New York, February 4, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Egyptian criminal court’s decision on Tuesday to sentence a journalist to one year in prison and a fine of 60,000 Egyptian pounds (US$10,500) on criminal charges filed by another journalist who is also a member of parliament.
Committee to Protect Journalists
Egypt
CPJ finds jump
in imprisonments
At least 136 journalists are now in jail, a nine percent increase over 2008. CPJ's census of imprisoned journalists shows that freelancers and online journalists are increasingly vulnerable. Those jailed include Sri Lankan columnist J.S. Tissainayagam, left.• Database of jailed journalists
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New York, December 8, 2009—Freelancers now make up nearly 45 percent of all journalists jailed worldwide, a dramatic recent increase that reflects the evolution of the global news business, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In its annual census of imprisoned journalists, CPJ found a total of 136 reporters, editors, and photojournalists behind bars on December 1, an increase of 11 from the 2008 tally. (Read detailed accounts of each imprisoned journalist.) A massive crackdown in Iran, where 23 journalists are now in jail, fueled the worldwide increase.
When the Gulf War broke out in 1990, the world watched the horrors of conflict on live television. It caused a massive leap in media. When the Internet became widely accessible later that decade, the exchange of information in a single second signaled the dawn of another new age. News not only proliferated, it could be seen by anyone with online access. At the start of the new millennium, blogs became an easy and open way for anyone to write free of restrictions or censorship, about any topic of interest, be it personal, technical, economic, politically oppositional, or in support of a specific cause.
In the Middle East and North Africa , where political change occurs slowly, blogging has becomes a serious medium for social and political commentary as well as a target of government suppression. By Mohamed Abdel Dayem
In our special report “Middle East Bloggers: The Street Leads Online,” CPJ’s Mohamed Abdel Dayem says blogging has become a crucial front in the region's struggle for freedom of expression. Here, Abdel Dayem describes how two regional trends--booming Internet audiences and repression of traditional media--have made blogging a vibrant news alternative. Listen to the mp3 on the player above, or right click here to download. (2:05)
A piece in the Columbia Journalism Review raised questions
about CPJ's support of several bloggers in
New York, July 24, 2009--The Committee to Protect
Journalists called on the Egyptian authorities today to explain why they have
detained three bloggers this week without charge.
Dear Mr. President: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing ahead of your scheduled speech in Cairo on June 4 to bring to your attention important matters that are crucial to the long-term success of your stated goal of engaging the people--and not just the regimes--of the Arab and Muslim worlds.
On Thursday, I
participated in a panel discussion about media in the
CPJ names the worst online oppressors. Booming online cultures in many Asian and Middle Eastern nations
have led to aggressive government repression.
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