Alerts

New York, December 30, 2010--Honduran radio reporter and cable news presenter Henry Suazo was shot to death Tuesday morning as he was leaving his home in La Masica, a town in Atlántida province, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Honduran authorities to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the killing. 

New York, December 30, 2010--Azerbaijan's Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev's motion to be freed pending his appeal of a drug conviction, the Turan news agency reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists has concluded the drug charge was falsified as a means of keeping Fatullayev in jail despite European Court of Human Rights' rulings that he be released immediately.

New York, December 29, 2010--Belarusian authorities continued their massive crackdown on critical news media on Tuesday as security agents raided offices shared by the independent weekly Nasha Niva and the Belarusian PEN Center.

New York, December 28, 2010--The death of Sun Hongjie, a senior reporter at the Northern Xinjiang Morning Post, must be fully investigated by regional authorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and by central authorities in Beijing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Sun died in a hospital in Kuitun today, 10 days after being beaten by several men at a construction site, international news reports said. 

New York, December 27, 2010--Belarusian authorities must immediately halt their assault on independent and pro-opposition news media, a crackdown that has led to unjust detentions, raids, and seizures, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

New York, December 22, 2010--A Kenyan journalist whose reporting has helped expose and publicize the unsolved 2009 murder of reporter Francis Nyaruri received two anonymous threatening phone calls on Friday warning he could "share Nyaruri's fate," according to local journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on authorities to thoroughly investigate the threats and provide Sam Owida, a reporter for the private daily Nation, with protection.

New York, December 21, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the prison sentences handed down to journalists who reported on post-election protests in Belarus, and the anti-media rhetoric by President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

New York, December 21, 2010--Authorities should immediately release Congolese radio journalist Robert Shemahamba, who has been held in the eastern city of Uvira since Friday in connection with a political program critical of local officials, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

New York, December 20, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the violent government crackdown against journalists covering demonstrations in Minsk against Sunday's flawed presidential vote won by President Aleksandr Lukashenko. Security police have arrested at least 20 journalists and beaten at least 20 more between the outbreak of rallies Sunday evening and their forcible dispersal in the early morning, according to local news reports.

New York, December 17, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists joins with Indonesian journalist groups in calling for a full and vigorous investigation into the death of an editor on Kisar, one of the eastern Maluku Islands. Alfrets Mirulewan, chief editor of the Pelangi Weekly, was found with bruises on much of his body at 3 a.m. today, according to Indonesian media reports. He had been missing since Tuesday night.

New York, December 16, 2010--A senior Rwandan presidential adviser should immediately retract a grave and unsubstantiated public accusation against a journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

New York, December 14, 2010--The Venezuelan legislature should reject proposed legal reforms that would harm freedom of expression, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Legislation that would regulate Internet content and could force broadcaster Globovisión off the air are up for consideration this week in the Venezuelan National Assembly.

New York, December 14, 2010--In a continuation of its relentless attack on independent and opposition media, Iranian authorities have arrested three journalists from the daily Sharq, bringing the number of the newspaper's incarcerated staffers to seven in less than a week, according to news reports. In other developments, veteran journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, at left, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison, the BBC reported, and blogger Hossein Derakhshan was returned to jail after being temporarily released on bail, according to a blog entry posted by his family on Saturday. 

New York, December 10, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns harassment of the Lebanese news website Al-Akhbar after it published U.S. diplomatic cables that were first disclosed by WikiLeaks. The website was hacked this week by unknown attackers, while the Tunisian government blocked domestic access to the site. Saudi officials blocked access to the independent website Elaph, which also published some of the cables.

New York, December 10, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is relieved that the Khimki City Court has overturned the defamation conviction of editor Mikhail Beketov, a verdict that had been condemned in Russia and abroad. 

New York, December 10, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Chinese authorities' censorship of news reports covering today's ceremony in Oslo awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned writer Liu Xiaobo.

New York, December 7, 2010--Ecuadoran authorities must fully investigate a vicious attack against sports reporter Guido Manolo Campaña, who was abducted, beaten, and threatened while on assignment in the northern coastal province of Esmeraldas, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, December 6, 2010--A court in Jendouba is expected to rule Wednesday in a criminal case against Mouldi Zouabi, a senior reporter for the online news outlet Kalima. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tunisian authorities to drop the charges, which have been brought in reprisal for Zouabi's critical journalism.

New York, December 6, 2010--Authorities in Sindh province must fully investigate Sunday's shooting death of Pakistani journalist Mehmood Chandio, president of the Mirpurkhas press club and bureau chief for the Sindhi-language television Awaz, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, December 3, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that Belarusian prosecutors have closed their investigation into the September death of Aleh Byabenin, founder and director of the Minsk-based, pro-opposition news website Charter 97. Authorities said Wednesday that they did not find evidence of foul play.

New York, December 3, 2010--Ivorian authorities should immediately lift a ban imposed Thursday on France-based news broadcasters covering the contested presidential election, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, December 1, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by a violent attack and continuing threats against Nepalese journalist Shreedeep Rayamajhi in connection with his online reporting.

New York, November 30, 2010--Heads of state and high-ranking officials representing 55 participating states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) must urge the current OSCE chair, Kazakhstan, to make good on its press freedom commitments when they meet in Astana for a regional summit this week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ has repeatedly asked the OSCE to ensure that Kazakhstan's poor press freedom record is placed high on the December 1-2 summit's agenda. 

New York, November 23, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a one-year prison sentence given to Mohammed Abdulqader al-Jassem, a Kuwaiti writer and journalist, on Monday. A criminal court convicted al-Jassem of criminal defamation in connection with an article he published on his personal news blog, Al-Mizan. The case is only one of 18 that the government has filed against the journalist in the past year.

New York, November 17, 2010--Iranian authorities announced on Tuesday that two German reporters for Bild am Sonntag will be charged with espionage, according to international news reports. They were arrested in October while interviewing the son of a woman sentenced to death by stoning on charges of adultery. The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by these developments and calls on Iranian authorities to drop the charges and release the reporters immediately.

New York, November 16, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Singapore High Court's sentencing of British author Alan Shadrake to prison over his book criticizing the nation's judiciary.

New York, November 12, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that Kyrgyz journalist Azimjon Askarov has been beaten repeatedly in custody.

New York, November 11, 2010--Zimbabwean police should withdraw an arrest warrant issued last week against exiled editor Wilf Mbanga concerning a 2008 story about the murder of an election official, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, November 11, 2010--Russia's top investigator, Aleksandr Bastrykin, today ordered the reopening of a probe into a near-lethal November 2008 attack on Mikhail Beketov, editor of the independent newspaper Khimkinskaya Pravda. Bastrykin's order comes a day after a court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki convicted Beketov of criminally slandering local mayor Vladimir Strelchenko. The conviction, coming at a time when Beketov's assailants are walking free, drew international condemnation.

New York, November 10, 2010--Egyptian authorities must immediately release blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman, known online as Karim Amer, who completed his four-year prison sentence on November 5, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ also calls on authorities to investigate and punish a security officer who reportedly assaulted Amer on Tuesday.

New York, November 8, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the presidential pardon and release today of radio journalist Abdifatah Jama, who was imprisoned in August for airing an interview with an Islamist rebel leader in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. CPJ had repeatedly called for his release.

Jama, deputy director of Horseed Media, had begun serving a six-year prison sentence after being convicted on treason charges in a closed-door trial. Jama had appealed the ruling, which was based on his authorization of an interview with Sheikh Mohamed Said Atom, who has waged a guerrilla war against the Puntland administration since 2005. 

New York, November 8, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces two attacks on journalists in the Moscow region and calls on authorities to end impunity in crimes against reporters in Russia. Both victims, Oleg Kashin of the business daily Kommersant and Anatoly Adamchuk of the independent weekly Zhukovskiye Vesti, have covered a contentious highway project that would go through a forest in the Moscow suburb of Khimki. Kashin worked on a number of other sensitive subjects as well.

New York, November 8, 2010--Burma must immediately release Toru Yamaji, a reporter with Tokyo-based APF news agency, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yamaji, 49, was detained Sunday in Myawaddy, on the country's eastern border with Thailand while trying to cover the country's first elections in two decades, according to international media reports, which quoted Japan's embassy in Rangoon. He was flown to the capital after being detained, the embassy was reported as saying.

New York, November 8, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for a thorough investigation into the shooting death of crime reporter Carlos Alberto Guajardo Romero, who was killed on Friday during crossfire between the Mexican army and gunmen in the border city of Matamoros, local news reports said. The shooting was among a series of violent events that took place the same day in Matamoros, and led to the killing of Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén, leader of the Gulf drug cartel.

New York, November 2, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the Iraqi authorities' decision to close down Al-Baghdadia TV offices in Iraq. The closure of the Cairo-based satellite channel was announced after it broadcast the demands of gunmen who attacked a church in Baghdad on Sunday. Fifty-eight people were killed during the siege, according to news reports.

New York, November 1, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a government ban on the publication of Malawian weekly tabloid The Weekend Times today. In a letter dated October 28, the National Archives of Malawi issued an immediate suspension of The Weekend Times on charges of failing to register the paper, according to news reports.

