In Cameroon, press struggles with financial and official constraints
On March 16, Cameroon’s Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakari, denounced French online news outlet Le Monde as unprofessional at a press conference after it reported on allegations that President Paul Biya was in hospital in Geneva. The incident is symbolic of the growing problem in Cameroon, which has a growing but poorly funded independent…
Officials sentenced in Colombia for spying on journalists
Bogotá, May 1, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the sentencing on Thursday by the Colombian Supreme Court of two former senior government officials for their roles in an illegal surveillance program. The program, which occurred while former President Álvaro Uribe was in office, involved spying on some of the country’s most prominent journalists as…
Gunmen kill a radio journalist in Somalia
Nairobi, May 1, 2015–Unidentified armed men on Wednesday night shot dead Somali journalist Daud Ali Omar at his home, according to local journalists and news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Somali authorities to identify the motive in the murder and apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators. The gunmen broke into Daud’s house at…
Why Spain’s new gag law is threat to free flow of information
On July 1 a public security law is due to come into force in Spain amid an increasingly vocal chorus of concern among the media and press freedom groups. The bill–dubbed the “ley mordaza,” or “gag law,” by opposition groups–would define protests in front of parliament and other government buildings as a “disturbance of public…
On World Press Freedom Day and journalists’ safety
Last week, I met a Cameroonian journalist who worked in the Congo until he fled following a series of threats and an attack on his home by armed men who assaulted his sister. Elie Smith, a TV host who documented alleged abuses by police and was outspoken in his criticism of the government, said he…
Brazilian journalists injured while covering protests
São Paulo, May 1, 2015–At least five Brazilian journalists were injured while covering clashes on Wednesday between police and striking teachers in the southern state of Paraná, according to news reports and local journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attacks and calls on Brazilian authorities to ensure the perpetrators are held responsible.
CPJ, HRW call on president of European Olympic Committees to engage with Azerbaijan on press freedom, human rights
A delegation of representatives from CPJ and Human Rights Watch met yesterday with Patrick Hickey, president of the European Olympic Committees, at the Dublin headquarters of the Olympic Council of Ireland. The delegation discussed the dismal state of press freedom and human rights in Azerbaijan, the host of the first-ever European Games in June and…
CPJ calls on European Olympic Committees to engage with Azerbaijan on press freedom
Dear President Patrick Hickey: I am writing on behalf of the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent international press freedom organization, to call your attention to the dismal climate for press freedom in Azerbaijan, which is scheduled to host the first-ever European Games on June 12.
Burundian authorities crack down on press ahead of elections
Nairobi, April 29, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harassment of journalists and news outlets in Burundi and calls on authorities to allow them to cover protests ahead of scheduled elections in May and June. Police cut the transmission of at least three radio stations, and telecommunications companies have been ordered to suspend mobile…