Americas

2010

  
Saludes in Spain.

Unexpected departure: From jail to exile

It was about 4 in the afternoon on July 8 when the official assigned to me at Toledo Prison, where I’d been locked up for nearly five years, came running to get me. He was in such a hurry that that he tripped and almost fell to the ground. “Saludes, we’re going upstairs,” he said,…

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Six stories: Online journalists killed in 2010

This week, CPJ published its year-end analysis of work-related fatalities among journalists. Six of the 42 victims worked online. While you can read the full statistics and our special report elsewhere, I want to highlight the stories of these six journalists who worked on the Web.

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CPJ
Holbrooke with his wife, the author Kati Marton, at CPJ's International Press Freedom Awards in November. (Getty Images for CPJ/Michael Nagle)

CPJ mourns the passing of Richard Holbrooke

Richard C. Holbrooke, “one of the giants of American foreign policy” in President Barack Obama’s words, was also an ally of press freedom and a good friend to CPJ. In a statement marking Holbrooke’s death at age 69, Chairman Paul E. Steiger said: “CPJ mourns the passing of Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke. He was a…

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In Pinar del Río, where the author lived, worked, and went to jail for reporting on the failings of the Cuban regime. (AP/Javier Galeano)

Being a Cuban journalist: Harassed, repressed, and jailed

The president of the tribunal looked to his right and said, “The prosecutor has the floor.” With a serious voice he pronounced the sentence: “The prosecutor ratifies the request for perpetual imprisonment for the accused, Victor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, for acts against the independence and territorial integrity of the country.”

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Internet Blotter

Venezuela prepares law to regulate media, including the Internet. Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan briefly released from jail on $1.5 million bail… …but fellow Iranian-Canadian anti-censorship software designer Saeed Malekpour still faces death penalty. Syrian telecom minister says awareness of the dangers, not censorship of the Internet is the solution.

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Pete Hamill was among the journalists who spoke to the crowd; a mariachi band and Celtic performers took turns on stage. (James Higgins)

An uncanny alliance to benefit CPJ’s assistance program

While a first glance, The Irish-Mexican Alliance might seem like an unorthodox partnership, last night’s poetry and music fundraising event for CPJ at Connolly’s Pub near Times Square proved otherwise. 

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Five of 17 journalists released from Cuban prisons give a press conference on their arrival in Madrid in July. They have since told CPJ they suffered torture in jail. (AP/Paul White)

With 145 journalists behind bars, what’s in a number?

Today we released our annual census of imprisoned journalists around the world, citing 145 reporters, editors, and photojournalists behind bars on December 1, an increase of nine from 2009 figures. The tally begs the question, What’s in a number?

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Internet Blotter

Wikileaks hit by denial-of-service attack, turns to Amazon hosting… …but Amazon drops the site following pressure from a U.S. senator. Google extends its https encryption to YouTube, making video blocking harder. Censorship of the Net directly related to how authoritarian a regime is, claims a study. Venezuala’s telecom regulator proposes stronger takedown powers over Internet…

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Normando Hernández González testifies at the European Parliament in September. Free after six years in a Cuban prison, the journalist says he suffered torture in custody. (AP)

Trying to forget: Torture haunts freed Cuban journalist

I long to forget, but cannot. To erase from my memory the murmurs of suffering, the plaintive screams of torture, the screeching bars, the unmistakable music of padlocks, the garrulous sentinels…

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Left to right: Nadira Isayeva, Dawit Kebede, and Laureano Márquez in Washington. (CPJ/Rodney Lamkey Jr.)

CPJ Press Freedom Awardee: ‘I always wanted answers’

The last few weeks have been extremely busy for everyone at CPJ as we’ve been preparing for the 2010 International Press Freedom Awards. Today’s press conference in Washington will be followed by a series of events culminating in our awards ceremony Tuesday in New York. As always, the awardees make it special. 

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2010