New York, October 29, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls upon authorities in Ethiopia's northeastern region of Afar to release a journalist who has been held without charge since September 11.

New York, October 29, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Gabonese authorities to free a journalist who was jailed on Tuesday for failing to pay exorbitant damages stemming from a 2004 civil libel suit.

Bangkok, October 28, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest and detention of Vietnamese blogger Le Nguyen Huong Tra. Her arrest is the latest episode in a mounting crackdown on bloggers leading up to a crucial Communist Party congress scheduled for January 2011.

New York, October 25, 2010--Pakistan must take immediate steps to rein in police and government agencies that threaten reporters. Two cases in recent days--those of journalists Hafiz Imran and Umar Cheema--demonstrate how reporting on stories that are critical of the authorities can bring officials' wrath down on reporters.

New York, October 22, 2010--CPJ is concerned by Vietnamese authorities' recent crackdown against several bloggers and one print journalist.

New York, October 22, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a recent statement from Swaziland's Prime Minister, Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, announcing his intention to create a law requiring newspaper columnists to seek permission before they write critically about the government.

New York, October 22, 2010--A popular Angolan radio commentator, whose satirical broadcasts have been critical of the government, was injured in a stabbing this morning in the capital city of Luanda, according to local journalists and news reports.

Bangkok, October 22, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the 13-year prison sentence handed down last week by a Burmese court to Nyi Nyi Tun, editor of the Kandarawaddy news publication.

New York, October 21, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the health of imprisoned Tunisian journalist Fahem Boukadous. We call upon the Tunisian government to release him immediately.

New York, October 20, 2010--Brazilian police on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of killing radio reporter Francisco Gomes de Medeiros in the city of Caicó, state of Rio Grande do Norte, local press reports said. Gomes was shot to death Monday in front of his house. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the arrest and calls on Brazilian authorities to prosecute all those responsible to the full extent of the law.

New York, October 19, 2010--A pair of assailants lobbed a grenade Monday evening at Horseed FM, a private radio station broadcasting from the port city of Bossasso, the economic capital of Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, according to local reports. After the grenade exploded, one of the attackers began shooting at an adjacent café, Horseed Managing Director Mahad M. Ahmed told CPJ.

New York, October 12, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately disclose the names of two Germans who were arrested on Sunday and described as journalists in several news reports. CPJ also asked Iranian officials to clarify the circumstances surrounding the arrests of the two individuals and to state what, if any, charges were filed against them.

New York, October 12, 2010--Cuban journalist Alfredo Felipe Fuentes, left, was freed from prison on Friday and exiled to Spain as part of a July agreement between the Havana government and the Catholic Church. Seventeen journalists jailed in the 2003 Black Spring crackdown have now been freed and exiled as part of the agreement. "I feel as if I was born again, trying to get used to cell phones, personal computers and emails, all things that were barely known in Cuba before I was jailed," Fuentes told CPJ in a telephone interview.

New York, October 7, 2010--Authorities in Somaliland should immediately lift a suspension order imposed against the UK-based satellite broadcaster Universal TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The order bars the station's correspondents from reporting in the breakaway republic in northern Somalia, Khadar Mahamed, Universal TV senior newscaster and producer, told CPJ.

New York, October 8, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Chinese government to end its pointless attempts to block the news by blacking out domestic and foreign media coverage of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's announcement awarding jailed human rights activist Liu Xiaobo the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. 

According to foreign news agencies' reports from China, news of the award is almost non-existent in China's media and has been blacked out from international news broadcasts on the BBC and CNN. 

New York, October 7, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the deterioration of press freedoms in Egypt ahead of November's parliamentary elections and next year's presidential vote. In particular, CPJ is concerned over the firing on Tuesday of Ibrahim Eissa, the editor-in-chief and founder of the independent daily Al-Dustour.

New York, October 7, 2010--A Panamanian court of appeals has convicted two TV journalists of criminal defamation and banned them from professional work for one year, news reports said. While President Ricardo Martinelli said he would pardon the journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today that lawmakers should repeal all criminal penalties for defamation.

New York, October 6, 2010--Detectives with the federal Investigative Committee, the Russian agency responsible for investigating serious crimes, say they are probing a widening circle of suspects in the 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

New York, October 4, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the killing earlier today of freelance cameraman Tahrir Kadhim Jawad, 27, and expressed concern over the rising trend of fatal attacks on journalists in Iraq.

New York, October 1, 2010--As a police rebellion threw Ecuador into chaos on Thursday, the government of President Rafael Correa ordered local radio and TV stations to interrupt programming and carry state news broadcasts. A dozen reporters were injured covering the police revolt. Today, the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the government's censorship of broadcast media and called on local authorities to investigate and prosecute those responsible for attacks on journalists.

Moscow, September 30, 2010--Top Russian investigators have pledged to pursue 19 cases of murdered journalists presented to them by a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists, reopening several closed cases and pursuing new leads in a number of other probes.

New York, September 28, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the government's ongoing offensive against critical journalists in Iran. A Revolutionary Court today sentenced blogger Hossein Derakhshan, left, to 19 and a half years in prison, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran quoted the Farsi news website Mashreq as saying. And on Monday, Iranian authorities informed the lawyer of Issa Saharkhiz, a prominent columnist and founding member of the Association of Iranian ‎Journalists, that he has been sentenced to three years in prison, a five-year ban on political and journalistic activities, and a one-year travel ban, the reformist news website Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz reported.

New York, September 28, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Dubai to allow for due process in the criminal defamation trial of Mark Townsend, a freelance journalist and regular contributor to The Washington Times. The trial is set to begin on Wednesday.

Bangkok, September 27, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest of Malaysian cartoonist Zulkifli Awar Ulhaque, also known as Zunar, a contributor to the popular news site Malaysiakini and author of a new collection of political cartoons. 

New York, September 27, 2010--Imprisoned Cuban journalist Miguel Galván Gutierrez was released from jail and flown to Madrid on Saturday as part of a July agreement between the Havana government and the Catholic Church. Sixteen journalists jailed in the 2003 Black Spring crackdown have now been freed and exiled as part of the agreement.

Bangkok, September 27, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned by cyber-attacks against three exile-run Burma news outlets, Irrawaddy, Mizzima News, and the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks have shut Irrawaddy's main website while temporarily blocking access to Mizzima's site.

New York, September 26, 2010--On the eve of a high-profile conference on press freedom in Rabat, the Committee to Protect Journalists reiterates its call to King Mohammed VI to use his constitutional prerogatives to bring Moroccan legislation in line with international standards for freedom of expression. CPJ also urged the monarch to end the use of the judiciary and other government agencies to harass critical journalists. 

Bangkok, September 24, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest today of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, editor of the popular Thailand news website Prachatai, on charges of insulting the royal family. 

New York, September 24, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces Algerian authorities' harassment of two Moroccan journalists who were effectively detained for four days in the town of Tindouf in southwestern Algeria. 

New York, September 24, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today's release of three journalists detained in Afghanistan over the past week. 

Mexico City, September 22, 2010--Calling the right to free expression a priority of his government, Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa pledged today to push for legislation that would make attacks on journalists a federal crime. In a lengthy meeting with a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Inter American Press Association, the president also said federal authorities will soon implement a program to provide security to at-risk journalists, one modeled after a successful effort in Colombia.

New York, September 22, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the detention of two Afghan journalists seized by International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in early-morning raids at their homes this week.

New York, September 20, 2010--Authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa must thoroughly investigate Thursday's murder of Mujeebur Rehman Siddique, the second killing of a journalist in the province in one week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, September 16, 2010--The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that media premises are exempt from police searches, marking a major victory for press freedom across the continent on Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. CPJ had joined in the amicus curiae.

New York, September 15, 2010--The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) today released the result of a five-month-long investigation into the death of Sardasht Osman, a freelance journalist who was shot to death in May. The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the deficient inquiry and calls on Kurdish authorities to conduct a thorough and credible investigation into Osman's death.  

New York, September 15, 2010--Unidentified assailants beat and killed news presenter Dickson Ssentongo Monday morning on his way to work at Prime Radio in Mukono district, central Uganda. Assailants beat Ssentongo with metal bars and dragged him into a nearby cassava field, local journalists told CPJ. He was the second journalist murdered in three days in Uganda.

New York, September 15, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by the conviction and life sentence handed to human rights reporter Azimjon Askarov by a court in Jalal-Abad region, southern Kyrgyzstan, today. 

New York, September 9, 2010---The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about an Indonesian Supreme Court ruling against Erwin Arnada, editor of the now-dormant Playboy Indonesia. Arnada faces up to two years in jail after prosecutors said recently that they would enforce a 2009 Supreme Court ruling that found the magazine's editor guilty of public indecency, according to news reports.

New York, September 8, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iraqi authorities to thoroughly investigate the murder of Safa al-Din Abdel Hamid, an Al-Mosuliya television presenter who was shot this morning in front of his Mosul home by gunmen firing from a speeding car, according to news accounts.

New York, September 8, 2010--Víctor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, a Cuban journalist imprisoned since March 2003, was freed and flown to Madrid today, bringing to 15 the number of editors and reporters released following July talks between the government of President Raúl Castro and the Catholic Church.

