New York, February 15, 2011—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by news that CBS correspondent and CPJ board member Lara Logan was sexually assaulted and beaten in Cairo on Friday while covering rallies marking the resignation of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. “We have seen Lara’s compassion at work while helping journalists who have faced brutal aggression while doing their jobs,” CPJ Chairman Paul Steiger said. “She is a brilliant, courageous, and committed reporter. Our thoughts are with Lara as she recovers.”
Logan joined the CPJ board in October 2008. That same year she spearheaded an effort to raise funds to pay for multiple surgeries for an injured Iraqi reporter, Jehad Ali, whom she befriended while reporting in Iraq. Ali eventually made a full recovery. Logan currently serves on CPJ’s Journalist Assistance Committee, which oversees the program that provides financial and other support to journalists around the world who have been victims of violence and repression.