2014
First US-Africa summit short on press freedom, other human rights
Top African and U.S. leaders are meeting next week in Washington in a first-of-its-kind summit focused on African development. But critics argue the summit is flawed in design, overlooking human rights such as freedom of expression and barring civil society actors from bilateral discussions.
Another journalist killed in Gaza bombardment
New York, July 31, 2014–A second journalist was killed while covering the Israeli bombardment of the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza, according to news reports and the two journalists’ media outlets. The death marks at least three journalists and one media worker killed on duty since the Gaza conflict began this month, CPJ research shows.
No press freedom without Internet freedom
Four years ago, when CPJ launched its Internet Advocacy program, we were met with lots of encouragement, but also some skepticism. “Why do you need a program to defend the Internet?” one supporter asked. “You don’t have a special program to defend television, or radio, or newspapers.” But the Internet is different. Increasingly, when it…
Ethiopian photojournalist Aziza Mohamed held without charge
Nairobi, July 31, 2014–CPJ is alarmed by the detention of Addis Guday (“Addis Affairs”) photojournalist Aziza Mohamed, who has been in custody for two weeks without charge. Police arrested Aziza on July 18 while she was covering Muslim protests near Anwar Mosque in the capital Addis Ababa, local journalists told CPJ. She is being held…
Palestinian photojournalist killed in Israeli air strike
New York, July 30, 2014–Palestinian journalist Rami Rayan was killed today in an Israeli air strike on a market in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza, according to his employer and news reports. At least 16 other people were killed and 160 wounded in the strike, according to news reports.
Iran must explain journalist arrests
It has now been six days since the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian, The National’s Yeganeh Salehi and two others were arrested in Iran, but we are no closer to understanding who detained them or why. Even the number of journalists arrested is in dispute. The Washington Post originally said its correspondent Rezaian, his wife Salehi,…
In Ukraine, journalists injured, detained, expelled
New York, July 28, 2014–In recent days in Ukraine, an international journalist was wounded in a car crash caused by separatists’ gunfire, a local journalist was detained by separatists, a Russian reporter for Bloomberg News was briefly detained by a Ukrainian army unit, and a foreign journalist was expelled by Ukrainian authorities, according to press…
In Sri Lanka crackdown, mobs and death threats turned on journalists
There is genuine cause for alarm about the anonymous death threats going to Sunil Jayasekara’s phone. They started streaming to Jayasekara, the convener of Sri Lanka’s Free Media Movement, an umbrella group (hence calling the leader a convener) of journalists’ organization in Sri Lanka, just before an FMM press conference on Saturday in Colombo.