New York, September 7, 2010--A well-known TV anchor was found stabbed to death outside his home in Kabul on Sunday, according to international news reports. Sayed Hamid Noori worked for the state network Radio Television Afghanistan and was active in the National Union of Afghan Journalists. In 2004, he served as the spokesman for an opponent of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and remained allied with political opposition groups.

New York, September 7, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the deaths of a cameraman and media support worker who suffered fatal injuries during violence on Friday in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's restive Baluchistan province. 

New York, September 7, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bahraini authorities to release Ali Abdel Imam, a leading online journalist who was arrested Saturday on charges of spreading "false information." The arrest is the latest in the government's ongoing crackdown on dissent.

New York, September 7, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the weekend release of Japanese freelance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka, who spent more than five months in captivity in Afghanistan.

New York, September 7, 2010--Riad al-Saray, an anchorman for Al-Iraqiya television, was killed this morning when a group of unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car in western Baghdad, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Iraqi authorities to thoroughly investigate the murder and bring the perpetrators to justice.

New York, September 2, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Kuala Lumpur to drop a criminal charge against blogger Irwan Abdul Rahman. He was charged today with "intent to hurt" in connection with a satirical entry on his blog, nose4news, that made fun of Malaysia's state-run power company Tenaga, news accounts said.

New York, September 1, 2010--Unknown assailants fatally stabbed radio journalist Abdullahi Omar Gedi in the Galkayo district of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia, on Tuesday evening. Gedi, 25, had just left work at Radio Daljir when attackers stabbed him repeatedly and left him unconscious, the station's managing partner, Jama Abshir, told CPJ. Gedi died of his injuries in the General Hospital of Galkayo.

New York, August 31, 2010--Bahrainian prosecutors have banned journalists from reporting on the detentions of dozens of opposition activists, according to news accounts. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to lift the censorship order immediately.

New York, August 31, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns threatening comments made by President Bingu wa Mutharika against Malawian news outlets last week. Mutharika threatened to close newspapers that report critically about his administration after the private weeklies Malawi News and Weekend Nation cited a regional agency's report forecasting food shortages in the country, local journalists told CPJ.

New York, August 24, 2010--Veteran radio journalist Barkhat Awale, at left, was killed by crossfire today in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, according to local journalists and news reports. He is the second journalist killed on duty in Somalia this year, according to CPJ research.

Manila, August 24, 2010--Nine months after the killing of 32 journalists and media workers in the southern Philippines, a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists met today with justice officials in Manila and called on the government of President Benigno Aquino to address pervasive impunity in the recurring murders of journalists in the country. 

New York, August 23, 2010--The alleged mastermind in the 2009 murder of Venezuelan journalist Orel Sambrano, at left, was arrested Thursday in Colombia and is now facing extradition to Venezuela, local and international press reported.

Colombian authorities arrested Walid Makled García in the city of Cúcuta, near the border with Venezuela, according to news reports. A warrant was issued in 2008 for Makled in Venezuela on drug trafficking charges. Venezuelan authorities issued warrants for him last year in connection to Sambrano's murder and for allegedly participating in the 2009 killing of a local veterinarian, The Associated Press reported.

New York, August 20, 2010--Bangladesh's Supreme Court should review and overturn jail terms and fines it gave to three journalists from a pro-opposition daily Thursday for contempt of court, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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.

New York, August 13, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkish authorities to release American journalist Jake Hess, who is being detained in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, according to the Turkish daily Hürriyet. Hess is accused of collaborating with the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), referred to in news reports as the "urban wing" of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).   

New York, August 12, 2010--Trumped-up charges of extremism against Ulugbek Abdusalomov, the editor of an independent newspaper, and Azimjon Askarov, a journalist and human rights defender, should be dropped immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, August 12, 2010--A car bomb exploded early this morning outside the building of national Caracol Radio in the capital city of Bogotá, causing serious damage and injuring at least nine people, local new reports said. President Juan Manuel Santos, who took office on Saturday, described the explosion as "a terrorist act," and said it was intended to create a climate of fear. Attorney General Guillermo Mendoza said the attack was aimed at the radio station, during an interview with Caracol. "It is an act of intimidation against the media," Mendoza said without providing any specifics.

New York, August 12, 2010--The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization should cancel the Obiang prize at its next session in October 2010, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 95 partner groups said in a letter to UNESCO Executive Board members today.

New York, August 11, 2010--Burundian police on Tuesday arrested Thierry Ndayishimiye, chief editor of the private weekly Arc-en-Ciel, on defamation charges related to a story about alleged government corruption. Ndayishimiye is the second Burundian editor to be jailed in less than a month.

New York, August 10, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by death threats made against journalists at the Sulaymaniyah-based Livin after the magazine published an interview that was critical of a 20^th-century Kurdish leader.

New York, August 9, 2010—The Sudanese government has announced it is suspending the BBC’s license to broadcast in Arabic on local FM frequencies in four northern cities, including the capital, Khartoum. Security personnel also informed editors in recent days that journalists who had not completed an extensive government questionnaire would be detained, journalists told CPJ.  

New York, August 5, 2010—A hunger strike by Evin Prison inmates, including at least five journalists, underscores inhumane conditions at the prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today as it called for the release of all journalists unjustly jailed for their work.

New York, August 5, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish Regional Government, to drop a defamation complaint against an opposition weekly, Rozhnama. The complaint, filed under Saddam Hussein-era criminal statutes, seeks US$1 billion in damages and the closing of the newspaper.

New York, August 5, 2010—Mexican federal police announced this morning the arrests of three men in connection with the abduction of four journalists taken captive on July 26, according to local press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists commends the swift capture of the suspects and calls on authorities to bring all those responsible to justice.

Nairobi, August 4, 2010—Police accused the online editor of The Ugandan Record, Timothy Kalyegira, of sedition Tuesday and searched his house today, Kalyegira told the Committee to Protect Journalists. The Media Offences Department commissioner of police, Simon Kuteesa, interrogated Kalyegira about two online articles that speculated as to whether the Ugandan government were involved in the July 11 bomb attacks in Kampala.

New York, August 3, 2010—Conflicting public statements by the police in Bicol province in the Philippines have complicated the investigation into the death of part-time radio reporter Miguel Belen, who was shot on July 9, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police should publicly clarify their findings, CPJ said.

New York, August 3, 2010—Assaf Abu Rahal, a reporter for the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, was killed today during a border clash between Israeli and Lebanese military forces near the southern town of Al-Adaysseh, according to news reports. 

Abu Rahal, left, was struck by an Israeli shell after a skirmish broke out shortly after noon, news reports said. The fighting was apparently triggered by an Israeli tree-cutting operation along the border, according to news reports. Lebanese authorities claimed Israeli forces crossed the border during the operation, an assertion Israel disputed.

New York, August 2, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the United Arab Emirates’ decision to suspend BlackBerry services for e-mail, instant messaging, and browsing the Web. The communications authority in the UAE announced on Sunday that it would suspend the data applications as of October 11. CPJ calls on the authorities to recall the ban, which is an attempt to control the flow of information and monitor communication in the country. 

New York, August 2, 2010—All four Mexican journalists abducted by drug traffickers last week are now free, ending an ordeal that drew international attention to pervasive anti-press violence in Mexico. Two reporters were brought to safety by federal police on Saturday, joining two colleagues who had been freed earlier.

New York, August 2, 2010—Three Uighur-language website managers were sentenced Friday to prison terms of three to 10 years after being found guilty under broad charges of “endangering state security.” The men had been jailed after ethnic rioting in July 2009 in Urumqi, capital of the far-western, predominantly Muslim, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. 

New York, August 2, 2010—A measure signed into law on Thursday by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will expand the powers of security agents and contribute to a climate of fear among government critics, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, July 30, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Palestinian authorities in the West Bank to release Amer Abu Arfa, a correspondent for the Shihab news agency who was convicted and imprisoned in connection with his news coverage. The agency, based in the Gaza Strip, is perceived by the Palestinian Authority as being pro-Hamas.

New York, July 30, 2010—An Indonesian search team this morning recovered the body of reporter Ardiansyah Matra’is in a river in the small town of Merauke, on the southern tip of Papua province, according to news reports and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AIJ). 

New York, July 30, 2010—Two employees were injured in an arson attack today on the offices of the Voice of Asia Network in the heart of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, according to international and local media reports. The fire destroyed the studios of the group’s Siyatha TV station, but the network’s three radio stations have been able to remain on the air.

New York, July 29, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Afghan government to allow privately owned Emroaz TV back on the air, after its owner said it was shut down under pressure from Iran. According to local and international media reports, the station went dark on Tuesday almost immediately after the station's owner, Member of Parliament Najib Kabuli, protested on-air the government’s order to shut the station down. In his address, Kabuli said the Ministry of Information had made a “one-sided decision” under Iran’s influence to silence Emroaz.

New York, July 28, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Mexican government today to do everything in its power to bring four journalists who are being held hostage by an alleged criminal group to safety. The group’s members have demanded press coverage of videos they made in exchange for the reporters’ release, according to international and local news reports.

