Alerts

Bangkok, September 15, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the 10-year jail sentence handed down to Burmese journalist Sithu Zeya, a photographer with the Norway-based, exile-run Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), and calls on the government to reverse the ruling and stop its retaliation against exile-affiliated journalists.

New York, September 14, 2011--U.S. diplomatic cables disclosed last month by WikiLeaks cited an Ethiopian journalist by name and referred to his unnamed government source, forcing the journalist to flee the country after police interrogated him over the source's identity, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. It is the first instance CPJ has confirmed in which a citation in one of the cables has caused direct repercussions for a journalist.

New York, September 13, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the new measures taken by Egypt's ruling military council. In recent days, the military announced that it would actively enforce the Hosni Mubarak-era Emergency Law, which allows civilians, including journalists, to be tried in state security courts. Other recent anti-press measures include an Al-Jazeera bureau being raided and shut down, the military announcing a "temporary freeze" on issuing licenses to satellite television stations, and a foreign blogger being denied entry into the country.

New York, September 12, 2011--Brazilian authorities must thoroughly investigate the September 1 murder of a Brazilian radio journalist who was known for his criticism of local authorities and had allegedly been threatened with death by a local mayor, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, September 12, 2011--Authorities in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland are obstructing independent journalists from covering government politics, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Four reporters have been harassed and arrested while on assignment since early September.

New York, September 12, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the repeated death threats and harassment of a journalist who exposed corruption in the Bolivian government's Institute of Forensic Investigations this April.

New York, September 12, 2011--A lawsuit alleging invasion of privacy brought by Argentina's former president, Carlos Saúl Menem, against two journalists with the local newsweekly Noticias violates Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a legal brief filed Friday before the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

This is the first case brought in the Inter-American system that involves a privacy claim stemming from a report on matters of public concern. CPJ believes it is vital for the court to set a precedent of protecting journalists' rights at a time when leaders in Latin America and around the world are using a barrage of legal actions to stifle critical reporting.

New York, September 9, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the forced closure of two independent Iranian newspapers on Monday and the arrest of an Iranian writer in the city of Tabriz.

In July and August, Shahrvand-e Emrooz (Today's Citizen), a reformist weekly, ran two covers depicting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a satirical light. The paper was banned indefinitely under Article 6 of the Iranian Press Law, which prohibits "insulting legal or real persons who are lawfully respected, even by means of pictures or caricatures," the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) reported.

New York, September 9, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Thursday evening's killing of Iraqi journalist, filmmaker, and playwright Hadi al-Mahdi in Baghdad and calls on Iraqi authorities to immediately take steps to bring the perpetrators to justice.  

Al-Mahdi, radio show host and critic of the government, was shot dead in his home on Abu Nawas Street in the Baghdad neighborhood of al-Jidida on Thursday evening, Agence France-Presse reported. The Associated Press reported that a police officer said the journalist had been shot by gunmen using pistols outfitted with silencers. Witnesses at the crime scene told Human Rights Watch that they saw no evidence of a struggle or theft and that the journalist's valuables were left untouched. CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.

New York, September 9, 2011--CPJ is relieved that fighters loyal to Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara relinquished control last week of offices belonging to newspaper publishers who supported ousted President Laurent Gbagbo, local journalists and news reports said.