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Jiang Weiping, a 2001 CPJ Press Feedom Award winner, spoke on Tuesday on a panel organized by the Ford Foundation in Washington, along with CPJ board member Clarence Page and Executive Director Joel Simon. The panel addressed the concerning number of journalists jailed worldwide–125, according to CPJ’s 2008 census–and discussed how advocacy by CPJ and other…

Thirty-five members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) join CPJ and Reporters Without Borders in a letter to the head of Iran’s judiciary calling for the release of imprisoned journalist Roxana Saberi, currently held in Iran’s Evin Prison.

Internationally acclaimed Kurdish Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi published a letter today on the Web site of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about his fiancee, jailed Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi. 

What you can do: Write a letter to your Iranian embassy or mission, and have your friends write letters too. Respectful language and a moderate tone will be most helpful for Roxana Saberi. 

CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon spoke extensively to CNN.com’s Tom Watkins about the huge number of journalists imprisoned for their work around the globe. The piece comes at a time when two high profile cases–that of Roxana Saberi in Iran, and Euna Lee and Laura Ling in North Korea–have put the spotlight on jailed journalists. Read…

CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon and Senior Program Coordinator Carlos Lauría co-authored an op-ed that appeared today in the Spanish-language El Universal, a national paper based in Mexico City. The piece examines the importance of protecting freedom of expression in Mexico in light of increased violence and U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent meeting with counterpart Felipe Calderón.

CPJ’s Robert Mahoney says in an interview with NPR that Roxana Saberi’s trial was not transparent. He urges restrained rhetoric but continued advocacy and diplomacy with Iran. 

Clarence Page, the Chicago Tribune columnist and CPJ board member, is disappointed the Congressional Black Caucus ignored human rights violations, including the imprisonment of journalists, during its recent visit to Cuba. In his column, Page notes that Cuba is now jailing 21 editors and writers, making it the world’s second-leading jailer of journalists.

CPJ Washington Representative Frank Smyth had a posting on The Hill Blog on April 3 about the House’s passing of a “shield bill” to protect reporters from revealing their sources, and another bill, the “Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act,” named after the late Wall Street Journal reporter. Read Smyth’s post here.

Environmental reporting around the world is under siege. Newsrooms in the United States are slashing budgets for the beat, and repressive countries are taking action to stifle reporting. Journalists are facing threats to their work–and sometimes, their lives. In the current issue of World Policy Journal, CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon calls on environmental and press…