New York, July 28, 2010—Authorities arrested a journalist on Tuesday on criminal defamation charges in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hours earlier, in an unrelated incident, armed men briefly forced the city’s three main opposition broadcasters off the air, according to local journalists and news reports.

New York, July 27, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists joins with our colleagues in Indonesia in calling for a swift, thorough investigation into the death of Muhammad Syaifullah, the Borneo bureau chief for Kompas, Indonesia’s largest daily newspaper.

New York, July 27, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by an Azerbaijani court’s decision to deny early release to jailed video blogger Adnan Hajizade, and it called on the appeals court to set him free. 

New York, July 27, 2010—An Ivorian judge on Monday ordered the release of three journalists who had been jailed for a story citing a leaked official document, but he imposed a fine and suspension on their newspaper, according to local journalists and news reports. 

New York, July 26, 2010—At least six women and children were seriously injured late today after a group of unidentified attackers threw grenades and opened fire on a home connected to television correspondent Zafarullah Bonari, according to Pakistani journalists. 

New York, July 26, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns death threats and outrageous claims made last week by a member of Swaziland’s royal family against local journalists over their critical coverage of the country's leadership.

New York, July 26, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a suicide attack on Al-Arabiya's  bureau in Baghdad. The attack killed three of the satellite news channel's support staff, according to Tareq Maher, an Al-Arabiya journalist who was inside the building during the blast.

New York, July 26, 2010—Serbian authorities must thoroughly investigate the brutal attack on Teofil Pancic, a reporter for the independent weekly Vreme, and consider journalism as a potential motive, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, July 23, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ghana’s attorney general to drop prosecution of prominent journalist Ato Kwamena Dadzie under the 1960 criminal code in an attempt to get him to reveal his sources.

New York, July 23, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by Thursday’s killing of Devi Prasad Dhital, the chairman of Nepal’s broadcaster Radio Tulsipur FM. His is the third murder of a Nepalese media owner in a less than six months.

New York, July 23, 2010—Six months after the unexplained disappearance of Sri Lankan journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Eknelygoda, the government has refused to offer any assistance or provide answers to his wife, Sandhya. The government’s attitude is a clear indicator of the anti-media polices of President Mahindra Rajapaksa, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Eknelygoda, a political reporter and cartoonist for Lanka eNews, disappeared on the night of January 24, two days before the presidential elections that gave the incumbent president a sweeping victory that will keep him power for six more years.

New York, July 23, 2010—Reporter José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernández was released from a Cuban jail and arrived today in Madrid, becoming the 11th  independent journalist to be freed by the Havana government this month.

New York, July 22, 2010—Cuban journalist Alfredo Pulido López was released from jail and landed today in Madrid, bringing to 10 the number of imprisoned reporters freed and sent to Spain as part of an agreement between the Catholic Church and the Cuban government.

“I am extremely happy to regain my freedom, but I also feel sad for leaving my country,” Pulido López, left, told CPJ in a telephone interview. “I am committed to work on behalf of a transition to a more open society in Cuba. After seven years in prison, I sadly find that my country is still deprived of many fundamental rights.”

New York, July 22, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Chinese government to dismiss charges against Gheyret Niyaz, a Uighur journalist and website manager, and release him from prison. According to the Uyghur American Association (UAA), Niyazi will be tried in Urumqi, the capital of China’s far-western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region on July 28.

New York, July 21, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists joins with our colleagues in India to express our support and condolences to the family of Vijay Pratap Singh, the 36-year-old senior correspondent of the daily Indian Express, who died Tuesday from injuries he received in a bombing on July 12.

New York, July 20, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Court to disclose details about the decision to establish a new press court and to explain the mechanisms under which it will operate.

New York, July 19, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by today’s murder in Athens of Sokratis Giolias, 37, director of the private radio station Thema 98.9 and contributor to the popular online news blog Troktiko. CPJ urges Greek police to thoroughly investigate the killing.

At least two men reportedly dressed in police or security uniforms shot Giolias, left, after luring him out of his apartment in the Ilioupolis suburb of Athens at around 5 a.m., claiming his car was being stolen, according to regional and international news reports.

New York, July 19, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the apparent censorship of Al-Mawkif, an opposition weekly belonging to the Progressive Democratic Party in Tunisia. Rachid Khechana, left, Al-Mawkif editor-in-chief, told CPJ that 10,000 copies of the newspaper’s Friday edition disappeared from newsstands, apparently confiscated by security agents.

New York, July 19, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to place Kazakhstan’s poor press freedom record on the agenda for its summit planned for later this year. Kazakhstan, the OSCE chair, is scheduled to host the summit in its capital, Astana. 

New York, July 16, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Sudanese authorities to overturn convictions and prison sentences against three journalists working for Rai al-Shaab, a now-shuttered newspaper owned by the opposition Popular Congress Party. The court, ruling on Thursday in Khartoum, also ordered the confiscation of the newspaper's property, according to CPJ interviews and news reports.

New York, July 16, 2010—Three journalists were formally charged today after refusing to reveal to Ivory Coast’s state prosecutor their sources for a corruption story based on a document leaked from the prosecutor’s office. The journalists could face up to 10 years in prison.

New York, July 15, 2010—Imprisoned Cuban journalist Mijail Bárzaga Lugo was released from jail and flown today to Madrid, where he joined a group of eight of his colleagues freed and brought to Spain this week as part of an extensive release by the Cuban government, according to international press reports.

Bárzaga Lugo, who was arrested in March 2003, arrived in Madrid with his family on an Air Europe flight around 2 p.m. local time, Agence France-Presse reported. On arrival, the journalist was taken to a hotel in Madrid’s neighborhood of Vallecas, where he joined six colleagues released and sent to Spain on Tuesday, and another two who were freed and exiled on Wednesday, the press reports said.

New York, July 15, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Tunisian authorities to immediately release Fahem Boukadous, a correspondent for the satellite television station Al-Hiwar al-Tunisi, and to overturn his four-year prison sentence.

New York, July 15, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the arrest of three journalists in Ivory Coast who have been detained since Tuesday, when they refused to disclose sources for an investigative report detailing the results of a government probe into corruption in the coffee and cocoa export trade, according to local journalists and news reports.

New York, July 15, 2010—On the first anniversary of the brutal murder of prominent journalist and human rights defender Natalya Estemirova, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to thoroughly probe professional motives and aggressively pursue all suspects in the killing. Estemirova, left, who for 10 years documented the human toll of the conflict in Chechnya, was found shot to death in Ingushetia after being kidnapped from her Grozny home a year ago today. 

New York, July 14, 2010—Two more Cuban journalists were freed from prison and flown to Madrid today, a day after the arrival there of six colleagues, as part of an extensive release of imprisoned dissidents by the Cuban government.

New York, July 13, 2010—Six Cuban journalists who spent more than seven years in prison for their independent reporting and commentary arrived in Spain today in the first wave of what is expected to be an extensive release of political prisoners by the Cuban government.

New York, July 13, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Egyptian court’s decision to sentence a jailed opposition leader to a year in prison for defaming a former minister more than 14 years ago.

New York, July 13, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists extends its deep condolences to the family and colleagues of Pius Njawé, a pioneering Cameroonian journalist and a press freedom advocate, who was killed in a car accident in the United States on Monday.

New York, July 13, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Friday raid on the newsroom of the independent Uzbek-language broadcaster Osh TV in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh. The Kyrgyz security service (known as SNB) also temporarily detained director Khalil Khudaiberdiyev in the raid on the station. Osh TV is currently off the air, the Uzbek service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

New York, July 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a decision by the Security and National Intelligence Service to bar publication of the daily Al-Intibaha. Authorities suspended the newspaper last week because of the newspaper’s supposed role “in strengthening separatist tendencies in the south and the north,” a security official told local reporters.

New York, July 12, 2010—Imprisoned Cuban journalists are expected to be among a group of political prisoners to be released tonight and put on a flight to Spain, where they are due to arrive on Tuesday morning, according to international press reports and CPJ interviews. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes news of their scheduled release and urged Cuban authorities today to free all journalists who remain in jail.

New York, July 9, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Syrian authorities to drop criminal defamation charges against investigative journalists Bassam Ali and Suhaila Ismail. 

New York, July 9, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on authorities in Gaza to allow three pro-Fatah Palestinian papers published in the West Bank to be allowed entry into the territory. The newspapers say they were told they had to sign an agreement stating they would not criticize the government before they’d be allowed to distribute in Gaza.

New York, July 9, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to disclose their progress in the investigation into the unsolved murder of Forbes Russia Editor Paul Klebnikov, left, who was gunned down outside his Moscow office six years ago today.

New York, July 9, 2010—National authorities in India must immediately address complaints from local journalists in Indian-controlled Kashmir who say they are being stopped from covering the government crackdown on protests that have killed 15 people.

New York, July 9, 2010—Police in Rwanda arrested the editor of a private newspaper on Thursday in connection with a series of articles critical of the government, according to local journalists. 

New York, July 9, 2010—Structural changes meant to broaden the authority of Mexico’s special prosecutor’s office to investigate crimes against journalists are still insufficient to address the grave free expression crisis in Mexico, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, July 8, 2010—Shwan Ahmed, a freelance Iraqi journalist, is facing criminal defamation charges based on a series of articles he wrote alleging corruption in Sulaimaniyah, in northeastern Iraq. Ahmed told CPJ he was threatened by one of the parties in the case.

