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 in 2011: Eritrea
No independent press has operated in this Red Sea nation since a September 2001 government crackdown on dissent that led to the imprisonment of 11 leading journalists without charge or trial and the enforced closure of their publications. President Isaias Afewerki’s administration consistently refused to account for the whereabouts, legal status, or health of the…
Honoring reporting in defiance of censorship
New York, November 23, 2011–Four intrepid reporters and editors from Bahrain, Belarus, Mexico, and Pakistan were honored Tuesday evening at the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 21st Annual International Press Freedom Awards benefit dinner, an annual recognition of courageous journalism. The event, held at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel, raised nearly $1.4 million for CPJ’s work denouncing…
CPJ Overview Video 2011
At the 21st Annual International Press Freedom Awards ceremony, CPJ premiered its 2011 overview video, detailing our efforts to defend press freedom around the world and online. More on the Awards • The ceremony • Press release • Awardees • Al-Jamri, Bahrain • Radina, Belarus • Valdez, Mexico • Cheema, Pakistan • Rather, Benjamin Award