September 2008 Archives

CPJ's September 26 letter to Russian President Dmitry Mededev is receiving additional coverage in both the English and Russian press today. The Institute for War and Peace Reporting has a story posted to their Web site and the Russian daily newspaper Novye Izvestiya is also reporting on the letter.

The Huffington Post is featuring a blog post this morning by Magda Abu-Fadil, who writes about the continued danger Iraqi journalists face in light of the recent murders of four TV journalists. Despite recent moves by the government to try to protect reporters, Abu-Fadil writes that violence and intimidation still threatens true freedom of the press in Iraq.

Also making news today is the detention of controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin in Malaysia. CPJ reported on September 23 that Raja Petra was sentenced to two years in prison by the Malaysian government under the country's Internal Security Act. The Singapore-based Web site ZDNetAsia has an article examining the blogger's arrest, the culture of blogging in Malaysia, and why arrests like this may backfire on the government. 

A week after the Committee to Protect Journalists released its special report on the current state of press freedom in Azerbaijan, "Finding Elmar's Killers," Ali Hasanov, head of public affairs at the office of President Ilham Aliyev, told local journalists:

"Azerbaijan has done enough work to attain political pluralism, freedom of expression and of the press. We do not accept pretenses to the contrary. We do not accept reports, no matter which international organization is their author. ... The presentation of separate cases as a general tendency is, unfortunately, evidence that this is being done in someone's interest, to benefit certain interested parties." 

Each year, CPJ compiles an annual census of journalists imprisoned around the world, and every year since 2001, the U.S has figured on this list of infamy.

During this period, journalists have been imprisoned right here in this country for refusing to reveal their sources; imprisoned by the U.S. military in Iraq for long periods without charge; and, in at least two cases, declared "enemy combatants" and held at U.S. military prisons in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Last week, U.S. military authorities released one such journalist, Jawed Ahmad, who was held for 11 months at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. Ahmad, a field producer for the Canadian broadcaster CTV, was jailed without charge or due process.

Even worse, he claims that he was abused in U.S. custody. 

CPJ's letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, which raised our concern over Russia's denial of admittance to international journalists, received coverage in various news outlets today. The English edition of The Moscow Times is running an article and the Russia-based Web site Lenta News has coverage of the letter in Russian.

On Saturday, the African Web site Afrik.net ran a news brief on the arrest of Hossam Al Wakeel, an Egyptian journalist who had been covering a demonstration in Alexandria. We released an alert raising concerns about his arrest on Friday.

CPJ's letter to Spanish President Zapatero urging him to pressure Cuba on jailed journalists received Spanish-language coverage on the Cuba Matinal Web site over the weekend.

This week marks a significant change in the press freedom climate for journalists in West Africa: Journalists, media organizations, and activists in the region fought back against attacks and censorship against the press, in contrast to a decade ago, when the media was too oppressed and scared to speak out. In Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Nigeria, they rallied to defend media outlets, showing that they will no longer stand by and watch these abuses continue unchecked.

Yemeni editor Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani walked out of a Sana'a prison today after being granted a presidential pardon. The outspoken journalist was serving a six-year prison term on what were widely seen as retaliatory antistate charges. Al-Khaiwani, whose case was the focus of a CPJ advocacy campaign, offered his gratitude.

I thank the Committee to Protect Journalists. It had a vital role in standing with me during all stages of the case, and I feel that CPJ had a huge role in the achievement that we gained today.

The Canadian Press has coverage of the release of CTV reporter Jawed Ahmad, who was freed from U.S. detention on September 22. The article quotes Ahmad as saying that he believes the Canadian military "told them I was a risk." The piece also mentions our alert urging the U.S. military to reveal the evidence against Ahamd when he was initially detained in February. Legal blog The BLT posted an article about his release late yesterday.

The Media Line Web site has an article about the Iraqi government's new movement to help protect journalists working in the volatile region. The Iraqi Interior Ministry has developed a plan that will help train journalists on safety measures as well as instruct them on how to better approach conflict zones while they are covering dangerous events.

Also of note in the news today, the Lusaka-based newspaper Zambia Daily Mail has a news brief about a controversy over editorials printed about Zambian presidential candidate Rupiah Banda.