New York, July 8, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the well-being of Ramazan Yesergepov, the ailing imprisoned editor of the now-defunct independent newspaper Alma-Ata Info, who is on a hunger strike for the third consecutive day in a penal colony in the southern Kazakh city of Taraz.

New York, July 7, 2010—The Catholic Church in Cuba said today that the government of President Raúl Castro has agreed to release dozens of political prisoners over the next several weeks, raising hopes that numerous imprisoned journalists could be freed. 

“If imprisoned journalists are freed, as suggested by the church’s announcement, it cannot come a moment too soon. These journalists and their families have experienced the anguish of unjustified imprisonment and cruel treatment,” said Carlos Lauría, CPJ’s senior program coordinator for the Americas. “We call on President Castro to release all jailed journalists and to allow freedom of expression for all Cuban citizens.”

New York, July 6, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s decision by Azerbaijan’s Garadagh District Court in Baku to sentence imprisoned independent editor Eynulla Fatullayev to two and a half years in a strict-regime prison after finding him guilty of drug possession. Fatullayev, a 2009 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, has already served more than three years of an eight and a half year term on a series of fabricated charges, including terrorism.

New York, July 6, 2010—An appeals court in Tunisia today upheld a criminal conviction and prison sentence handed down to Fahem Boukadous, a correspondent for the satellite television station Al-Hiwar al-Tunisi, in connection with his coverage of violent labor protests in the Gafsa mining region in 2008. 

New York, July 6, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Mexican authorities to fully investigate the killing of journalist Hugo Alfredo Olivera, who was found dead today in Michoacán state, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.

New York, July 2, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a death threat against a Guatemalan investigative journalist with the leading daily elPeriódico, who recently reported on corruption and human trafficking.

Nairobi, July 2, 2010—Somali government forces have been increasingly harassing independent journalists covering violent fighting in Mogadishu, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, July 2, 2010— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bahraini authorities to drop charges against Mohammed al-Sawad, a reporter for the independent daily Al-Bilad, who is accused of violating a government-imposed gag order.

New York, July 1, 2010—Mexican journalist Juan Francisco Rodríguez Ríos and his wife, journalist María Elvira Hernández Galeana, were shot dead on Monday at the Internet café they owned in the town of Coyuca de Benítez, state of Guerrero, according to international and local news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Mexican authorities to bring those responsible to justice and put an end to the wave of violence against the press in Guerrero.

New York, July 1, 2010—Authorities in Nepal should act urgently to ensure the safety of radio reporter Keshav Bohara, who was abducted on Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, June 30, 2010—A former deputy director of the national Colombian intelligence agency has been ordered held for masterminding the 1999 murder of journalist Jaime Garzón. José Miguel Narváez is currently behind bars awaiting trial in a separate case.

New York, June 30, 2010—A 70-year-old Panamanian journalist arrested and jailed Saturday on a 2008 defamation conviction should be immediately released, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

The charges against Carlos Núñez López, at left, stemmed from a 2005 story in the now-defunct weekly newspaper La Crónica about environmental damage in the province of Bocas del Toro, his lawyer, Luis Ferreyra, told CPJ. A landowner alleged his reputation had been damaged by the article, the local press said.

New York, June 29, 2010—Ethiopia’s postal service should a conduct thorough and transparent investigation into the tampering of mail addressed to the country’s leading critical newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Awramba Times Editor-in-Chief Dawit Kebede said the paper has complained to the Ethiopian Postal Service at least three times since June 6 after finding opened and destroyed envelopes in its mailbox inside Teklay Posta Bet, the national postal headquarters in the capital, Addis Ababa. 

New York, June 29, 2010—Authorities in Rwanda announced on Monday the arrest of two individuals in the murder of journalist Jean-Léonard Rugambage, who was shot late Thursday as he drove through the gate to his home in Kigali, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed skepticism about the arrests and called on authorities to disclose details of their investigation.

New York, June 28, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kuwaiti authorities to drop all charges against journalist Mohammed Abdulqader al-Jassem, who was released on bail today. CPJ is also alarmed by local news reports that the Ministry of Information will prosecute Al-Jazeera’s office in Kuwait for violating a ban on local coverage of al-Jassem’s case after the station broadcast a protest organized by a parliamentarian in solidarity with the journalist.

New York, June 28, 2010—A new Fijian media decree that formalizes repressive government control of the media could force the outspoken Fiji Times to close within three months, according to international news reports.

New York, June 28, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by repressive aspects of a new technology bill that is pending in the Lebanese parliament. CPJ urges parliament to remove several provisions that would restrict press freedom and free expression.

New York, June 25, 2010—A top editor of an independent Rwandan newspaper that was recently banned by the government was assassinated in front of his home late Thursday, according to local journalists and news reports. An assailant shot Jean-Léonard Rugambage, left, acting editor of Umuvugizi  as he drove through the gate of his home in the capital, Kigali, around 10 p.m., Rwanda National police spokesperson Eric Kayiranga told CPJ.

New York, June 23, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Egyptian Minister of Finance, Youssef Boutros-Ghali, to drop charges against Wael al-Abrashy, the editor-in-chief of the weekly Sawt al-Umma, and Samar al-Dawi, a reporter for the weekly.

New York, June 21, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Syrian authorities to release a journalist who is being held despite having completed a 30-month prison sentence in Damascus.

New York, June 21, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Friday’s decision by the Peruvian Supreme Court to release Alejandro Carrascal Carrasco, editor of the weekly newspaper Nor Oriente, who was sentenced on January 12 to one year in prison on defamation charges.

New York, June 21, 2010—Newspaper reporter Nestor Bedolido was shot and killed by an unidentified gunman on Saturday evening in Digos City, Davao del Sur province, in the southern Philippines, according to local and international news reports. He is the third journalist to be murdered over the past week in the Philippines.

New York, June 19, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalist welcomes the arrival in the United States of Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, who arrived at Washington’s Dulles International Airport on Saturday morning. He was met there by friends. According to CPJ representative Kamel Labidi, who was on hand to meet Tissa, “He was all smiles, and said to thank everyone who helped him gain his freedom.”

New York, June 18, 2010—Authorities in Ethiopia expelled an American journalist on Thursday who had been reporting near a rebel area in the east of the Horn of Africa country, according to local journalists.

New York June 17, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the adoption by the Tunisian Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday of a bill that reinforces an existing arsenal of legislation used to silence critical journalists. President Ben Ali is expected to sign the bill after its anticipated approval by the Chamber of Councilors. The change is unconstitutional since it violates freedom of expression as guaranteed by Tunisian constitution, according to CPJ research.

New York, June 16, 2010--Philippine radio commentator Joselito Agustin was fatally shot by two motorcycle riding assailants while heading home from work late Tuesday evening near Baccara town in the northern Philippines, according to local and international news reports. The murder occurred just one day after the murder of radio journalist Desidario Camangyan in southern Mindanao.

New York, June 15, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Moroccan judiciary today to overturn a prison sentence given Friday to Taoufik Bouachrine, editor of the independent daily Akhbar al-Youm, on politicized criminal charges.

New York, June 15, 2010—An unidentified attacker gunned down TV journalist Luis Arturo Mondragón late Monday night in the city of El Paraíso, eastern Honduras, according to local news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Honduran authorities to fully investigate Mondragón’s killing, the seventh in the country this year.

New York, June 15, 2010—Mindanao police must thoroughly pursue their investigation into Monday’s murder of broadcast journalist Desidario Camangyan and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, June 14, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by reports that local television stations in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh were ordered to cease transmission on Friday by the city government in the wake of interethnic violence in the region. Osh residents now have access only to the state television channel, KTR, and several Russian television channels, the independent news agency Zpress reported.

New York, June 14, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the nearly four-year prison term given to Venezuelan columnist Francisco “Pancho” Pérez on defamation charges, according to local news reports and CPJ’s interviews.

New York, June 11, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Rwandan authorities today to provide information as to why the Web site of newspaper Umuvugizi is inaccessible in the run-up to August presidential elections. The state-run Rwanda News Agency reported on June 3 that the Web site of Umuvugizi, a leading private paper known for its critical coverage of the government, could not be opened on the networks of the country’s only Internet service providers.

New York, June 10, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Wednesday’s sentencing of radio journalist Oswaldo Pereyra Moreno to one year in prison on criminal defamation charges in San Lorenzo, northern Peru, according to local news reports and CPJ interviews.

New York, June 10, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a suspended prison sentence handed to a journalist this week over an article raising questions about the unsolved murder of a government official.

New York, June 9, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Istanbul's Yargıtay High Court to overturn on appeal a 15-month prison sentence given to Turkish journalist Irfan Aktan on Friday. Aktan was found guilty of "producing terrorist propaganda" in an article published in an issue of the biweekly Express in October 2009.

New York, June 9, 2010—At least 37 journalists were behind bars in Iran as of June 1, with an additional 19 detainees free on short-term furloughs, according to CPJ’s monthly census of journalists jailed in Iran. Imprisonment figures have remained high in Iran since the government began its crackdown on critical journalism and dissent in the aftermath of the disputed June 2009 presidential election, CPJ research shows.

