Togo bans paper over story on president’s half-brother
New York, August 26, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Wednesday’s ruling by a criminal court judge in Togo to indefinitely ban the distribution of a Benin newspaper that had raised questions about the alleged involvement of a half-brother of President Faure Gnassingbé in drug trafficking.
Lauría op-ed on Mexico in El País
In an op-ed in the Spanish newspaper El País, CPJ senior program coordinator for the Americas Carlos Lauría argues the wave of violence that has hit Mexico in the current war between powerful drug cartels has let to widespread self-censorship in Mexican media. Lauría describes how the situation has become untenable for reporters covering issues…
Jailed Iranian journalist Goudarzi receives NPC award
The National Press Club has announced the recipients of the 2010 John Aubuchon Freedom of the Press Award, which is given each year to individuals who have contributed to the cause of press freedom and open government. This year, the international recipient is Iranian blogger Kouhyar Goudarzi, who is being held in Tehran’s Evin Prison–notorious…
Video: Who is killing Honduran journalists?
With another journalist murdered in Honduras on Tuesday, bringing the total killed since March to eight, the country’s press is understandably jittery. In a new documentary jointly produced by the Inter-American Press Association and the Video Journalism Movement, Carlos Mauricio Flores, the executive director of Tegucigalpa-based El Heraldo newspaper says, “We journalists are living in uncertainty and fear.”
Trial upcoming for two suspects in Moscow double murder
In an encouraging ruling last week, the Basmanny District Court in Moscow ordered that two suspects in the January 2009 double murder of Novaya Gazeta reporter Anastasiya Baburova and human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov be kept in custody pending trial.
Honduran radio reporter shot in latest journalist murder
New York, August 25, 2010–Honduran radio reporter Israel Zelaya Díaz was found shot to death on Tuesday along a rural road near the northern city of San Pedro Sula, the latest in an alarming string of journalist murders in the country. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Honduran authorities today to conduct an immediate…
Somali journalist killed in Mogadishu crossfire
New York, August 24, 2010–Veteran radio journalist Barkhat Awale, at left, was killed by crossfire today in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, according to local journalists and news reports. He is the second journalist killed on duty in Somalia this year, according to CPJ research. Awale, 60, director of the community radio station Hurma Radio, was…
Indonesian TV journalist killed covering clashes
New York, August 24, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on police in the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku today to thoroughly investigate Saturday’s death of journalist Ridwan Salamun, who was killed while covering violent clashes between local villagers.
CPJ in the Philippines
Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator currently on a CPJ mission to the Philippines, writes in The Huffington Post about the Maguindanao massacre. On November 23, 2009, 32 journalists and media workers were killed in the single deadliest event for the press since 1992, when CPJ began keeping detailed records on journalist deaths. Now, nine…
Labidi: Jordan, latest enemy of press freedom online?
CPJ Middle East and North Africa consultant Kamel Labidi writes in an article in the Guardian Comment is Free that Jordan’s new provisional law on cyber crimes, has brought the Hashemite kingdom a step closer to Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Egypt, which are considered among the most notorious online oppressors worldwide. On August 17, CPJ sent…