Russian journalists detail FSB and ‘New Nobility’
How do you crack Russia’s vaunted security service? You go to low- and mid-level officials for information, say Russian journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, authors of the new book, The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia’s Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB. At a luncheon for CPJ supporters on Thursday, Soldatov…
Press freedom deteriorates in pre-election Egypt
New York, October 7, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the deterioration of press freedoms in Egypt ahead of November’s parliamentary elections and next year’s presidential vote. In particular, CPJ is concerned over the firing on Tuesday of Ibrahim Eissa, the editor-in-chief and founder of the independent daily Al-Dustour.
A Golden Pen for Iran’s Zaid-Abadi
The World Association of Newspapers on Wednesday honored the jailed Iranian journalist, Ahmad Zaid-Abadi with its Golden Pen of Freedom Award in the German city of Hamburg. Zaid-Abadi, right, was sentenced in 2009 to six years in prison, five years of internal exile, and a lifetime ban on working as a journalist. He is behind…
In Panama, defamation conviction draws outcry
New York, October 7, 2010–A Panamanian court of appeals has convicted two TV journalists of criminal defamation and banned them from professional work for one year, news reports said. While President Ricardo Martinelli said he would pardon the journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today that lawmakers should repeal all criminal penalties for defamation.
Circle of suspects widens in Politkovskaya case
New York, October 6, 2010–Detectives with the federal Investigative Committee, the Russian agency responsible for investigating serious crimes, say they are probing a widening circle of suspects in the 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Abuja Twitterers chronicle #Nigeriaat50 bomb explosions
A few minutes before deadly explosions ripped through Nigeria’s 50th Independence Day celebration in Abuja on Saturday, Twitter user Achonu Stanley wondered about darkening skies over the festivities: “Would the day be marred by rain? It has become cloudy and dark. Sorry for the thousands of people at Eagle Square.”
Derakhshan case: When keeping quiet does not work
The severity of the nearly 20-year jail sentence handed down to veteran Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, left, has shocked many exiled Iranian journalists and bloggers with whom I’ve spoken. It’s also reinforced their belief that the best way to help jailed colleagues is not through quiet diplomacy but by making a lot of noise.
For Pakistani journalists, flood coverage poses challenges
As most of the nation lay paralyzed and submerged in flood water, Pakistani journalists traveled in four-wheel drives and rickety boats to bring tidings from some of the hardest hit areas of the country. The Pakistani Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) compiled a list of journalists directly affected by the flood, many of whom had…