New York, June 7, 2010—The Sudanese government should halt ongoing newspaper censorship, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today, after at least two papers failed to appear on newsstands over the weekend.

New York, June 4, 2010—Veteran Zambian Editor Fred M’membe was sent to prison today following his sentencing for contempt of court sparked by an op-ed on the state’s prosecution of a journalist, according to local journalists and news reports.

New York, June 3, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Zambian President Rupiah Bwezani Banda and his administration to halt the ongoing harassment of the nation’s leading independent newspaper The Post and its award-winning editor Fred M’membe. On Tuesday, a magistrate in the capital, Lusaka, convicted M'membe on a criminal charge of contempt of court and scheduled sentencing for Friday, defense lawyer Remmy Mainza told CPJ. M’membe, a 1995 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, could face up to six months in prison, said Mainza. He said the defense would likely appeal the verdict.

New York, June 3, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces Israel’s editing and distribution of footage confiscated from foreign journalists aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla that was raided on Monday.

New York, June 2, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is very concerned that Armenian authorities are detaining Ani Gevorgian, a journalist for the pro-opposition daily Haykakan Zhanamak, after she was arrested on assignment on Monday. Police in the capital, Yerevan, arrested Gevorgian, left, as she was covering a sit-in at Liberty Square being staged by activists with the Armenian National Congress, Anna Akopyan, Haykakan Zhanamak’s director, told CPJ. 

New York, June 2, 2010—The Bangladeshi government must fully explain the circumstances that led police to close the Bengali-language, pro-opposition daily Amar Desh based in the capital, Dhaka. Police cited supposed publishing irregularities when they arrested acting editor Mahmudur Rahman early today, news reports said, but the shutdown appears to be politically motivated. 

New York, June 1, 2010--Israel should immediately release the journalists it detained along with hundreds of peace activists on Monday after Israeli forces stormed a convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. According to international news reports and CPJ interviews, Israeli forces arrested at least 20 journalists aboard the humanitarian flotilla; three have since been released.

New York, May 28, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged that Tunisian police verbally abused and threatened journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, a well-known contributor to French newspapers and one of the country’s top critics of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. CPJ calls on the Tunisian authorities to end the campaign of intimidation and harassment against the journalist.

New York, May 27, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a thorough investigation into a May 9 attack on an Eritrean expatriate journalist by supporters of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki at a public event in eastern Texas. The event was advertised locally in printed fliers, and on the pro-government Dehai.org Web site as a “Public Seminar for all Eritreans in Houston and Environs.” Tedros Menghistu Wondefrash, publisher and editor of Selam, a Tigrinyan-language, monthly newsletter printed in Houston, was attacked when he tried to attend, he told CPJ.

New York, May 27, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists hails the Zimbabwe Media Commission’s decision to grant publishing licenses to The Daily News, the long-banned independent newspaper, and a handful of other publications. Commission Chairman Godfrey Majonga announced on Wednesday that the licenses would be issued immediately, marking the first time in nearly seven years that an independent daily will be allowed to print domestically, local journalists told CPJ.

New York, May 25, 2010—Sudanese authorities have charged an opposition journalist with terrorism and espionage and allegedly tortured him while in custody, according to local news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for the immediate release of Abu Zar al-Amin, deputy editor of the opposition daily Rai al-Shaab.

New York, May 24, 2010—Two months after the murder of Colombian journalist Clodomiro Castilla Ospino, the investigation is stalled and the victim’s daughter has been forced to flee her hometown of Montería after being followed and harassed. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities today to conduct an exhaustive inquiry into Castilla’s killing, provide protection for his family, and bring those responsible to justice.  

New York, May 21, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the conviction of a former police officer in connection with the 2009 murder of Venezuelan journalist Orel Sambrano in the northern city of Valencia.

New York, May 20, 2010—As details of violence emerge, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Thai government today to investigate the deaths of two journalists who were killed while covering the violence that has wracked Bangkok and other parts of Thailand for three months. It is the government’s duty to instruct military forces to be aware of the presence of journalists in a battle area and ensure their safety, CPJ said.

New York, May 20, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a criminal defamation lawsuit filed by Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit against independent journalist Hamdi Kandil. He faces up to six months in jail and a discretionary fine if convicted.

New York, May 19, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the decision by the Bahraini government to indefinitely suspend Al-Jazeera from reporting from the Gulf kingdom

New York, May 19, 2010—Freelance Italian photojournalist Fabio Polenghi was killed and three international journalists were among dozens of people injured today during clashes in Bangkok, according to international news reports. The fighting followed a military operation to clear an area occupied for six weeks by anti-government protesters. Demonstrators attacked and threatened local media outlets for perceived government bias in the ensuing disorder, while officials ordered that TV stations air only government-issued news bulletins, the reports said.

New York, May 19, 2010—Kuwaiti authorities should immediately release freelance opposition journalist Mohammed Abdulqader al-Jassem, who has been detained since Sunday on charges of “instigating to overthrow the regime,” “slight to the personage of the emir” and “instigating to dismantle the foundations of Kuwaiti society,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Al-Jassem is facing multiple charges in five other complaints and was sentenced to jail in another case in April.

New York, May 18, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderón to put Mexico’s press freedom crisis on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting in Washington. CPJ also calls on Calderón to continue to advocate for reforms that will strengthen federal accountability in crimes against freedom of expression. 

New York, May 17, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Sudanese government’s decision to shut down opposition daily Rai al-Shaab and to arrest three of its journalists.

New York, May 14, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the deteriorating security situation for reporters in Thailand as government forces and anti-government protesters exchange fire in the national capital. Three journalists were shot and injured on Friday when security forces and protesters exchanged fire that resulted in at least seven deaths and more than 100 injuries, according to local and international news reports.

 New York, May 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Yemeni government to end its campaign of intimidation, violence, and politicized prosecutions against journalists in the wake of yet another prison sentence for a journalist.

New York, May 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists joins the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) in calling for a thorough investigation into the killing of Sindh-based journalist Ghulam Rasool Birhamani. His body was found Monday morning, outside the village of Wahi Pandhi in Sindh province. Both organizations reported that the journalist was kidnapped the evening before his body was discovered.

New York, May 11, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by new demands made by a militant group calling itself the Asian Tigers, the captors of freelance journalist Asad Qureshi, left, who has been held in Pakistan since March 26. In a video sent to the Rome-based news agency Adnkronos International today, the kidnappers insisted that Pakistan release at least 160 Islamic militants in exchange for his freedom, according to international news reports. The journalist is being held in Pakistan’s tribal region near the border with Afghanistan.

New York, May 10, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a 13-year prison sentence handed down to Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari in absentia on Sunday.

Newsweek correspondent Bahari, who was held in detention for four months on manufactured anti-state charges in 2009, was sentenced by a Tehran Revolutionary Court on Sunday to 13 years in prison, in addition to 74 lashes.

New York, May 10, 2010—The Overseas Press Club of America and the Committee to Protect Journalists are calling on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to bring an end to a nearly year-long campaign of harassment and intimidation of critical Iranian journalists working domestically and abroad.

New York, May 7, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Azerbaijani authorities to immediately investigate the illegal confiscation of footage and reporting from Norwegian television reporter Erling Borgen and cameraman Dag Inge Dahl on Thursday.

New York, May 6, 2010—A reporter for independent news outlets was found shot to death this morning in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after being abducted Wednesday in Arbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, according to news reports. Authorities in both cities must conduct a thorough investigation into the murder of Sardasht Osman and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, May 6, 2010—At least 35 journalists were behind bars in Iran as of May 1 with another 18 detainees free on short-term furloughs, according to CPJ’s monthly census of imprisoned Iranian journalists. The figures, unchanged from CPJ’s April census, reflect a government still intent on silencing free expression.

New York, May 5, 2010—Three gunmen shot dead veteran broadcast journalist Sheik Nur Mohamed Abkey on Tuesday evening as he was returning home from work at the state-run Radio Mogadishu, local journalists told CPJ. Gunmen abducted Abkey, left, near his residence in Wardhigley, southern Mogadishu, and shot him repeatedly in the head. Local journalists said they suspect Abkey was tortured after finding his body dumped in an alleyway in Wardhigley.

New York, May 4, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists urged Honduran authorities today to thoroughly investigate death threats against two television reporters who covered the March murder of colleague Nahúm Palacios Arteaga in the region of Aguán. 

New York, May 3, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today after a militant group executed a former Pakistani intelligence official who was abducted along with documentary filmmaker Asad Qureshi.   

New York, May 3, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is heartened by news reports today that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has issued a pardon to Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, left. CPJ is waiting for official clarification, however, concerning several important details. 

New York, May 3, 2010—The Israeli military obstructed an Al-Jazeera crew trying to cover a rally in the village of Bil’in west of Ramallah on Friday, according to news reports and interviews. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns these actions and calls on Israeli authorities to end the harassment of journalists in the West Bank.

New York, April 30, 2010—Two journalists who went missing Tuesday after an ambush in Oaxaca state in southern Mexico were rescued late Thursday by local police, according to news accounts. The Committee to Protect Journalists called today on Mexican authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the attack.

