Alerts

New York, August 19, 2010--Formerly imprisoned Cuban journalists Fabio Prieto Llorente and Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta arrived in Spain today, bringing to 13 the number of imprisoned reporters who were freed this year as part of an agreement between the Cuban Catholic Church and the government of President Raúl Castro.

New York, August 18, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the whereabouts of Vasyl Klymentyev, chief editor and reporter for the Kharkiv-based weekly newspaper Novyi Stil (New Style), who has been missing for a week.

New York, August 18, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to reverse a six-year prison sentence against Iranian journalist Badressadat Mofidi.

Mofidi was formerly the secretary-general of the Association of Iranian Journalists in Tehran, an organization that was established by prominent journalists in 1997 and shut down by the authorities in 2009.

New York, August 18, 2010--A Venezuelan court's decision to ban print media from publishing images of violence is an attempt to censor news coverage of widespread crime in the weeks leading up to the September 26 legislative elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

New York, August 17, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the detention of a blogger and human rights activist since Friday. The official Bahrain News Agency quoted a security source claiming that Abduljalil Alsingace was arrested based on national security concerns that could "damage the country's stability." The unnamed security official went on to say that Alsingace had "abused the freedom of opinion and expression prevailing in the kingdom."

Manila, August 17, 2010--The opening trial date for 17 men accused of murder and other crimes in the killing of 57 people--32 of them journalists or media workers--in southern Philippines in November 2009 has been set for September 1. Quezon City Regional Trial Court Justice Jocelyn Solis-Reyes set the date in a pre-trial hearing in the Manila suburb of Taguig City, in a secure courtroom at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

New York, August 16, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland to immediately release jailed radio journalist Abdifatah Jama, who was sentenced on Saturday to six years in prison on charges related to an interview with Islamic rebel leader Sheikh Mohamed Said Atom.

New York, August 16, 2010--Weekend grenade attacks against the Monterrey and Matamoros offices of the national broadcaster Televisa reflect another attempt by organized crime to intimidate the Mexican news media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.