Schumer pushes for release of journalist in Nigeria
Freelance American journalist Andrew Berends and his translator, Nigerian Samuel George have been in the custody of Nigerian State Security Services in Port Harcourt since they were arrested on August 31. Berends, an award-winning filmmaker, legally entered Nigeria in April to complete a documentary called “Delta Boys” about the region’s oil conflict. Sen. Charles Schumer…
Web site owner killed in police custody in Ingushetia
New York, September 2, 2008–Russian federal authorities must undertake a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation into Sunday’s shocking death of Magomed Yevloyev, owner of the popular news Web site Ingushetiya, who was killed in the custody of police in Ingushetia, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Two journalists held without charge
New York, September 3, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to disclose charges against two detained Kurdish journalists or release them immediately. On August 28, security forces arrested Anvar Sa’di Muchashi and his cousin at his home in Sanandaj, the capital of the Kordestan province in northwestern Iran, and took them to…
Putin and the tiger
This Monday, the fourth anniversary of the Beslan school hostage crisis, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sedated a Siberian tiger to save–or so legend has it–a state television crew. As survivors of the Beslan tragedy gathered at the graveyard outside the North Ossetian town to mourn the more than 330 victims–mostly children–killed in the massacre,…
Frank Smyth on arrests at GOP convention
CPJ’s Washington Representative Frank Smyth has a posting on The Hill Blog today about the recent arrests of journalists covering protests around the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. Read our alert on the incidents here, and click here to watch video footage of the arrests posted yesterday.Read Smyth’s post at The Hill Blog.
Press freedom in the news 9/3/08
The news of the arrest American filmmaker Andrew Berends in Nigeria is the focus of stories in The New York Times and the African Press Agency this morning. According to CPJ’s research, Berends and his Nigerian translator, Samuel Geroge, were both arrested by Nigerian authorities on August 31. Violence in Russia continues to be in…
Taliban-held journalist killed in army strike
New York, September 2, 2008–A journalist who had been kidnapped by a local Taliban group was killed when a Pakistani airstrike hit the private jail where he was being held in the Swat Valley in Pakistan’s tumultuous North West Frontier Province on Friday, according to local news reports citing a Taliban spokesman. Militants abducted Abdul…
Journalist and media worker detained in Port Harcourt
New York, September 2, 2008–Freelance American filmmaker and journalist Andrew Berends and his translator, Nigerian Samuel George, remain in the custody of Nigerian state security services in Port Harcourt today. The Nigerian military arrested Berends and George on the afternoon of August 31 and transferred them to the State Security Services, local journalists told CPJ.
Four arrested covering protest at GOP convention
New York, September 2, 2008—A camera crew, broadcast host, and photographer were arrested Monday while covering protests at the Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minn. Police in downtown St. Paul swept up the journalists while arresting more than 250 other people during an unruly end to an otherwise peaceful anti-war protest, according to news…
Egyptian journalists face the trials of September
Many in Egypt still dread the month of September. Twenty-seven years ago, the government arbitrarily jailed hundreds of civil society activists of different political and religious leanings, including journalists. The capricious crackdown, which occurred only a few weeks before President Anwar Sadat’s assassination on October 6, 1981, by a radical Islamist was spurred by unsubstantiated…