Afghanistan

March 28, 2008

Sean Langan, freelance
ABDUCTED

A Taliban-linked group kidnapped freelance British television journalist Sean Langan and his translator near the town of Torkham on the border with Pakistan. He was working in Afghanistan on a documentary series for publicly owned U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, according to U.K. news reports.

Langan arranged to meet with Taliban leaders across the border in Pakistan on March 28, but was taken captive with his translator en route, according to The Daily Mail. He was released on June 21, according to international news reports. His translator, an Afghan, was named by The Times of London only as “Sammy.” He was also freed, according to the Mail.

New York, December 18, 2008—For the sixth consecutive year, Iraq was the deadliest country in the world for the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in its end-of-year analysis. The 11 deaths recorded in Iraq in 2008, while a sharp drop from prior years, remained among the highest annual tolls in CPJ history.

December 2008

South Africa's Mail & Guardian has more coverage of the Mikhail Beketov case today. Beketov, an editor of a Moscow-based newspaper, was brutally beaten and left for dead more than two weeks ago and remains in a coma. The Houston Chronicle also has a story on Beketov, as well as the dangers of reporting in Russia for all journalists.

New York, November 26, 2008 --The Committee to Protect Journalists honored five journalists with its 2008 International Press Freedom Awards in a ceremony Tuesday night that highlighted journalists imprisoned worldwide. A Zimbabwean media lawyer who has successfully defended numerous journalists facing prison was honored for her lifetime achievements.

CPJ's 2008 International Press Freedom awardees, who were officially announced yesterday at a press conference in Washington, are making news today--including editor Andrew Mwenda, who was concurrently issued an arrest warrant in his home country of Uganda.

Washington, November 20, 2008--On the day Ugandan editor Andrew Mwenda was introduced here as a recipient of a CPJ International Press Freedom Award, police back home summoned the journalist for questioning over his magazine's hard-hitting political coverage.

New York, November 12, 2008--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Afghan government to release Shokoor Feroz and his brother Quaim Feroz, the translator and driver of kidnapped CBC reporter Mellissa Fung, who was freed on November 8. 

New York, November 10, 2008--Two days after the release of CBC journalist Mellissa Fung, contradictory details have begun to emerge about her captivity, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail. Fung was kidnapped 28 days ago while conducting interviews in a Kabul refugee camp. She was apparently held, chained and blindfolded, in Wardak, the province west of Kabul, according to many media reports.