CPJ's letter to Spanish President Zapatero urging him to pressure Cuba on jailed journalists received significant coverage in the Spanish language press. Radio Marti ran a piece on the letter and the Spanish Web site PR Noticas has a story online. Cubaencuentro also has news coverage of the letter.

Also today, the Web site of MarketWatch has additional coverage of Jawed Ahmad's release from U.S. detention in Afghanistan on September 22.

Filmmaker Andrew Berends, now safely back in the U.S. after being released from authorities in Nigeria, has a post on The Film Panel Notetaker blog about his ordeal and calls for support to help his translator Samuel George, who is still being questioned by Nigerian Security Services.

CPJ: Tell us about your film.

BERENDS: The film focuses on the militants in the region, but it's really dealing with what it's like living in the Niger Delta, a region that produces enormous amounts of oil. Billions of dollars of oil get pumped out of the Niger Delta, but in some places the people live in abject poverty. There is a lot of frustration over that. The militants claim they are fighting for more resource control. And there's a huge amount of corruption within the local government and then also among some of the militants who are supposedly fighting against that.

Reuters is reporting that Iraqi Kurdistan's Parliament has passed a revised media law that protects the rights of journalists in the region and abolishes criminal defamation. CPJ travelled to the region in May to protest a much harsher version of the media law, and presented recommendations to Kurdish President Masoud Barzani.

Also making news this morning is the release of Afghani freelance journalist Jawed Ahmad from U.S. detention at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The Canadian Press reports that Ahmad, who has worked for CTV, was freed yesterday after 10 months in detention as an "enemy combatant."  The legal Web site Jurist and the Canada-based Edmonton Sun have coverage of his release. CPJ called for the U.S. military to reveal the evidence against Ahmad or release him when he was initially detained in February.

Finally today, the Web site of the World Association of Newspapers reports that 79-year-old Burmese journalist U Win Tin has been released from prison after 19 years. According to reports gathered by the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, the journalist was released by Burma's military junta along with 9,000 other prisoners earlier today.

The failed assassination attempt against Iraqi Journalist Syndicate head Muaid al-Lami is the topic of various news stories today. Reuters reported that a bomb exploded as al-Lami left the front entrance of the syndicate's headquarters in Baghdad on Saturday. The San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Voice of America, and the India based-Web site The Hindu all have coverage of the explosion that failed to kill al-Lami, but did injure him along with five of his colleagues.

Over the weekend, The Associated Press had coverage of the arrest of Hanoi Bureau Chief Ben Stocking in Vietnam. The CBS Iowa-based affiliate KGAN had coverage of Stocking's arrest, which occurred while he was taking pictures at a religious ceremony in Hanoi. We released an alert on the arrest last Friday.

The Spanish-language newspaper El Universal based in Mexico City ran an op-ed piece co-authored by CPJ's Americas Program Coordinator Carlos Lauria and Executive Director Joel Simon on Saturday. The piece, headlined "De la voluntad a los hechos," examines the need for Mexico to federalize crimes against journalists. 

In Mexico, where violence against the press has become an epidemic, a debate is raging about what should be done to confront this terrible problem. Since 2000, 21 journalists have been killed, seven of them in direct reprisal for their work. The record of violence has produced widespread self-censorship, particularly among regional journalists covering drug trafficking and human rights issues.

During his weekly television and radio address a year ago, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez warned that foreigners who criticize him or his administration while visiting the country would be expelled. Chávez ordered officials to scrutinize statements by foreign public figures and deport any outspoken critics. While analysts thought this declaration was yet another instance of the president's charged rhetoric, the expulsion of two Human Rights Watch (HRW) activists from the country on Thursday proved them wrong. 

In the news today the Canada-based Web site Asian Pacific Post has a news brief about the imprisonment of Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Van Hai, also known as Dieu Cay. The brief cites CPJ's condemnation of the 30-month sentence given to him on September 11.

Also today, New York's Lower Hudson Valley Journal News has more coverage of press issues in Nigeria, and uses documentary filmmaker Andrew Berends' recent ordeal to outline a larger pattern of intimidation against members of the press working in the African country. Berends' translator, Samuel George, continues to be made to report for questioning by Nigerian State Security Services.

