Shazdeh Omari

Shazdeh Omari is CPJ's news editor. Former copy chief for The Village Voice, she has worked as a reporter and editor in the United States and Greece. Omari was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, where she learned to read, speak, and write Urdu.

Attacks On The Press
An advocate for the Maguindanao massacre victims appears at a court hearing near several police officers charged in the killings. (Reuters/Romeo Ranoco)

Attacks on the Press: Will Philippines Fail on Maguindanao?

Nearly two years since 32 journalists were murdered, the fight for justice has both intensified in rhetoric and bogged down in technicalities. Without a greater commitment of resources, the litmus test is one the Philippines could fail. By Shawn W. Crispin

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Attacks On The Press
Ai Weiwei speaks to journalists at his home in Beijing after the government held him incommunicado for nearly three months. (AP/Ng Han Guan)

Attacks on the Press: China Holds Fast to Information Control

Internet users posed ever-bigger challenges to Beijing’s media controls, boosting debate on public safety and censorship. But ahead of a 2012 leadership transition, the Chinese Communist Party looks likely to fiercely suppress dissent. By Madeline Earp

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Attacks On The Press
At a demonstration in Kabul, a photo of the slain Afghan journalist Ajmal Naqshbandi. (AP/Musadeq Sadeq)

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Fixers on Front Lines

Local “fixers” have been essential to foreign reporters covering the Afghan war. While they often do the same work as their international counterparts, they run greater risk and face a far more uncertain future. By Monica Campbell

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Attacks On The Press

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Europe & Central Asia

Analyses and data track press freedom conditions, Jean-Paul Marthoz details the European Union’s inconsistent approach to press freedom. Nina Ognianova describs Russia’s struggles to combat impunity in journalist murders.

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Attacks On The Press
Until his last days in office, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi pursued restrictive legislation known as the 'gag law.' (Reuters/Alessandro Garofalo)

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Europe, a Leader That Lags

In the EU, some countries appear more immune than others to scrutiny and reproach. Anti-terror laws, political and economic concerns, and a lack of common standards all challenge the credibility of the EU’s diplomacy. By Jean-Paul Marthoz

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Attacks On The Press

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Impunity Still the Norm in Russia

Russian investigators have adopted a more serious tone when discussing unsolved journalist murders, but officials still lack the will to apprehend masterminds of the killings. The lack of convictions takes a serious toll on investigative journalism. By Nina Ognianova

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Attacks On The Press

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Middle East & North Africa

Analyses and data track press freedom conditions throughout the region. Mohamed Abdel Dayem examines five trends to watch from the Arab uprisings. María Salazar and Sheryl Mendez describe the fear and uncertainty facing doens of Iranian exiled journalists. And Robert Mahoney details Turkey’s assault on free expression.

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Attacks On The Press
Photographers take cover during November protests in Tahrir Square. (AFP/Mahmud Hams)

Attacks on the Press: From Uprisings, Trends to Watch

The Middle East’s political shifts changed conditions for journalists dramatically. The emerging trends favor free expression, but are filled with ambiguity and depend on the political configurations to emerge after the revolutionary dust has settled. By Mohamed Abdel Dayem

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Attacks On The Press
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, buoyed by a landslide election victory, has led an attack on press freedom. (AP/Boris Grdanoski)

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Turkey’s Legal Problem

With the aid of anachronistic legislation and a rigid judiciary, Turkish officials and politicians have curbed free expression by subjecting journalists to endless court proceedings and legal costs. The EU and the U.S. are no help. By Robert Mahoney >> Türkçe

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Attacks On The Press

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Iran’s Vast Diaspora

Journalists who have fled Iran to avoid prison face a tense and lengthy process toward resettlement, an uncertain financial and professional future, and most of all, fear that the Iranian government will catch up with them. By María Salazar-Ferro and Sheryl A. Mendez >> فارسي

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