Attacks on the Press in 2008: Venezuela
Official intolerance of criticism and unfounded government accusations promoted a climate of fear among Venezuelan journalists. Tensions reached new heights in September when, without providing evidence, President Hugo Chávez Frías and high-ranking administration officials accused private media outlets of plotting to overthrow the government and murder the president. With violent crime rates escalating, the murder…
Attacks on the Press in 2008: Vietnam
The government cracked down on journalists, bloggers, and pro-democracy activists, sending some to jail and harassing many others. The campaign of repression reversed a brief period of liberalization that accompanied the country’s 2007 accession to the World Trade Organization.
Attacks on the Press in 2008: Yemen
Journalists worked in precarious conditions in which they were subjected to politicized criminal charges and censorship from government officials. A harsh press law set restrictions on coverage of the presidency, state security, and religion. Authorities kept particularly tight control on coverage of an insurgency led by tribal and religious figures in the northwestern Saada region.
Attacks on the Press in 2008: Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party, startled by balloting that threatened their 28-year rule, unleashed a brutal crackdown on opposition supporters and the press. Veteran journalist Geoff Hill described the weeks between the first round of voting in March and a runoff in June as “the worst time for journalists in Zimbabwe’s history,” a…
A twisting road to Canada for a Chinese journalist
From his prison cell, veteran Chinese journalist Jiang Weiping wrote a poem to his daughter, Jennifer, which included the lines: “Though the road home has many twists and turns / Your daddy believes that we will be reunited soon.” She was little more than 10 years old when he was imprisoned in 2000 for reporting…
CPJ seeks probe in killing of reporter in Madagascar protest
New York, February 9, 2009–Authorities in the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar must bring to justice members of the presidential guard responsible for the killing on Saturday of a journalist covering an antigovernment demonstration in the capital, Antananarivo, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Pro-government group threatens Venezuelan media outlets
New York, February 9, 2009–In an interview published on Friday, the leader of the Venezuelan pro-government group La Piedrita took responsibility for a series of attacks against local journalists and media outlets, and threatened to attack the 24-hours news channel Globovisión and RCTV Director Marcel Granier. The Committee to Protect Journalists called today on Venezuelan…
Writer goes into exile over Thai lese majeste charges
New York, February 9, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the increasing use of draconian lese majeste charges to harass journalists and commentators and stifle free expression in Thailand; at least one writer has gone into exile because of the charges.