We announced the 2008 International Press Freedom Award recipients on Tuesday, and the news has been well-received worldwide. Bilal Hussein of Iraq, Danish Karokhel and Farida Nekzad of Afghanistan, Andrew Mwenda of Uganda, and Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez of Cuba will all be honored by CPJ on November 25 for their courageous work. Beatrice Mtetewa, of Zimbabwe will also be honored with CPJ's Burton Benjamin Award for her long service to the field of journalism.

Watch carefully as the Chinese media report on the explosive story of tainted baby formula. The most recent break came from Central China Television (CCTV), the government's official, flagship broadcaster. CCTV reported that an industrial chemical, melamine, has been discovered in milk products--everything from yogurt to ice cream as well as baby formula--from 22 companies nationwide. So far, products from more than 100 companies had been tested. The first company to admit to a problem was Sanlu, the third-largest milk product manufacturer in China. 

"The current situation has made it necessary for the First Main Directorate (PGU) of [Russia's] KGB to give the First Main Directorate of [Bulgaria's] Ministry of Internal Affairs the following special means: devices for silent, mechanical ejection of special needles, containing swift poisons. ..."

The above is an excerpt from Addendum 13 of the "Perspective plan for cooperation between the intelligence services of USSR and communist Bulgaria in the period 1972-1975"--a secret document made public thanks to Hristo Hristov, an investigative reporter with the Bulgarian independent daily Dnevnik who won a six-year-long legal battle for access to the secret archives of Bulgaria's National Investigative Service (NRS), the country's security agency. Last week, Hristov published his book The Double Life of Agent Piccadilly, based on more than 90 volumes of previously undisclosed NRS documents that shed light on the 1978 murder in London of Bulgarian dissident journalist Georgi Markov. 

The kidnapping and subsequent death of four Iraqi journalists in Mosul on assignment for Al-Sharqia TV is the subject of numerous stories from the weekend and this morning. Both AP and Reuters released stories updating the situation. Voice of America also had coverage. The Los Angeles Times has an entry on its "Babylon and Beyond" blog about the deaths as well as the general dangers and difficulties facing journalists trying to cover the conflict in Iraq. CNN covered the story and highlighted Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's call for the Iraqi military to fully investigate the case.

The New York Times has a story about filmmaker Andrew Berends' return to the United States after a 10-day detention in Nigeria. The article quotes CPJ's Tom Rhodes: "We work on cases like this in Africa every week. And I've never seen a response or reaction as impressive as Andrew's colleague Aaron Soffin."

A planned protest against the media crackdown occurring in Mayalsia is a major topic on the Hong Kong-based Asia Sentinel Web site this morning. The article quotes CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon's condemnation of the crackdown and the arrests of Malaysian journalists: "The Malaysian government has taken its repression of dissenting voices to a new level today. We call on the Malaysian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Tan Hoon Cheng. Malaysian newspapers should also be free to publish without threat of suspension," Simon said.

Tunisia's media, one of the most muzzled in the Arab world, reported for the first time a couple weeks ago that a high-ranking U.S. official had raised the issue of reform with the country's autocratic ruler, who is also a zealous supporter of President George W. Bush's war on terror.

The official was Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She briefly stopped on September 6 in Tunis, as part of a North African tour that led her to pay a historic visit to Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi before traveling for talks mainly on counterterrorism issues with his Tunisian and Algerian counterparts, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Abdelaziz Bouteflika, as well as King Mohamed VI of Morocco.

The BBC reported this week that a minister in the Democratic Republic of Congo has ordered a jail in the capital, Kinshasa, to release a dozen goats, saying the animals were being held there illegally. According to the story: "The minister said many police had serious gaps in their knowledge and they would be sent for retraining."

The goats, it seems, were about to appear in court--they faced charges of "being sold illegally by the roadside."

Bloggers across the Web are showing their solidarity with Mohamed Erraji, a Moroccan blogger who was sentenced to two years in prison last week for "failing to show respect for the king."

A Moroccan court convicted Erraji, 29, a contributor to HesPress, a Moroccan daily news ‎Web site, on Monday in a closed, 10-minute trial. On September 3, Erraji published an article on HesPress criticizing King Mohamed VI for ‎rewarding people who praise him.‎ He was arrested the next day and convicted the day after that, without a defense lawyer. CPJ condemned the court's decision yesterday. Today, the court of appeal in Agadir granted Erraji bail until the appeal is heard. A member of his family told CPJ that he can't predict what will happen, but that the court "might increase or decrease the sentence, or might decide that Mohamed is innocent."

