Egyptian journalists face the trials of September
Many in Egypt still dread the month of September. Twenty-seven years ago, the government arbitrarily jailed hundreds of civil society activists of different political and religious leanings, including journalists. The capricious crackdown, which occurred only a few weeks before President Anwar Sadat’s assassination on October 6, 1981, by a radical Islamist was spurred by unsubstantiated…
Democracy Now! producers arrested at RNC
Producers Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, and Nicole Salazar from Democracy Now! were arrested while reporting on street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. All three journalists were released today. Also arrested was Associated Press photographer Matt Rourke.This video shows Amy Goodman being placed under arrest: Nicole Salazar shot this footage of her own arrest:
Press freedom in the news 9/2/08
Both the BBC and The International Herald Tribune have coverage of protests at the funeral of slain Russian journalist Magomed Yevloyev. We released a statement yesterday about the death of Yevloyev, the owner of Ingushetiya Web site, who was found dead after being taken into police custody. Roza Malsagova, the editor of the site, fled…
CPJ site blocked in Ethiopia
Reliable sources in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa have informed CPJ this week that our site was inaccessible on the servers of the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation, the country’s official Internet service provider. A handful of separate Internet users in the country have independently confirmed seeing “The page cannot be displayed” messages when attempting to…
Press freedom in the news 8/29/08
Philippine blog The Mindanao Examiner has an open letter to President Gloria Arroyo that is critical of her approach to press freedom in the country, one of the most deadly for journalists. The Sun Star has an update on their blog Arroyo Watch that examines her comments critical of the media. CPJ’s Global Campaign Against…
Day 7: Freelancers hostage in Somalia
Today marks the seventh day that four media workers have been held hostage by an unknown group roughly 12 miles (20 kilometers) west of Mogadishu. Freelance journalists Amanda Lindhout, Nigel Brennan, and Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi, along with driver Mahad Clise, were returning from interviews with Somali refugees at Celasha Biyaha when they were kidnapped along…
ABC News producer arrested in Denver
ABC News producer Asa Eslocker was arrested on Wednesday while working on a story outside Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel during the Democratic National Convention. He was arrested on charges of interference, trespass and failure to obey a lawful order, according to The Associated Press.
Press freedom in the news 8/28/08
The International Herald Tribune has picked up an Associated Press report about the arrest of a Colombian politician in the murder of Nelson Carvajal, a broadcaster for Radio Sur killed in 1998. The Pakistan Times and the Kashmir Observer are both covering the continued violence in Kashmir and mention our condemnation of the assaults and…
Press freedom in the news 8/27/08
The Washington Post has an column from Joe Davidson today that expresses concern about the CIA recruitment of journalists at a recent conference. Davidson discusses how the line between journalist and spy is often blurred abroad and how reporters like CPJ board member Terry Anderson have found themselves taken hostage when neutrality of journalists is…
Journalists under increasing threat in Iraqi Kurdistan
Reuters has an in-depth story today on the increasingly dangerous reporting environment in Iraqi Kurdistan. Part of the problem, the article reports a local editor as saying, is that “the government thinks that journalists are the opposition.” Killings, threats, and attacks against journalists are on the rise, with about 60 occurrences reported to CPJ in…