Magnus Ag
Assistant Advocacy Director Magnus Ag is a New York-based human rights advocate and journalist. Prior to joining CPJ in 2010, Ag worked as head of section in the Danish Ministry for Science, Technology, and Innovation. He holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in political science from the University of Copenhagen. He speaks English, Danish, and Norwegian. Contact him here or follow him on Twitter @AgMagnus.
Abdel Dayem quoted in New York Times
The New York Times quotes CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem in the article “Baghdad Studio of Feisty TV Station Shut Down in Dispute With Iraqi Government” carried on November 4:”The arrests and the forced closing are emblematic of the changing news environment, in which journalists are less likely than…

Iraq war logs: US fails to answer for deaths of journalists
The Guardian quotes CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem in the article “Iraq war logs: US fails to answer for deaths of journalists” carried on October 22. Following Wikileaks’ recent publication of American military documents the Guardian describes how Iraq has been one of the most dangerous recent wars for the…

Censorship by bullet
In an article on October 20 the Latin America News Dispatch quotes CPJ executive director Joel Simon; “Mexico is the most dangerous country in Latin America.” Simon spoke on October 19 along with prominent writers and journalists from Mexico and the United States gathered in New York for “State of Emergency: Censorship by Bullet in…

Earp in the Guardian: Will China listen?
In the Guardian Comment is Free, CPJ Senior Asia Program Researcher Madeline Earp argues; in China “reform and opening-up is not possible without a free and independent media. China’s leaders must make, and meet, specific commitments to release imprisoned journalists and allow independent reporting and comment, with all the rights and responsibilities that entails. Chinese…
Abdel Dayem on Al Jazeera
CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem appeared on Al Jazeera English’s the Inside Story. The half hour show focused on the recent developments in Egypt and whether there is a plan to silence the most critical voices in Egypt ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections. The episode of Inside Story…

CPJ Impact
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, October 2010 CPJ announces 2010 press freedom awardsMedia repression in Iran, Ethiopia, Russia and Venezuela will be under the spotlight next month when CPJ presents the 2010 International Press Freedom Awards in New York City. CPJ announced the winners this month:Dawit Kebede of Ethiopia, Nadira Isayeva of Russia, Laureano…

CPJ to honor brave international journalists
Writers and editors from Ethiopia, Russia, Venezuela, and Iran to receive International Press Freedom Awards. Aryeh Neier to be honored with Burton Benjamin Award. New York, October 5, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor four courageous journalists with its 2010 International Press Freedom Awards at a ceremony in November. Dawit Kebede of Ethiopia, Nadira…

Mohammad Davari, Iran
2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee RAHANA Davari, 36, editor-in-chief of the news website Saham News, exposed horrific abuse at the Kahrizak Detention Center, videotaping statements from detainees who said they had been raped, abused, and tortured. The center was closed in July 2009 amid public uproar, but by September of that year the coverage…

Nadira Isayeva, Russia
2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee CPJ/Rodney Lamkey Jr. Isayeva, 31, has incurred the wrath of security services in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus for her relentless reporting on their handling of violence and militant Islam in the region. As editor-in-chief of the independent weekly Chernovik (Rough Draft) in the southern republic of Dagestan, she has…

Dawit Kebede, Ethiopia
2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee CPJ/Rodney Lamkey Jr. Kebede, 30, was one of the first journalists to be jailed for independent reporting on Ethiopia’s 2005 election violence. And he was among the last to be released under a presidential pardon nearly two years later. Unlike many of his colleagues who went into exile, Kebede…