Bloggers have set up Help Erraji, Free Erraji, and Facebook group Free Moroccan Blogger Mohammed Erraji.

The Web site OneWorld has continued coverage of the release of filmmaker Andrew Berends, who is back in the United States after being detained in Nigeria since August 31. Berends is safely at home after a week of questioning by the Nigerian military; however his translator Samuel George is still under scrutiny from the authorities.

Also on the Web today, the Hit &Run blog at Reason has a posting about Russia's censorship of and continued violence against journalists and how it relates to the press situation in the United States.

Well, that was it for Kenny. Not only does the "South Park" character die (again) in Episode 46 of the popular animated series--"Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics"--he may now be killed altogether from Russian television.

On September 3, Moscow prosecutors filed a legal claim against "South Park," saying the cartoon exhibited "signs of extremist activity." The state media regulatory agency, Rossvyazokhrankultura, issued a warning to channel 2x2--a station that broadcasts mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg and carries the U.S. satirical series--for carrying the "extremist material"; under Russian laws, a station's license can be revoked after receiving two official warnings.

The Web site Lower Hudson Journal has coverage of the release of filmmaker Andrew Berends, who had been detained in Nigeria since August 31. Berends flew from Nigeria to Germany last night after spending 10 days beign questioned by the Nigerian military on suspicion of espionage. His Nigerian translator, Samuel George, continues to face interrogation by authorities.

Also today, the Web site Electronic Iraq is re-running our alert from September 8 about the release of Iraqi cameraman Omar Husham, who was detained by U.S. forces last week.

The BBC published an interview today with imprisoned Afghan journalism student Parwez Kambakhsh in Kabul's main prison. The interview was also broadcast on the BBC's "Today" program. 

Kambakhsh told BBC journalist Alastair Leithead: "The whole trial was unfair from the beginning."

Security officials detained Kambakhsh in October 2007 on blasphemy charges and a closed court sentenced him to death in January on the recommendation of clerics in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif where he lived. The court said he had downloaded and distributed anti-Islamic literature from the Internet, which he denies. His supporters were hopeful when his case made it to a Kabul appeal court in May. But the trial appears to have stalled.

At the Foreign Ministry's weekly press conference today, Jiang Yu, the ministry's spokeswoman, left hanging for now whether or not China will continue allowing foreign journalists to travel around China without asking permission from the government, or whether they will be allowed to interview anyone who agrees to speak with them. The new relaxed rules were temporarily put into place in January 2007, as part of China's pledge to allow reporters unrestricted freedom during the Olympic Games. China had made the broad promise of unrestricted coverage in 2001, when it was bidding to win this summer's Games.

The San Francisco-based Web site Indy Media has posted another article about the arrests of journalists at the GOP Convention last week, with specific attention paid to the case of Democracy Now! reporter Amy Goodman. CPJ reported on the arrest of Goodman and other journalists covering the RNC last week, and posted videos of the arrests here.

Reuters has coverage of the release of Iraqi cameraman Omar Hisham, who was detained by the U.S. military on Thursday. The story quotes our reporting on the release: "We welcome the release of Omar Hisham, but worry about the apparent uptick in journalist detentions," said CPJ's executive director Joel Simon. A second Iraqi journalist, Ibrahim Jassam, a freelance photographer for Reuters, was arrested last week during a raid at his home and is still in U.S. custody.

Also this morning, The Associated Press is running a story about the attempted bombing of an Arab TV correspondent's vehicle in Baghdad yesterday. The bomb was detected on the car as it waited to pick up Arab TV's chief correspondent Juwad al-Hattab, the apparent target of the foiled attack.

A couple of weeks ago we reported on Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, who was detained by Terrorist Investigation Division forces in March. At first glance, his arrest seemed related to a Tamil news site he edits. But local journalists tell us the site was innocuous and as the months passed, no charges were forthcoming.

Then in August, he was suddenly charged with promoting terrorism through a magazine he published for a brief period in 2006. There was no explanation for the anachronism.

In the news today, Reuters is covering the provisional weekend release of American filmmaker Andrew Berends in Nigeria. Berends was arrested on espionage charges by the Nigerian military along with his translator Samuel George on August 31. VOA News and The Lower Hudson News are also running stories about his release.

