Burundian journalist arrested, charged after not revealing source
Nairobi, January 21, 2015–Burundian authorities imprisoned the director of the privately owned Radio Publique Africaine on Tuesday and charged him with complicity in murder, according to news reports. The arrest followed the station’s broadcast of an interview in which an unidentified guest said he was involved in the September murder of three Italian nuns, news…
How Ecuador’s plans to make communications a public service is threat to free press
Attempts to amend Ecuador’s constitution to categorize communications as a “public service” has sparked a fierce debate, with one critic drawing comparisons to the way dictators such as Stalin and Hitler used the press as a propaganda tool, and supporters of President Rafael Correa’s government arguing that the proposed reforms will make journalism more accountable…
Cyber security bill threatens media freedom in Thailand
Bangkok, January 20, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thailand’s military-appointed legislature to scrap proposed legislation that would allow for mass surveillance of online activities and platforms. The Cyber Security Bill was approved this month by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s Cabinet and is pending in the National Legislative Assembly.
AFP photographer shot while covering anti-Charlie Hebdo protests in Pakistan
New York, January 16, 2015–Agence France-Presse photographer Asif Hassan was shot and wounded today while covering clashes in Karachi between police and supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party who were demonstrating against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, according to news reports. It is unclear from where the firing originated or whether he was targeted.…
In South Korea, deportation and defamation cases mark slide in press freedom
South Korea has been hailed by many as a bastion for democracy and press freedom, especially in comparison to its twin to the north, which for years has been featured on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ most censored list. However the recent stifling of critical voices in South Korea, including cases of arrests, deportation, and…
Russian journalist beaten in Saratov, second from same site in five months
New York, January 14, 2015–An independent journalist was attacked on Tuesday in the Russian city of Saratov, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the assault and calls on authorities to investigate and to consider journalism a motive in the crime.
CPJ welcomes Risen decision, calls on Holder to ensure journalists are not forced to reveal sources
New York, January 13, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the decision on Monday by the United States Department of Justice to withdraw its subpoena of New York Times reporter James Risen and calls on the Department of Justice to enact guarantees that journalists will not face similar legal action related to confidential sources in…
How Sri Lanka’s new president can ease decade of repressive press measures
The stunning defeat of Sri Lanka’s incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa by challenger Maithripala Sirisena on Friday has given way to questions about what changes, if any, will come for press freedom in a country that had grown deeply repressive under the previous leadership.
German daily firebombed over Charlie Hebdo cartoons
On January 11, 2015, attackers firebombed the offices of the German daily Hamburger Morgenpost, in Hamburg, northern Germany, in apparent retaliation for the tabloid’s reprinting of several cartoons from the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on its front page, according to news reports. The press reported that arsonists threw a firebomb and stones through a…
With new round of journalist detentions, prosecutions, Iran continues to silence press
New York, January 9, 2015–A new wave of arrests and prosecutions has been carried out by Iranian authorities in the past month, cementing the country’s status as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.