New York, April 30, 2010—Four journalists who covered the recent dismissal of the electoral commission chairman received anonymous death threats via text message on Wednesday, according to CPJ interviews and news reports. The messages, sent from the same number, said the reporters would meet the fate of three slain Nigerian journalists.

New York, April 29, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an campaign of harassment and intimidations against imprisoned Egyptian blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman, known online as Karim Amer. 

New York, April 30, 2010—In light of the Ethiopian government’s longstanding practice of jailing journalists on trumped-up criminal charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the detentions last week of two government TV journalists on allegations of misusing state property. CPJ is monitoring the legal proceedings closely.

New York, April 29, 2010—Two journalists accompanying a caravan of human rights activists in a tense and often violent indigenous area of Oaxaca state in southern Mexico were reported missing Tuesday after the convoy came under gunfire and two people were killed, press reports said. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Mexican authorities to locate the journalists, bring them back to safety, and conduct a thorough investigation into the attack. 

New York, April 29, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges members of Russia’s parliament to reject a sweeping new bill that would return censorship rights to Russia’s KGB successor, the Federal Security Service, if passed.

New York, April 29, 2010—Kazakh authorities must order the state-owned Internet Internet provider Kazakhtelecom to immediately restore access to the independent news portal Respublika and the Web site of its sister publication Respublika-Delovoye Obozreniye, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, April 27, 2010—Regional prosecutors should immediately investigate the brutal attack on Monday on Arkady Lander, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Mestnaya (Local) in the southern city of Sochi, and bring his assailants to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, April 27, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the April 13 release from prison of Hang Chakra, editor and publisher of the opposition-aligned Khmer Machas Srok daily newspaper in Cambodia.

New York, April 26, 2010—Three Nigerian journalists were killed in two separate incidents over the weekend. Muslim rioters killed two reporters working with a local Christian newspaper on Saturday, according to local journalists and news reports. Also on Saturday, court reporter Edo Sule Ugbagwu, at left, from the private daily The Nation was shot dead at his home by two gunmen, according to local journalists.

New York, April 26, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for a full and transparent investigation into the police beating of Zuhair Makhlouf, contributor to Tunisian news Web site Assabil Online. 

New York, April 23, 2010—Azerbaijani authorities must comply with the European Court of Human Rights’ decision ordering the immediate release of imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Fatullayev, a 2009 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, has been jailed for three years on fabricated charges.

New York, April 22, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by today’s death of newspaper editor Germain S. Ngota Ngota, whose health deteriorated while he was incarcerated in Cameroon. The death certificate for Ngota, editor of the private bimonthly Cameroon Express, determined that the journalist died from a lack of medical attention in Kondengui prison in the capital, Yaoundé, according to editors Hilaire Medjo of the weekly Nouvelle Vision and François Fogno Fotso of the weekly Génération Libre.

New York, April 22, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iraqi authorities to clarify the disappearance and current whereabouts of Saad al-Aossi, editor-in-chief of the critical weekly Al-Shahid.

New York, April 21, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists voiced deep concern today at the killing of Honduran television anchor Jorge Alberto Orellana, the sixth journalist killed in the country since March.

New York, April 20, 2010—Anti-riot police assaulted journalists covering two different protests in Sulaimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan on Saturday and Tuesday. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attacks and calls on authorities to stop harassing journalists reporting in the field.

New York, April 19, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists is saddened by the death of Azamat Ali Bangash, a correspondent for Saama TV. According to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Bangash was killed in an April 17 suicide bombing while covering food distribution in a refugee camp near Orakzai, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas near the border with Afghanistan. Ali was the second Saama journalists killed in a suicide bombing in two days.

New York, April 19, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the Philippine government’s decision to drop murder charges against Zaldy Ampatuan, former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and his uncle, Akmad Ampatuan, former mayor of Mamasapano on the southern island of Mindanao. The move, announced in Manila on Saturday, overruled the Quezon City Regional Court, which is hearing the Maguindanao massacre case. Four other members of the powerful Ampatuan clan continue to face murder charges.

New York, April 19, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned threats made by the Iranian government against Newsweek correspondent Maziar Bahari. Bahari, left, who was imprisoned in Iran for 118 days on fabricated antistate charges following last year’s disputed June presidential election, told CPJ that family members in Iran had received a threatening phone call on Saturday from a man who identified himself as an Iranian court official. 

New York, April 16, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities in the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) to immediately release journalist Ernest Vardanian, at left, who has been jailed in the regional capital of Tiraspol for treason since April 7. 

New York, April 16, 2010--At least one Pakistani journalist was killed and others were injured in a suicide bombing at a hospital in Quetta today, according to international news reports. Details are still emerging, and some of the injured are reported to be in critical condition, but Pakistani colleagues tell CPJ that a senior Samaa TV cameraman, Malik Arif, died in the attack. Five other journalists--Noor Elahi Bugti of Samaa TV, Salman Ashraf of Geo TV, Fareed Ahmed of Dunya TV, Khalil Ahmed of Express TV, and Malik Sohail of Aaj TV--were injured.

New York, April 15, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Yemeni authorities to drop new charges brought against Muhammad al-Maqaleh, editor of the opposition Yemeni Socialist Party's news Web site Aleshteraki, in connection with a 2005 article. 

New York, April 14, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the new demands made by a Taliban group that is holding captive two French television journalists, Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier, translator Mohammed Reza, and the group's driver. They were taken in Kapisa province, northeast of Kabul, in December.

New York, April 14, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Sudanese authorities to immediately drop criminal charges against prominent journalist and opposition party member Al-Haj Ali Warrag. 

New York, April 13, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s decision by Rwanda’s Media High Council to suspend two independent weeklies just months prior to presidential elections. At a press conference, attended only by state broadcasters and the pro-government radio station Contact FM, the Media High Council announced an immediate six month suspension of private vernacular weeklies, Umuseso and Umuvugizi.

New York, April 13, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by recent reports that a Yemeni editor, detained without charge since May 2009 for covering unrest in the southern part of the country, was assaulted by inmates.

New York, April 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is saddened and outraged by the fatal shooting of Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto during armed exchanges between government soldiers and antigovernment protestors on Saturday. Muramoto, left, a Japanese national, was shot in the chest while filming an early-afternoon confrontation and was pronounced dead at a Bangkok hospital, according to local and international news reports.

New York, April 9, 2010—The Thai government should restore access to news outlets censored after a state of emergency was declared Wednesday in response to antigovernment protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Journalists reporting on the unrest are increasingly vulnerable to physical assault as clashes between protesters and authorities escalate. 

New York, April 9, 2010—Al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia have banned all BBC broadcasts from the areas they control and confiscated the corporation’s FM transmitters and satellite dishes. Local journalists told CPJ that Al-Shabaab issued a statement today announcing the immediate ban, claiming the BBC carried the “agenda of the crusaders” and “opposed an Islamic administration.”

New York, April 9, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the African National Congress (ANC) party's condemnation of the expulsion of BBC journalist Jonah Fisher from a press conference on Thursday. ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema referred to Fisher as a "bastard" after the reporter interrupted him.

New York, April 8, 2010—Reports that freelance documentary filmmaker Asad Qureshi has gone missing on a reporting trip in a tribal area of Pakistan are deeply concerning, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

New York, April 7, 2010—Fiji’s military regime should withdraw a draft decree that would regulate media ownership and news content, while authorizing the imposition of fines and prison terms for violations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

New York, April 7, 2010—Uniform and plainclothes Egyptian security forces assaulted and obstructed journalists trying to cover protests in Cairo on Tuesday, according to news accounts and interviews. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the actions and calls for authorities to stop harassing journalists reporting from the scene of news events.

New York, April 6, 2010—Following Monday’s murder of freelance cameraman Patient Chebeya in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Committee to Protect Journalists called for a renewed commitment from the government to solidly investigate and prosecute those who kill journalists.

Armed men in military uniforms jumped Chebeya, at left, around 10 p.m. as his wife let him in his house in the volatile eastern city of Beni, according to local press freedom group Journaliste En Danger (JED). 

New York, April 6, 2010—More than 3,500 concerned people from around the world—including prominent international journalists, writers, and press freedom leaders—are petitioning Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, to immediately release dozens of journalists, writers, and bloggers currently imprisoned in the country. Among those who have signed the petition are Martin Amis, Jon Lee Anderson, Margaret Atwood, E.L. Doctorow, Jonathan Franzen, Thomas L. Friedman, Nadine Gordimer, Gwen Ifill, Ahmed Rashid, Jon Stewart, and Mario Vargas Llosa.

New York, April 6, 2010—At least 35 journalists were imprisoned in Iran as of April 1 as authorities continued their nearly year-long crackdown on the news media, according to CPJ’s latest monthly census. Another 18 journalists were free on short-term furloughs granted for the Iranian New Year and were expected to report back to prison.

New York, April 2, 2010—Authorities in Kyrgyzstan should halt their ongoing crackdown on independent and opposition news outlets, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A Bishkek court suspended a pro-opposition newspaper on Wednesday—the third such suspension this month—while financial police confiscated newsroom computers belonging to an independent Web-based television channel on Thursday, effectively taking it off the air.

