Journalists missing, attacked covering crisis in Ukraine
New York, April 29, 2014–At least two journalists who traveled to eastern Ukraine have been reported missing in the past week, while at least four journalists have been attacked, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the targeting of journalists and media outlets in Ukraine and calls on all parties…
Ethiopia jails nine journalists, renews press crackdown
Nairobi, April 28, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the Ethiopian government’s arrests of nine journalists in one of the worst crackdowns against free expression in the country.”With the latest arrests, Ethiopian authorities are turning the peaceful exercise of free expression into a crime,” said CPJ East Africa Representative Tom Rhodes.On Sunday, a…
Two journalists freed, one still in custody in eastern Ukraine
New York, April 25, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of two journalists in eastern Ukraine and calls for the release of a third journalist who has not been heard from since April 15. Sergei Lefter, reporter for the Warsaw-based Open Dialogue Foundation, is reportedly in custody of pro-Russian separatists led by Vyacheslav…
Journalists in Japan face threats 3 years after Fukushima
At the end of last month, an evacuation order declared during the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant power plant meltdown was lifted for residents of a small town in Fukushima Prefecture, the first time an area so close to the site was declared suitable for habitation. Yet, three years after Earthquake Tōhoku killed 15,000 people and triggered…
Journalist shot dead covering clashes in Egypt
New York, March 28, 2014–An Egyptian journalist was shot dead in Cairo today while covering deadly clashes, according to news reports. Mayada Ashraf was a reporter for the daily Al-Dustour. She had covered previous protests for the paper, the reports said.
Freelance Bahraini photographer given 10-year prison term
New York, March 26, 2014–Today’s conviction of freelance photographer Ahmed Humaidan is an attempt by Bahraini authorities to censor independent and dissident voices in the lead-up to the Formula One race in April, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Humaidan, who has been imprisoned since December 2012, was sentenced to 10 years in jail,…
Journalists detained, attacked while reporting in Crimea
New York, March 11, 2014–Two reporters were detained by armed men in the autonomous republic of Crimea, in southern Ukraine, while other journalists have reported being assaulted covering the crisis and their equipment damaged or seized, according to news reports. More than a dozen broadcasters have also been censored, the reports said.