Asia

January 1 marks the 40th day after the brutal killings of 57 people, including 31 journalists and media workers, in the Philippine province of Maguindanao. In the Philippine tradition, the day will be considered the “end of mourning.” But the pursuit of a just and thorough prosecution is only beginning, noted CPJ board member Sheila Coronel, who said the “effort will require an unprecedented level of resources, commitment, and collaboration.” Several of us at CPJ got an overnight memo from Coronel, who has returned to her hometown, Manila, to speak with advocates working on the case. 

New York, December 31, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalist extends condolences to the family and colleagues of Canadian journalist Michelle Lang, who died Wednesday while embedded with Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

Lang was working for the Calgary Herald and Canwest News Service when she was killed along with four Canadian soldiers while traveling in a Canadian military convoy. Their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb about two miles (three kilometers) south of the volatile city of Kandahar. Four other soldiers and a Canadian civilian were injured.

New York, December 22, 2009—A suicide bomber detonated an explosive today on the grounds of the Press Club building in Peshawar, in the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan. Local and international media report that three, possibly four, people were killed, though none of the approximately 30 journalists waiting for a press conference to start on the upper floor of the building were injured. The Associated Press reported that 17 other people were injured. 

Responding to reports of an apparent suicide bombing at the Press Club building in Peshawar, located in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, the we issued the following statement...

New York, December 21, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists announced the addition of three leading journalists to its board of directors today: Rebecca MacKinnon of Global Voices, Ahmed Rashid, journalist and scholar, and María Teresa Ronderos of Semana.com.

The government-appointed agency in charge of China’s .cn domain name announced earlier this month that individuals can no longer apply to purchase new Web sites without ID and a business license, according to international news reports.

CPJ survey finds at least 68 journalists killed in 2009

New York, December 17, 2009—At least 68 journalists worldwide were killed for their work in 2009, the highest yearly tally ever documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the organization said in its year-end analysis. The record toll was driven in large part by the election-related slaughter of more than 30 media workers in the Philippine province of Maguindanao, the deadliest event for the press in CPJ history.

Three journalists, all on assignment for The Guardian, were kidnapped in December 2009 and released after six days, according to the paper. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, an Iraqi, ad two unnamed Afghan journalists had been planning to interview militants in Afghanistan’s mountainous Kunar province near the border with Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province when they were abducted. The Guardian said it did not know if the kidnappers were attached to any specific group.

On Thursday, CPJ’s Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn Crispin posted an entry—“Cries for justice in the Philippines massacre”—on the international mission he was part of in the Philippines this week. The team was following up in the aftermath of the November 23 massacre that killed at least 30 journalists and media workers in Ampatuan, in Maguindanao province, in the southern Philippines.

New York, December 10, 2009—On the 100^th day after the sentencing of journalist J. S. Tissainayagam, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to use his constitutional powers to release him from the 20-year prison sentence that was given to him on August 31.