Release of Chinese journalist Shi Tao was long overdue
New York, September 9, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the early release of journalist Shi Tao, who was first detained in 2004 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2005 on charges of “leaking state secrets abroad.” Shi was released on August 23, according to an announcement on Sunday by Zhang Yu, the…
More hope in Syria as two more journalists freed
Just two weeks ago, I wrote that the recent escapes of American Matthew Schrier and French-American Jonathan Alpeyrie after months of captivity should give hope to all missing journalists in Syria. We now have two more reasons for hope. Sunday, the Italian and Belgian governments announced that missing Italian journalist Domenico Quirico and Belgian academic…
Egypt detains journalist for publishing false information
New York, September 6, 2013–Military authorities have detained an Egyptian journalist in the North Sinai governorate and accused him of publishing false information on military operations, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Ahmed Abu Deraa’s detention and calls on authorities to release him immediately.
Mexico drops charges in Blancornelas murder attempt
New York, September 6, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the decision of a Mexican judge to dismiss charges against Marco Arturo Quiñones Sánchez, one of the gunmen implicated in the 1997 assassination attempt against J. Jesús Blancornelas, founder and former editor of the Tijuana-based weekly magazine Zeta. The editors of Zeta told…
Chishti abducted, beaten: Challenge for Pakistan
Ali Chishti, who writes for The Friday Times, has gone public in Islamabad with details of his abduction and beating last Friday, August 30. Chishti is making the rounds of TV talk shows describing how he was picked up in Karachi by uniformed police driving a police vehicle, blindfolded, switched to another police vehicle, taken…
Pakistan Prime Minister should address abuse of journalists
New York, September 6, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Pakistani government to ensure that there is a full investigation into the abduction and beating of a journalist for The Friday Times. Ali Chishti, who writes on national security and counter-terrorism, told CPJ and local news outlets that he was abducted and beaten…
Egypt needs justice not politics in investigating deaths
Yesterday, the Committee to Protect Journalists launched a campaign calling for serious investigations into the deaths of eight journalists in Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011. CPJ hopes that the current military-led government will lead impartial and serious inquiries into the events surrounding the killings no matter who was in power at…
KTN reporter threatened for exposing hospital scandal
Nairobi, September 5, 2013–A TV journalist has received death threats twice this week following his coverage of wrongdoing at a hospital in the western Kenyan town of Bungoma, according to the journalist and news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to immediately investigate the threats and ensure the reporter’s safety.
Death toll mounts for journalists in Philippines
Another Philippine journalist was killed in a drive-by shooting on Wednesday, bringing to at least six the total slain in the country this year. In none of the cases have police determined whether they were killed because of their work as journalists or for other reasons. The investigations into the cases appear to have gone…