Young journalist held in Iran, ‘a country I love so much’
Iason Athanasiadis is still a young man at 30, but he’s an old school, shoe leather journalist. “Journalism’s deepest, most honest contributions inevitably spring from on-the-ground reporting, unencumbered by policy agendas in Washington, London, or other foreign capitals,” writes Sandy Tolan, author and University of Southern California journalism professor, today in Salon. “That’s what epitomizes the work of…
Press, politics at center of Eritrean mock trial
Articles published in Eritrea’s now-banned private newspapers are at the center of a mock political trial being filmed as an educational documentary this week at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Inside a courtroom on the sprawling Tempe, Ariz., campus, a judge of the High Court of Eritrea presides dispassionately, international observers lean into translation…
Iran releases some journalists, vilifies foreign press
New York, June 30, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Iranian authorities to immediately release all jailed journalists and to stop vilifying the foreign press. CPJ also welcomed the release of a number of employees of the reformist newspaper Kalameh Sabz who had been held since June 23.
Lee, Ling supporters hold vigil to keep case in spotlight
Last night, about 300 people gathered at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University for a vigil for U.S. television journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Today marks the 100th day of captivity in North Korea for the women, who were arrested in March by North Korean guards while filming a story about refugees for the…
More journalists arrested in Iran; CPJ seeks their release
New York, June 25, 2009–Iranian authorities should release all of the roughly 40 journalists and media workers who have been detained in the aftermath of the country’s disputed June 12 presidential election, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Iranian news organizations identified two more detained journalists in reports today.
Iranian newspaper raided, employees detained
New York, June 23, 2009–Iranian security agents arrested about 25 employees of Kalameh Sabz, the reformist newspaper owned by presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi, after raiding the paper’s offices on Monday evening, according to local and international news reports.
In Gambia, reporter still held after arrest at sedition hearing
New York, June 23, 2009–A Gambian reporter arrested on Monday while covering a pre-trial hearing in the sedition case of seven journalists jailed last week, was still being held without charge late today, according to local journalists and news reports.