CPJ aids 170 journalists worldwide in 2015
Bob Rugurika
CPJ helped cover legal expenses for Rugurika, director of the privately-owned Burundian station Radio Publique Africaine, after he was charged in January 2015 with breach of public solidarity, complicity in murder, and violating the secrecy of an investigation after refusing to reveal the name of a source in a story about the murder of three Italian nuns. Rugurika was released on bail after about a month in jail.
Muawiye Ahmed Mudey
Freelance Somali broadcaster Muawiye was wounded in crossfire while on assignment in February 2015. The journalist was taken to a local hospital where he underwent two surgeries, but he required additional medical treatment that was unavailable in Mogadishu. CPJ provided Muawiye with an emergency grant that allowed him to be airlifted to Nairobi in Kenya, where he received the necessary treatment.
Miguel Díaz
For years, critical online journalist Díaz received death threats over his reporting on corruption. Following the August 2015 murder of Mexican photojournalist Rubén Espinosa Becerril, Díaz and other Veracruz-based colleagues began an independent investigation. Díaz told CPJ that almost immediately the group was harassed and put under surveillance, apparently by authorities. When Díaz felt his life was at risk, CPJ helped him and his family temporarily relocate outside Mexico.
Nguyen Van Hai
Hai, a Vietnamese blogger and recipient of CPJ’s 2013 International Press Freedom Award, spent more than five years in prison on anti-state charges. Hai was released early in October 2014 on the provision that he go into exile in the U.S. CPJ provided the blogger with an emergency grant to help cover his immediate living costs.
Issam Khoury
Khoury, a Syrian freelancer, faced constant threats from the government of Bashar al-Assad for more than a decade before protests in 2011 spread to his hometown of Latakia, a stronghold for regime supporters. That year, the harassment against him intensified and Khoury fled with his family to Lebanon. From there, Khoury continued to work, but says he was threatened by local officials. In 2014, Khoury traveled to the U.S. The following year, CPJ nominated him for a fellowship at City University of New York.