The Washington-based Web site One World is running a piece about CPJ's and other rights groups' condemnation of the arrest of journalists in St. Paul during the Republican National Convention. The article quotes CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon, who expressed his concern that "police in St. Paul prevented journalists from covering a breaking story."

Also today, the Sri Lankan news Web site TamilNet has a piece about the continued imprisonment of magazine journalist J.S Tissanayagam. He was indicted on terrorism charges for articles he published in 2006.

Killings and attacks on journalists in the North Caucasus region of Russia continues to be in the news today, with Philadelphia-based newspaper The Bulletin running a story about the violence.

Web site Reclaim the Media has reporting about the arrests of various journalists covering the RNC, and mentions our coverage. The Huffington Post also had a blog entry yesterday about the arrests in St. Paul and the lack of coverage on them.

Britain's The Telegraph online has a long piece analyzing Cuban life in the post-Castro era and cites our research on the continued repression of a free press there, pointing out that "Cuba is still one of the world's most censored nations."

Freelance American journalist Andrew Berends and his translator, Nigerian Samuel George have been in the custody of Nigerian State Security Services in Port Harcourt since they were arrested on August 31. Berends, an award-winning filmmaker, legally entered Nigeria in April to complete a documentary called "Delta Boys" about the region's oil conflict.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today to ask her to press the Nigerian government to release Berends. Click here to read the letter.

This Monday, the fourth anniversary of the Beslan school hostage crisis, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sedated a Siberian tiger to save--or so legend has it--a state television crew.

As survivors of the Beslan tragedy gathered at the graveyard outside the North Ossetian town to mourn the more than 330 victims--mostly children--killed in the massacre, Putin was roaming the wilderness of Russia's far east. Roaming it with television cameras and a tranquilizer gun.

The news of the arrest American filmmaker Andrew Berends in Nigeria is the focus of stories in The New York Times and the African Press Agency this morning. According  to CPJ's research, Berends and his Nigerian translator, Samuel Geroge, were both arrested by Nigerian authorities on August 31. 

Violence in Russia continues to be in the news today, with The Independent running additional coverage of the death of Magomed Yevloyev. Reuters' Web site AlertNet is also covering the death and subsequent protests at Yevloyev's funeral. The Associated Press is also reporting on more aggression against journalists in the North Caucasus region of Russia, where a TV journalist has been shot and killed and a reporter for an opposition paper has been beaten and seriously injured.

Also, AP has updated its monthly feature on key numbers from the war in Iraq, using our number of journalists killed there since 2003: 132.

Many in Egypt still dread the month of September. Twenty-seven years ago, the government arbitrarily jailed hundreds of civil society activists of different political and religious leanings, including journalists. The capricious crackdown, which occurred only a few weeks before President Anwar Sadat's assassination on October 6, 1981, by a radical Islamist was spurred by unsubstantiated and politically motivated charges.

The detainees, among them scores of the country's most prominent lawyers, academics, and journalists, were charged with fomenting sedition and undermining the regime's stability and violating its "Law of Shame," which made it illegal to spread rumors likely to damage the state.

Four editors are due to appear before two Cairo appeal courts later this month for defaming President Hosni Mubarak and his top aides and spreading rumors about the aging president's health. Surely, they must have in the back of their minds the ominous crackdown on the media and political dissenters that helped lead Egypt to the brink of disaster in September 1981.

Both the BBC and The International Herald Tribune have coverage of protests at the funeral of slain Russian journalist Magomed Yevloyev. We released a statement yesterday about the death of Yevloyev, the owner of Ingushetiya Web site, who was found dead after being taken into police custody. Roza Malsagova, the editor of the site, fled Russia in July after being beaten and harrassed by Ingush authorities.

CPJ reported on the kidnapping of Zurab Tsechoyev, editor of Mashr, a human rights Web site in Ingushetia, in late July.

Also in the news today, violence in Kashmir continues to prevent journalists from working. An article on the Web site Kashmir Newz contends that police attacks against the media were "probably deliberate designs of state agencies." CPJ has released two alerts on the violence and censorship in the region. Several other outlets covered this story over the weekend, including Kashmir Watch, the Associated Press of Pakistan, and The Daily Times of Pakistan.