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June 2009News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

New York, June 15, 2009–Intelligence officials at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Kabul should immediately release two Afghan journalists detained on Sunday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

New York, June 15, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for an end to the Iranian authorities’ ongoing crackdown on media following the disputed re-election of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. 

Dear Mr. President: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing ahead of your scheduled speech in Cairo on June 4 to bring to your attention important matters that are crucial to the long-term success of your stated goal of engaging the people–and not just the regimes–of the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu: The Committee to Protect Journalists urges your government to examine the deeply disturbing press restrictions and military strikes on media facilities that occurred during the prior government’s Gaza offensive in late 2008 and early 2009, and to take corrective action that brings official policies and practices in line with international standards.

New York, March 27, 2009–Pakistani authorities must not allow Thursday’s shooting death of veteran Pakistani reporter Raja Assad Hameed in Rawalpindi go uninvestigated and unprosecuted, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Dear Mr. President: The Committee to Protect Journalists urges you on the eve of the 53rd anniversary of Tunisia’s independence from France to end an ongoing cycle of repression of critical journalists and media outlets. We ask that you abide by the commitment you have made repeatedly since coming to power in 1987 to promote freedom of expression. The last time you reiterated this commitment was in November 2008 at a rally in Tunis marking the 21st anniversary of your ascent to power.

By Joel Simon In 2008, the numbers of journalists killed and jailed both dropped for the first time since the war on terror was launched in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. This is welcome news, but it is tempered by harsh realities. The war on terror had a devastating effect on journalists, and…

Uneasy about satellite television coverage of civil strife and economic hardship, Arab governments are trying to reassert control over the medium. Will a new regional agreement halt the satellite revolution? By Joel Campagna

Burma’s already beleaguered journalists came under heavy attack after massive Cyclone Nargis pounded the country’s southern coastal region in May, killing an estimated 84,500 people and severely affecting another 2.4 million, according to U.N. estimates. As local and international criticism grew over a slow and inadequate response to the natural disaster, the military junta intensified…