North Korea / Asia

In this video companion to CPJ’s annual census of imprisoned journalists, Deputy Director Robert Mahoney describes how international advocacy can make a difference in winning the freedom of jailed reporters, editors, photojournalists, and bloggers. (3:45) Read the special report “Freelancers Under Fire” and view our database of journalists in prison.  

Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested by North Korean police on March 17 for allegedly entering the country illegally and carrying out “hostile acts.” In June, they were sentenced to 12 years’ hard labor. Now back in the U.S. after receiving a pardon, the two are telling their story on Current.com,…

CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon is one of four diverse voices featured on The New York Times “Room for Debate” blog. The debate centers on the risk of venturing into dangerous territories, whether for recreation or journalism. You can read Simon’s take on the Times’ Web site.

Roxana Saberi, who was imprisoned in Iran for nearly four months, published a statement on her personal Web site to Euna Lee and Laura Ling after their release from North Korea on Tuesday. Saberi had previously expressed her support for the two imprisoned journalists in an interview with CPJ on June 9.

We issued the following statement in response to reports today from the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that imprisoned U.S. journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling have been pardoned and will be released:

The Committee to Protect Journalists is encouraged by news reports that former U.S. President Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea to negotiate the release of two American television journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling. They were convicted on June 8 of entering North Korea illegally and planning “hostile acts” and were sentenced to 12 years’…

New York, July 16, 2009–North Korea should grant amnesty to U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who have now been jailed four months following their arrest on the North Korean-Chinese border, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Last night, about 300 people gathered at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University for a vigil for U.S. television journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Today marks the 100th day of captivity in North Korea for the women, who were arrested in March by North Korean guards while filming a story about refugees for the…

New York, June 17, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on North Korean authorities to demonstrate greater transparency in their treatment of imprisoned U.S. television reporters Euna Lee and Laura Ling.