Attacked

New York, September 9, 2009—Regional authorities must launch a thorough probe into a brazen attack on Mikhail Afanasyev, editor of the online magazine Novy Fokus, and examine whether his journalism was the motive, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

A grenade was hurled at columnist Steve Barriero’s garage while he was parking his car in the driveway at around 11 p.m. on July 31, 2009, in village 23 in the northern province of Ilocos Norte in the Philippines, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Suspected militants fired at two low-flying military helicopters in Basilan province in the southern Philippines on August 16, 2009, injuring two journalists who were on board, according to local and international reports. The militants were thought to belong to the Abu Sayyaf Group, which is allegedly linked to Al-Qaida.

New York, August 25, 2009–Masked assailants on Monday stormed a radio station and a television outlet critical of the country’s interim government, forcing the broadcasters off the air in the latest attack on the Honduran media. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Honduran authorities to ensure that all journalists can work safely in an…

New York, August 24, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for an end to an ongoing government crackdown on independent journalists in Somaliland.

On August 15, Caracas authorities arrested Gabriel Uzcátegui in connection with a violent attack against a dozen local journalists who were protesting an education bill that critics fear will restrict press freedom in Venezuela. Uzcátegui is an employee of the government-owned broadcaster AvilaTV, the national daily EL Nacional reported.

New York, August 20, 2009–Security forces obstructed, assaulted, and detained Afghan and foreign journalists in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan today, enforcing an official gag order on news of violent incidents during the presidential election. A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai told the press that information about attacks would discourage voter turnout. 

CPJ spoke with three Kabul-based journalists to learn how they and their colleagues around the country responded to the government’s request to mute coverage of violence during polling hours today.