Afghanistan
2009
Canadian journalist’s death is 17th in Afghanistan since 9/11
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.…
Philippines, Somalia fuel record death toll
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…
Journalists kidnapped, released in Afghanistan
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…
CPJ urges PM Brown to investigate Farrell rescue
Dear Prime Minister Brown: The Committee to Protect Journalists wishes to offer our condolences on the loss of British Parachute Regiment Cpl. John Harrison, who died in a September 9 military operation to rescue two journalists kidnapped by Taliban forces in Afghanistan. We are grateful that New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell, a British-Irish national, was safely rescued, but we’re saddened by the loss of his colleague, fellow New York Times reporter Sultan Munadi.
Video Report: Portraits of the Fallen
In “Portraits of the Fallen,” a video introduction to CPJ’s database of killed journalists, María Salazar-Ferro examines the circumstances in which reporters, photographers, editors, and other journalists have died on duty. Because hundreds of journalists have been murdered in reprisal for their work, CPJ is leading a Global Campaign Against Impunity. (4:11) Visit our database of…
On dangerous assignments, risk becomes ‘normal’
David Rohde’s gripping five-part series on his abduction in Afghanistan and Pakistan ends today with his dramatic escape from his abductors. His series—and the reaction to it—bring into high relief the challenges that journalists face as they confront growing risk around the world. Rohde, for example, felt the need, both in his article and in…
CPJ writes Karzai: Afghan journalists fear retribution
Dear President Karzai: The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about conditions for journalists in Kandahar. Long destabilized by efforts to defeat the Taliban, the southern province has become even more dangerous since the recent presidential elections. Besides the daily threat of being caught up in an attack by insurgent groups, several local journalists tell CPJ they fear beatings, detentions, or worse in retribution for their reporting.