kyrgyzstan, is a testament to this…
Mexican court rules critical documentary can be shown
When a federal judge issued an order last week to suspend screenings of documentary that investigates incompetence in the Mexican judicial system, it looked like the film might be falling victim to the very system it criticizes. The film, “Presumed Guilty” (“Presunto Culpable” in Spanish), exposes flaws in the Mexican judicial system as it charts…
Libya must free Guardian reporter; obstruction continues
New York, March 11, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, left, a correspondent for London’s Guardian newspaper whom Libyan officials now acknowledge holding in detention. CPJ also demands that authorities halt ongoing obstruction and intimidation of journalists. A number of foreign journalists invited to cover events in the…
Fundamental changes still needed in Hungary media law
New York, March 11, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Hungarian and European Union authorities to continue to modify a restrictive media law that parliament amended on Monday to comply with demands made by the European Commission–the institution mandated with monitoring the implementation of EU directives. Experts scrutinizing the law’s modifications say the changes…
Safety advisories for journalists covering Libya
The Libyan conflict is the most recent in a string of dangerous international stories. Several journalists are missing. A BBC crew was detained and subjected to beatings and a mock execution. TV crews report having their equipment seized. The Europe-based International News Safety Institute, a consortium of news organizations and journalist groups including CPJ, is…
CPJ disturbed by acquittal in Indonesian journalist’s death
New York, March 10, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by a provincial court’s decision in Indonesia to acquit three accused killers of TV journalist Ridwan Salamun. On Wednesday, a panel of judges in the Tual District Court in Maluku declared the three men not guilty of the reduced charge of “persecution” in the…
In El Salvador, 11 sentenced in filmmaker’s 2009 slaying
New York, March 10, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Wednesday’s sentencing of 11 defendants in the brutal 2009 slaying of Christian Poveda, left, a French photojournalist and filmmaker who had spent decades documenting gang violence in El Salvador. Twenty other suspects, accused of being accomplices, were acquitted.
Uighur website editor sentenced in secret in China
New York, March 10, 2011–The secret sentencing of a Uighur website editor emerged this week, eight months after he was tried along with other journalists and dissidents charged in the 2009 unrest in northwestern Xinjiang, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
In Libya, 7 journalists unaccounted for, 3 others abused
New York, March 10, 2011–At least seven journalists covering the conflict in Libya are unaccounted for, according to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which expressed deep concern today about their well-being. The most recent to go missing is Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, a correspondent for London’s Guardian newspaper, whose disappearance was reported today.
Bob Stan, Liberia press pioneer, captivates at 80
Veteran journalist Stanton B. Peabody, a pioneer of press freedom in Liberia, turned 80 last month. Peabody, known to family and friends as “Bob Stan,” is a captivating figure full of wisdom and humor. We talked recently about his journalism career, one that has tracked the blossoming of the press in Liberia.