In breakthrough, Mexican media sign crime accord
Major Mexican press organizations agreed today on a code for coverage of organized crime, a step seen as a national breakthrough that could set professional standards well into the future. Though organized crime has been the major story in Mexico for several years, coverage has been haphazard based on time, place, and news organization. The…
Thailand dismisses role in Reuters photographer’s death
New York, March 24, 2011–A Thai police investigation concluded today that government security forces did not kill Reuters photographer Hiro Muramoto, left, during political violence in Bangok on April 10, 2010. But the Committee to Protect Journalists, expressing concerns that the investigation was not transparent, has called for a full, independent investigation into the Japanese…
Ukraine indicts Kuchma in Gongadze murder
New York, March 24, 2011–Eleven years after the brutal murder of online journalist Georgy Gongadze, Ukrainian prosecutors today indicted former President Leonid Kuchma on abuse-of-office charges in connection with the slaying, local and international news reports said.
Kazakh investigators cast Pavlyuk murder as robbery
New York, March 24, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Kazakh authorities today to thoroughly investigate journalism as a motive in the murder of Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk. Pavlyuk, better known by his pen name, Ibragim Rustambek, died in the hospital on December 22, 2009, after having been thrown from an upper-story window of…
Jammeh to news media: I set limits on press freedom
Last week, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh participated in a rare meeting with select members of the West African nation’s press corps. Jammeh spoke in favor of access to public information. He announced that he would allow The Standard newspaper to resume publication, five months after the National Intelligence Agency forced its editor, Sheriff Bojang, to…
Ukraine to investigate Kuchma in Gongadze murder
New York, March 22, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes news that Ukrainian prosecutors have opened an investigation into allegations that former President Leonid Kuchma had a role in the 2000 abduction and murder of independent journalist Georgy Gongadze, left. CPJ called on Ukrainian investigators today to clarify the focus of the investigation and conduct…
In Ivory Coast, journalists pick sides or flee
Reporting on the power struggle in Ivory Coast is increasingly perilous, with journalists facing a climate of threats, intimidation, and attacks that has forced many to choose between adopting partisan coverage or fleeing to safety. “Here, we are in a situation where if you are not with one camp, then you are against them. You…
In Libya, 4 journalists detained, 3 missing, one killed
New York, March 20, 2011–Al-Jazeera said today that Libyan authorities have been holding four of its journalists in Tripoli for several days, while Agence-France Presse reported that two of its journalists and a third journalist are missing in eastern Libya. On Saturday, the founder and manager of a Libyan online broadcaster was killed by gunfire…
In Yemen, a journalist fatally shot, another injured
New York, March 18, 2011–One journalist was fatally shot and another wounded in Sana’s today when Yemeni security forces used live ammunition to disperse demonstrators from a central protest area, killing dozens of people. The death of photographer Jamal al-Sharaabi is the first confirmed media fatality in Yemen since political unrest began in January, the…