Blog: November 2012 Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

Blog | China

Confusion grows around missing Tibetan monk filmmaker

By Madeline Earp/CPJ Asia Senior Research Associate

Not unusually, an already confusing situation in Tibet just got worse. Twenty-seven Tibetans have self-immolated in protest against Chinese this month alone, according to Human Rights Watch. That's almost one a day. Against this chaotic backdrop, Chinese authorities have issued an arrest order for a missing monk who helped film a 2008 documentary about life in Tibet, according to his film company, Filming for Tibet.

CPJ supporters will know that we just honored self-taught Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen with an International Press Freedom Award, recognizing his courage documenting life under Chinese rule with full knowledge that he would face severe repercussions (he is serving a six-year jail term--you can join our petition for his release here). So we've been following with concern the latest reports that his assistant on that project, the monk Jigme Gyatso, has been missing, reportedly detained, since September.

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Blog | Argentina

In battle with Argentine president, a misstep by Clarín

By Daniel Bilotta/CPJ Guest Blogger

The debut of the HD version of Grupo Clarín's cable news station TN could not have come at a worse time for the Argentine media conglomerate. Conspicuously missing from Monday's premiere was coverage of a new criminal complaint in which Clarín's lawyers accused the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of inciting violence against the media group. In what the company now acknowledges was a misstep, the complaint named six pro-government journalists.

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Blog | Philippines

To fight impunity, cycle of fear, silence must be broken

By María Salazar-Ferro/Coordinator, Impunity Campaign & Journalist Assistance Program

Three years ago, on November 23, 2009, 30 journalists and two media workers were brutally killed in the southern Philippine city of Maguindanao while travelling in a convoy with the family and supporters of a local politician. To this day, not a single suspect has been convicted, though local authorities have identified close to 200. The botched trial has been stalled with procedural hurdles. Victims' families have been threatened and key witnesses have been slain.

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Blog | Brazil, China, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, UK

Awardees say indignation trumps intimidation

By Elana Beiser/CPJ Senior Editor

The battle for a free press sometimes feels like a war between indignation and intimidation. Journalists learn of abuses of power, crime, or corruption, and--indignant--they speak out. In response, the perpetrators of those abuses--be they government officials or criminals--try to intimidate the journalists into silence with threats, lawsuits, jail, or even murder. Last night, the Committee to Protect Journalists paid tribute to a handful of journalists for whom indignation is a driving force, no matter the scale of intimidation.

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Blog | India

Arrests over Facebook comments fan debate in India

By Sumit Galhotra/CPJ Steiger Fellow

The arrest of two women in India this week because of posting and "liking" an opinion on Facebook has further inflamed debate over the right to freedom of expression in the world's largest democracy.

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Blog | Turkey

Turkey, jailer of journalists, hedges bets on democracy

By Kati Marton/CPJ Board Member

More reporters are jailed in Turkey than in any other country in the world. According to CPJ's recent survey, at least 61 are imprisoned directly for their work, representing the second biggest media crackdown in the 27 years we have been documenting such records. (Only Turkey itself has rivaled the extent of this crackdown, when it jailed 78 journalists in 1996.) In the country hailed as the model moderate Islamic republic, how is this possible?

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Blog | Pakistan

In Karachi, a trail of death and impunity in Babar case

By Sumit Galhotra/CPJ Steiger Fellow

Haider Ali, an eyewitness to the 2011 murder of Geo TV reporter Wali Khan Babar, was gunned down on Sunday, two days before he was set to testify in the trial of five suspects. The murder sent shockwaves across Pakistan--one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists and one of the worst in bringing the killers to justice. According to the prosecutor in the case, Ali had identified several suspects as being involved in Babar's murder in a recent statement before a judicial magistrate. His killing was the latest in a series of murders that have targeted people linked to the Babar investigation. Five others--including eyewitnesses, police officers, an informant, and a family member of an investigator--have also been murdered.

