In a country where critical journalism is silenced, President Aliyev of Azerbaijan can be sure of his ‘re-election’ guardian.coSeptember 17, 2008Preoccupied with the Georgia-Russia crisis and the old fears it has resurrected, the world risks missing another important story unfolding in the Caucasus – that of Azerbaijan. The oil-rich Caspian Sea nation is going to…
New York, September 16, 2008–CPJ condemns the ongoing harassment of translator Samuel George in Port Harcourt. Security services officers have ordered George to report to their offices on September 26, although no charges have been brought against him in the two weeks he has been made to report repeatedly.
New York, September 15, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the arrest of suspects in the killing of three journalists and a media worker in Mosul on Saturday. CNN reported that two suspects have been arrested in Mosul, according to Gen. Jalal Tawfeeq, military operations commander of Nineveh province, who spoke to al-Sharqiya. According to…
“The current situation has made it necessary for the First Main Directorate (PGU) of [Russia’s] KGB to give the First Main Directorate of [Bulgaria’s] Ministry of Internal Affairs the following special means: devices for silent, mechanical ejection of special needles, containing swift poisons. …” The above is an excerpt from Addendum 13 of the “Perspective…
The kidnapping and subsequent death of four Iraqi journalists in Mosul on assignment for Al-Sharqia TV is the subject of numerous stories from the weekend and this morning. Both AP and Reuters released stories updating the situation. Voice of America also had coverage. The Los Angeles Times has an entry on its “Babylon and Beyond” blog about…
Tunisia’s media, one of the most muzzled in the Arab world, reported for the first time a couple weeks ago that a high-ranking U.S. official had raised the issue of reform with the country’s autocratic ruler, who is also a zealous supporter of President George W. Bush’s war on terror. The official was Secretary of…
New York, September 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a Senegalese judge’s decision today to sentence a newspaper editor to three years in prison on criminal charges in connection with an editorial about President Abdoulaye Wade and his son. Today’s ruling came on the heels of Thursday’s sentencing of 12 individuals to…
New York, September 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the arrests today of Raja Petra Kamarudin, founder and editor of the influential Malaysia Today Web site and blog, and Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng. Three newspapers, including Sin Chew Daily, have also been officially threatened with suspension today, according to news…
Your Majesty, The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to bring to your attention the decision of a Moroccan court to jail and fine blogger and journalist Mohamed Erraji for “failing to respect the king.” We call on you to use all your influence to ensure the overturning of Erraji’s conviction.
The BBC reported this week that a minister in the Democratic Republic of Congo has ordered a jail in the capital, Kinshasa, to release a dozen goats, saying the animals were being held there illegally. According to the story: “The minister said many police had serious gaps in their knowledge and they would be sent…