Roadside bomb kills Russian photojournalist in Iraq
New York, May 7, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death on Sunday of Dmitry Chebotayev, the first Russian journalist to be killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. Chebotayev, a freelance photographer embedded with U.S. forces, was killed along with six American soldiers when a roadside bomb struck a U.S.…
Gunmen storm Baghdad radio station, killing one
New York, May 3, 2007—Dozens of heavily armed gunmen stormed an independent radio station in Baghdad’s Al-Jamia district today, killing one employee, destroying equipment, and knocking the station off the air. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s assault on Radio Dijla. Around 2:30 p.m. local time, dozens of masked gunmen attacked Radio Dijla with…
Backsliders: The 10 countries where press freedom has most deteriorated
New York, May 2, 2007–Three nations in sub-Saharan Africa are among the places worldwide where press freedom has deteriorated the most over the last five years, a new analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists has found. Ethiopia, where the government launched a massive crackdown on the private press by shutting newspapers and jailing editors,…
Iraqi AP photojournalist held by U.S. without charge for a year
New York, April 10, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the United States to release Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi photojournalist for The Associated Press, who has been held in a U.S. prison in Iraq for a year without charge. Hussein, a Pulitzer Prize winner, was taken by U.S. forces on April 12 in the…
Iraqi journalist found murdered; reporter abducted in Baghdad
New York, April 5, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of an abducted Iraqi journalist who was found dead by Iraqi police in Baghdad. Radio Free Iraq reporter Khamail Khalaf, who was kidnapped April 3 from Baghdad’s Yarmouk district, was found dead in Baghdad’s Jamia neighborhood today, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty…
Deputy director of Iraqi TV channel killed in truck bomb attack
New York, April 5, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s suicide truck bomb attack on the Iraqi satellite channel Baghdad TV that killed the station’s deputy director, injured 12, and caused severe structural damage to the building in Baghdad’s Jamia district. A suicide attacker driving a garbage truck packed with explosives blasted near the…
In Iraq, 11 media workers jailed for month without charge
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that 10 current employees and one former employee of the independent production company Wasan Media have been held by the Interior Ministry for more than a month without charge.
Iraqi news presenter, driver abducted in Baghdad
New York, March 19, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the abduction of an Iraqi news presenter and his driver by armed men in Baghdad on Saturday. Around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, four masked gunmen seized Karim Manhal, a news presenter and editor for the privately owned Radio Dijla, and the station’s driver, Thamir Sabri,…
On 4th anniversary of Iraq conflict, press marks deadliest toll
New York, March 15, 2007—Four years after the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, Iraq remains the deadliest country in the world for the press as local journalists continue to suffer disproportionately from the violence, research by the Committee to Protect Journalists shows. A total of 97 journalists and 37 media support staffers have been…