In Iran, Roxana Saberi sentenced to eight years in prison
New York, April 18, 2009–An Iranian court convicted journalist Roxana Saberi of espionage and sentenced her to eight years in prison today following a closed, one-day trial earlier this week, according to international news reports. Her lawyer said he will appeal. “Roxana Saberi’s trial lacked transparency and we are concerned that she may not have been…
Documentarian escorted off campus during ceremony
On April 15, 2009, a documentary filmmaker was handcuffed and forcibly removed from the University of Southern California campus during a journalism awards ceremony. The filmmaker, John Ziegler, was led away by two USC Department of Public Safety officers after refusing university requests to remain within a designated area behind a barricade set up for…
Thai media owner shot; emergency still in effect
New York, April 17, 2009–Amid Thailand’s continuing political chaos, the Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the assassination attempt against media owner, television commentator, and political activist Sondhi Limthongkul today and calls on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government to ensure a quick investigation.
Executions in editor’s murder trigger doubts, outrage
Sudan’s execution this week of nine men found guilty of involvement in the 2006 assassination of editor Mohammed Taha Mohammed Ahmed, left, is seen by many there as an outrageous miscarriage of justice, spurred by a thirst on the part of President Omar al-Bashir’s regime for settling scores with the rebellious region of Darfur.
In ignoring Cuban jailings, Black Caucus disappoints
Clarence Page, the Chicago Tribune columnist and CPJ board member, is disappointed the Congressional Black Caucus ignored human rights violations, including the imprisonment of journalists, during its recent visit to Cuba. In his column, Page notes that Cuba is now jailing 21 editors and writers, making it the world’s second-leading jailer of journalists.
New film documents Burma’s undercover reporters
“Get that guy–he’s a reporter.” The order, shouted in Burmese amid the chilling sound of gunfire, can be heard in the preview of the new documentary, “Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country” by Danish filmmaker Anders Ostergaard. The preview also includes the now-notorious footage of a Burmese soldier fatally shooting Japanese cameraman Kenji Nagai…
Keep digging into disappearance of Gambia’s Manneh
The whereabouts of “Chief” Ebrima Manneh, right, the Gambian journalist who has been missing since his arrest by state security agents in July 2006, has become an urgent issue again in the country’s media houses, homes, and human rights offices. The question needs to be studied carefully, and no one should draw quick conclusions.