New York, April 2, 2010—The denial of service attack on the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC) Web site is contributing to an atmosphere in which journalists feel their communication is not secure and their reporting is under threat, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, April 2, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today after a Japanese official said freelance Japanese journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka had apparently been kidnapped in northern Afghanistan. 

New York, April 2, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kuwaiti authorities to end the judicial harassment of opposition journalist Mohammed Abdulqader al-Jassem.

New York, April 1, 2010—Honduran journalist José Alemán fled the country on Sunday after threatening attacks, including the break-in of two unidentified gunmen at his home in the rural municipality of San Marcos de Ocotepeque, near the border with El Salvador, the local press reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for Honduran authorities to provide protection for Alemán that would allow him to return to the country and continue his work.

New York, April 1, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that several Iranian journalists continue to be held in inhumane conditions at the notorious Evin Prison. At least one journalist is reported in deteriorating health, and two are under severe duress to “confess” to charges that could bring execution.

New York, March 31, 2010—News reports that the Yahoo e-mail accounts of reporters and others in China and Taiwan have been compromised are a reminder that journalists must be vigilant when communicating over the Internet, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ called on Internet companies to reassess their business practices in countries where users’ communications cannot be adequately protected.

New York, March 30, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the health and well-being of Emadeddin Baghi, a prominent Iranian journalist, author, and human rights activist who has been detained without charges in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since December 2009.

New York, March 30, 2010—The conviction on Saturday of four men, including three members of the military police, in the 2007 murder of Brazilian journalist Luiz Carlos Barbon Filho is an important step forward in the global campaign to combat impunity in journalists’ murders, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.    

New York, March 30, 2010—Kazakh authorities must thoroughly investigate a brutal attack in the city of Aktobe that left Igor Larra, a correspondent for the Almaty-based independent weekly Svoboda Slova (Freedom of Speech), with a concussion and other head injuries, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 30, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the conviction of Venezuelan journalist Gustavo Azócar on trumped-up financial crime charges. Azócar, an outspoken critic of the Venezuelan administration, had been jailed since July 2009 and barred from speaking publicly about the case.

New York, March 29, 2010—An Ecuadoran appellate court should overturn the libel conviction of editor Enrique Palacio, and the country’s legislators should reform archaic defamation laws that do not meet international standards for freedom of expression, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Palacio was sentenced Friday to three years in prison in connection with a commentary about a senior government finance official.

New York, March 29, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Honduran authorities to fully investigate last week’s murders of two journalists, part of a month-long wave of lethal violence that has resulted in the slayings of five reporters over all and led to widespread self-censorship in the local media.

New York, March 29, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns and calls for a thorough investigation into grenade attacks launched against two state-owned television news stations in Thailand. The attacks—one against army-run Channel 5, the other against the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT)—took place Saturday night in the capital, Bangkok. 

New York, March 25, 2010—Tunisian authorities banned journalists from attending two press conferences for the launch of local and international human rights reports this week, and is stepping up harassment of journalists overall, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 25, 2010—Iraqi authorities must urgently investigate an assassination attempt Sunday against Muaid al-Lami, head of the Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

New York, March 23, 2010—The Belarusian Supreme Court has upheld a government order that will obstruct the work of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, the country’s most prominent press freedom and media support organization. The Committee to Protect Journalists denounced the ruling, which was handed down Monday.

New York, March 23, 2010—The Philippine government must vigorously pursue its investigation into a series of death threats received by Marites Dañguilan Vitug, editor-in-chief of the online news outlet Newsbreak, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 22, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Colombian authorities to fully investigate the death of journalist Clodomiro Castilla Ospino, left, who was shot on Friday by an unidentified gunman in the northern city of Montería, according to local press reports.

New York, March 22, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tunisian authorities to end the persecution and imprisonment of a critical journalist and to overturn a four-year jail sentence of another.

New York, March 19, 2010—At least five journalists were wounded while covering violent clashes between security personnel and protesters outside the capital, Kampala, on Wednesday. Scores of protestors and mourners came to Kasubi, a Kampala suburb, after a fire of unknown origin destroyed the historically significant royal tombs of the Buganda kingdom on Tuesday.   

New York, March 19, 2010—A Turkish appellate court should overturn the unjust convictions of publisher and editor Haci Bogatekin, who faces several years in prison on various “insult” charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 19, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison on Thursday of Azerbaijani editor Genimet Zakhidov, who served more than half of a four-year term on fabricated “hooliganism” charges.

“We're relieved Azerbaijani officials released our colleague Genimet Zakhidov, who served 28 long months in prison in retaliation for his critical journalism,” CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. “We call on authorities to build on this positive step by releasing editor Eynulla Fatullayev and video bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, all of whom have been imprisoned for their journalism.”

New York, March 19, 2010—Ethiopia is preparing to jam the Amharic-language broadcasts of the U.S. government-funded Voice of America (VOA), Prime Minister Meles Zenawi declared Thursday in a press briefing with international media correspondents based in the capital, Addis Ababa. 

New York, March 18, 2010—Sudan’s official press regulator, the National Press Council, should drop its investigation of two editors accused of insulting President Omar al-Bashir, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

Yass Omar al-Imam, editor-in-chief of the pro-opposition daily Rai al-Shaab, and Fayez al-Silaik, acting editor-in-chief of the independent daily Ajras al-Hurriya, were questioned Monday by officials with the National Press Council according to news reports. 

New York, March 17, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Azerbaijani authorities today to thoroughly investigate a death threat made against imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev, a 2009 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, and his family. 

New York, March 17, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the arrest of an Israeli journalist on assignment in Egypt. Yotam Feldman was arrested Sunday near the Egyptian-Israeli border while reporting on African immigrants illegally crossing into Israel, according to news accounts. 

New York, March 16, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by reports that the Kyrgyz government has pressured several radio and television stations to stop carrying programming from the Kyrgyz service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

New York, March 16, 2010— Unidentified attackers gunned down Honduran journalist Nahúm Palacios Arteaga in the city of Tocoa on Sunday, the third deadly attack against the Honduran press in the last two weeks, according to news reports. Honduran authorities must put an end to the wave of deadly violence and ensure that the killers are punished, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 16, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns raids conducted today by Minsk police at the offices of the independent news Web site Charter 97, the independent newspaper Narodnaya Volya, and the home office of freelance reporter Irina Khalip.

New York, March 15, 2010—The Jordanian State Security Court should reconsider its decision last week to ban news media from covering corruption allegations involving the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company and several leading national figures, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 15, 2010—Mexican reporter Evaristo Pacheco Solís was found shot to death on Friday in the city of Chilpancingo, in the crime-ravaged state of Guerrero, news reports said. Authorities must fully investigate the murder and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Yemeni authorities’ seizure of equipment enabling the pan-Arab satellite news channels Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera to broadcast live from the country.

New York, March 12, 2010—Unidentified gunmen killed radio journalist David Meza Montesinos on Thursday as he was driving in the Honduran city of La Ceiba, local press reports said. The Committee to Protect Journalists urged authorities today to fully investigate Meza’s killing and bring those responsible to justice.

New York, March 11, 2010—An angry crowd of mourners attending a mass funeral in Dogo Nahawa, central Nigeria, assaulted state radio reporter Murtala Sani on Monday. Sani, a reporter for the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, was assigned to cover the funeral of more than 40 people killed during a bloody March 7 attack on four villages in central Nigeria. 

New York, March 11, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a court decision to sentence the popular and award-winning Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas, left, to six months in prison and calls on Egyptian authorities to put an end to years-long harassment leveled against him.

New York, March 11, 2010—A state official responsible for media regulation said Wednesday the government should require Chinese journalists to obtain official training to report the news, according to local and international news reports. Domestic journalists already need government-issued identity cards to work in China.  

New York, March 11, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a wave of drug-related violence in the Mexican city of Reynosa, near the Texas border, which is endangering the news media and causing widespread self-censorship. In the past two weeks, several journalists have been abducted and one reporter has died in unclear circumstances, according to press reports and CPJ interviews.

New York, March 10, 2010—The Ethiopian Supreme Court reinstated fines on Monday against four newspaper publishing companies over their coverage of the disputed 2005 national election. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities to end their continuing pursuit of politically motivated charges related to the election.

New York, March 10, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today at the continued criminal prosecution of five journalists with the Dagestani independent weekly Chernovik.

Colombo, March 10, 2010—In a meeting with a CPJ delegation today, Sri Lankan Attorney General Mohan Peiris said he was prepared to offer protection to any of the nation’s journalists who return to the country from exile.

New York, March 9, 2010—Kazakh authorities should immediately lift their ban on the distribution of the independent weekly Respublika-Delovoye Obozreniye, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, March 9, 2010—The number of journalists in jail rose in February as a relentless media crackdown continues in Iran. Authorities are now holding at least 52 journalists in prison, a third of all those in jail around the world, according to the latest monthly survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

New York, March 8, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Kuwaiti court’s decision to fine a journalist and two newspapers for statements deemed offensive to the ruling family and the prime minister.

New York, March 4, 2010—Voice of America (VOA) reported today that its transmissions to Ethiopia are being electronically jammed. The Ethiopian government denied responsibility.