Seeking justice for Marlene Garcia-Esperat
Today CPJ launched its 2009 Global Impunity Index in Manila to mark the fourth anniversary of the murder of Marlene Garcia-Esperat, left, a Philippine columnist who reported on corruption in the government’s agriculture department. Garcia-Esperat was gunned down in her home in front of her family in a case that has become emblematic of the…
In Russia, criminal ties to government fuel impunity
In Russia, even official statistics present a depressing picture: Contract-style murders of journalists, more often than not, remain unsolved. Even the rare investigations that result in trials do not answer the main question: Who ordered the killing?
Going beyond national borders to combat impunity
Combating impunity has been a long and difficult process, full of obstacles and problems. At the national level it has not been easy, so much of our work is carried out using the supranational tools that we helped develop. They began taking shape through international intergovernmental declarations, in conclusions reached by international legislative and judicial…
Czech leader supports CPJ effort to free Cubans
The Czech prime minister has expressed support for CPJ’s efforts to gain the release of imprisoned Cuban jouirnalists. We sent Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, who is also president of the Council of the European Union, a copy of a March 17 letter to an EU envoy. In the letter, we asked envoy Louis Michel to seek the…
Black Spring of 2003: A former Cuban prisoner speaks
March 18, 19, and 20 will mark the sixth anniversary of the detention of 75 peaceful journalists and librarians, as well as human rights activists, convicted weeks later to up to 28 years in jail during summary trials. Fifty-four of these innocent people, who demanded a democratic society and respect for human rights, remain imprisoned…
For investigative reporters, many risks and some answers
Reporters who dig up carefully buried facts about those in power can easily find themselves in danger. In countries where a tradition of watchdog journalism has not yet taken hold, the risks of practicing investigative reporting can be real and physical for those reporters that take it on.
Former CPJ award winner acquitted in Burundi
The staff at CPJ was relieved to hear that former CPJ Press Freedom Award winner Alexis Sinduhije was released from prison today. The former radio station director and veteran Burundian journalist was acquitted by a Bujumbura court after serving four months of a two and a half year jail sentence for “insulting the president.” A…
Swazi columnist criticizes king, gets fined … in cows
About two weeks ago, traditional authorities in the mountain kingdom of Swaziland slapped the nation’s most outspoken political columnist, Mfomfo Nkambule, with a fine–to be paid in cows–for criticism of the administration of King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute ruler.