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Blog | China

What China's new leadership means for press freedom

By Madeline Earp/CPJ Asia Senior Research Associate

Like many China watchers, we at CPJ have been struggling to interpret obscure floor markings and tie colors on display in Beijing as new Communist Party leaders were appointed in a rare leadership hand-off today. The names of the top seven are no longer in doubt. But the real question everyone's asking is: What does it mean (for press freedom)?

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Blog | China

Tibetan voices censored around China's Party Congress

By Madeline Earp/CPJ Asia Senior Research Associate

Reports of a massive surveillance operation in Tibet and harassment of journalists covering Tibetan issues cast a shadow over eagerly anticipated leadership appointments expected tomorrow in Beijing.

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Blog | Kyrgyzstan

In UN complaint, Azimjon Askarov seeks justice, freedom

By Muzaffar Suleymanov/CPJ Europe and Central Asia Research Associate

Lawyers for imprisoned investigative reporter Azimjon Askarov, who is serving a life term in Kyrgyzstan on charges widely seen as politically motivated, filed an appeal today with the U.N. Human Rights Committee that seeks his release.

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Blog | China

In China, kids ask the tough questions at Party Congress

By Madeline Earp/CPJ Asia Senior Research Associate

When a nation's most outspoken journalists are 11-year-olds, is it a good sign for the future? On the one hand, they might grow up to ask probing questions. On the other hand, they might end up following the path taken by their older peers and stick to scripted exchanges.

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Blog | Mexico

Officials, journalists cast doubt on Veracruz murder case

By Mike O'Connor/CPJ Mexico Representative

Veracruz is a beautiful, long, thin state on the Gulf coast of Mexico where many journalists are terrified not only of the rampant organized crime groups that kill and control, but also of the state government. Fear that state officials will order them murdered for what they investigate or write has forced about a dozen journalists to flee the state, claiming that fear also puts a clamp on coverage for those who remain. Many journalists still working in the state tell CPJ they agree.

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Blog | Belarus, CPJ, Philippines, Russia

Twenty-three days to take action against impunity

By María Salazar-Ferro/Coordinator, Impunity Campaign and Journalist Assistance Program

Approximately 30 journalists are targeted and murdered every year, and on average, in only three of these crimes are the killers ever brought to justice. Other attacks on freedom of expression occur daily: bloggers are threatened, photographers beaten, writers kidnapped. And in those instances, justice is even more rare. Today, the Committee to Protect Journalists joins freedom of expression advocates worldwide in a 23-day campaign to dismantle one case at a time a culture of impunity that allows perpetrators to gag journalists, bloggers, photographers and writers, while keeping the rest of us uninformed.

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Blog | Sri Lanka

UPDATED: A window of opportunity to take on Sri Lanka

By Bob Dietz/CPJ Asia Program Coordinator

If you've been watching the attempts to silence media in Sri Lanka through attacks, disappearances, legal harassment, and government policies aimed at restricting free speech and the right to information, take the time to speak out with others around the world today. An opportunity like this only comes around every four years.

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Committee to Protect Journalists

CPJ Blog

Press Freedom News and Views

November 2012 Archives

Confusion grows around missing Tibetan monk filmmaker

In battle with Argentine president, a misstep by Clarín

To fight impunity, cycle of fear, silence must be broken

Awardees say indignation trumps intimidation

Arrests over Facebook comments fan debate in India

Turkey, jailer of journalists, hedges bets on democracy

In Karachi, a trail of death and impunity in Babar case

What China's new leadership means for press freedom

Tibetan voices censored around China's Party Congress

In UN complaint, Azimjon Askarov seeks justice, freedom

In China, kids ask the tough questions at Party Congress

Officials, journalists cast doubt on Veracruz murder case

Twenty-three days to take action against impunity

UPDATED: A window of opportunity to take on Sri Lanka

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Attacks on the Press

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