Dear President Barzani, The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the wave of threats against journalists in northern Iraq in the last few weeks. CPJ has documented an alarming number of cases recently, ranging from the murder of a journalist to an attack on another by a mob to at least three death threats directed at journalists in less than a month.
New York, August 4, 2008–An Ethiopian judge overseeing the high-profile trial of an imprisoned pop singer jailed the editor of an independent weekly for contempt of court today. The contempt charge came after the weekly published an interview with the singer’s lawyer, according to local journalists.
Hong Kong, August 5, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Chinese government to allow unrestricted reporting of Monday’s attack on police in the city of Kashgar, in the western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Local and international media outlets relied largely on the official Xinhua News Agency’s reports, which said two men killed 16…
We released the following statement after news reports that two men attacked and killed 16 policemen in an apparent suicide attack in Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region: “Journalists must be allowed to travel to Kashgar to report on this terrible incident. The world must not be forced to rely only on government-approved reports of…
With the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games only four days away, attention in the news media continues to center on the issues of openness and freedom in China. The Miami Herald has an editorial in today’s edition of the paper that wonders if the Chinese government can escape the grip of “their…
Information about today’s attack on border police in the western Chinese city of Kashgar is coming almost entirely from the official Xinhua News Agency. What’s interesting is the huge difference in the agency’s own reports, depending on what language you’re reading. In English, the attack was a suspected act of terrorism by Uighur separatists. In…
Many Hong Kong papers ran a story about the ill-advised remarks of Regina Ip, the former secretary of security for Hong Kong, and a candidate in September’s elections for a seat in the Hong Kong Legislative Council (Legco). Ip said the “neck-shoving” techniques used by Beijing police to roust Hong Kong reporters covering the July…
Last week’s dispute over Internet access for foreign reporters is still reverberating, only partially resolved. More Web sites have become available to reporters inside the Olympic Games’ Main Press Center and around the country, although plenty remain blocked (those perceived as being backed by the Falun Gong and those supporting Tibetan independence most notably). Amnesty…
According to a report released today by the nonprofit Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (Association for Civil Rights), or ADC, the Argentine government drastically increased its advertising budget in 2007, using public funds to reward friendly media, punish critical outlets, and promote the political campaign of current President Cristina Fernández who replaced her husband Néstor…