CPJ calls on authorities to explain no-fly zone in Ferguson
New York, November 3, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a news report that law enforcement authorities in Ferguson, Missouri, sought a no-fly zone during unrest in August with the intent of blocking access for the press.
Orbán walks fine line in Brussels with Hungary’s media law
“With the Islamic state offensive, the Ebola epidemic and Ukraine, Hungary is not on anyone’s mind in Europe,” mused one of our interlocutors during the Committee to Protect Journalists’ fact-finding mission in Budapest in October. “Viktor Orbán has really nothing to fear from Brussels.”
Press freedom groups urge Russia to probe murders of journalists
On Sunday, which marked the first United Nations-backed International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, CPJ joined a coalition of international press freedom and human rights groups in urging Russian investigators to serve justice for our murdered colleagues.
Taiwan journalists feel pressure as elections approach
Political tensions are rising in Taiwan ahead of local and municipal elections due at the end of November. The vote is expected to test the popularity of the ruling Kuomintang Party (KMT), which advocates greater integration with China and which earlier this year sparked protests when it tried to pass a new economic cooperation deal…
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, October 2014
Turkish government makes commitments to CPJ In an unprecedented meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other officials in early October, a joint delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Press Institute raised concerns about the climate for press freedom in Turkey, including the imprisonment of journalists and online restrictions. In…
Russian actor condemned for wearing press insignia and firing weapons
Russian actor Mikhail Porechenkov has joined basketball star Dennis Rodman, who declared North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un his best friend, and Jennifer Lopez who sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to the authoritarian leader of Turkmenistan, on the list of celebrities who have made human rights faux pas.
In Hungary, an independent website defies censorship and pressure
A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists, led by board member Kati Marton, traveled to Hungary in October on CPJ’s first fact-finding and advocacy mission to an EU member state. We went there in response to concerning reports of deteriorating conditions for the press, and met dozens of journalists, media lawyers, managers, rights defenders,…
Azerbaijan jails yet another critical reporter
New York, October 30, 2014–A court in Azerbaijan today sentenced Khalid Garayev, a reporter for the embattled opposition newspaper Azadliq and the technical director of “Azerbaijani Hour,” Azadliq’s online TV program, to almost a month in prison on charges of hooliganism and disobeying the police, according to news reports.
Press in Burkina Faso must be protected amid anti-government protests
Lagos, Nigeria, October 30, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that protesters stormed and looted the offices of Burkina Faso’s national broadcaster Radiodiffusion Television du Burkina in the capital, Ouagadougou, today. Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest a constitutional amendment that would allow President Blaise Compaore to seek re-election next…