Pakistani Press Club in Peshawar hit by suicide bomber
New York, December 22, 2009—A suicide bomber detonated an explosive today on the grounds of the Press Club building in Peshawar, in the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan. Local and international media report that three, possibly four, people were killed, though none of the approximately 30 journalists waiting for a press conference to start…
Somali radio station and TV satellite destroyed; one dead
New York, December 21, 2009—Mortar shells destroyed the Radio Voice of Democracy building this morning in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing Amal Abukar, 22, the wife of the director of the station, Abdirahman Yasin. Abukar died instantly after three mortar shells landed on the station’s building in northern Mogadishu at 10:30 a.m., local journalists told CPJ. Yasin and a producer, Adam Hussein,…
My experience at the deadly Hotel Shamo bombing
Mohamed Olad Hassan, at left, a reporter for the BBC and The Associated Press, and chairman of the Somali Foreign Correspondents Association, recounts his experience covering a deadly ceremony in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Olad narrowly escaped death after a suicide bomber killed at least 23 people on December 3 at the graduation ceremony at Hotel…
Journalists beaten in Sudan after covering protests
New York, December 16, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the detention and beating of several journalists who were attempting to report on clashes this week and last between government forces and protesters in Khartoum and the nearby city of Omdurman. Police detained more than 100 people during the clashes, according to…
Beketov still recovering from attack a year later in Russia
Those familiar with Mikhail Beketov’s ordeal describe his survival as nothing short of a miracle. The once fit, towering 51-year-old who campaigned on environmental issues and criticized his city government’s policies through the pages of his newspaper is now gone. But the former editor of Khimkinskaya Pravda, an independent publication that exposed the blunders of the Khimki…
Explosion kills three Somali journalists in Mogadishu
New York, December 3, 2009—Three journalists were among the victims of a suicide bombing at a Benadir University graduation ceremony in Mogadishu today. At least 22 people were killed at Hotel Shamo, including three government ministers, by suspected Islamic insurgents, according to The Associated Press.Hassan Zubeyr, a cameraman for the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television network and…