CPJ urges Azerbaijan to halt its crackdown on the press
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to bring to your attention the deteriorating climate of press freedom in Azerbaijan, which undermines your government’s commitments to press freedom and human rights, mars the country’s international image, and obstructs the transparency of the upcoming October presidential vote in which you reportedly plan to seek re-election. We call on you to start reversing this trend and allow the press to report freely without fear of imprisonment, attacks, or politicized lawsuits.
Newspaper director gets jail for defamation in Ecuador
New York, March 12, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the prison sentence issued Friday to Yaco Martínez, director of the daily La Nación in the province of Carchi. Martínez was convicted of defaming a former governor with an article published in his newspaper, according to news reports.
Police beat journalists attending court case in Mogadishu
Nairobi, March 12, 2013–Somali police attacked and obstructed more than a half-dozen journalists who were seeking to cover a rape trial in Mogadishu on Saturday, as authorities continue to struggle in meeting law enforcement and free expression demands in sexual assault cases. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attacks and calls on authorities to…
In tense climate, Kenyan press can draw on solidarity
Amid a tense presidential election, Kenyans have avoided a repeat of the deadly violence that followed the vote in 2007, when half a million people were uprooted and more than 1,000 people were killed. Still, the situation today is fraught. Ethnic identity dominates the nation’s political divisions–and those same loyalties can undermine solidarity in the…
Iran targets reformist press in the run-up to elections
New York, March 7, 2013–Iranian authorities have banned three reformist news outlets and arrested four journalists in the past two days, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Iranian government’s continuing attempts to stifle the press in the run-up to the presidential elections in June and calls on authorities to immediately…
Journalist detained by security agents in Mali
New York, March 6, 2013–State security agents in Mali detained an editor today in connection with his newspaper’s publication of an open letter criticizing a financial package awarded to a former coup leader, according to news reports and local journalists. Six agents of State Security, Mali’s intelligence agency, arrested Boukary Daou, a top editor for…
Iran arrests another journalist in campaign against the press
New York, March 4, 2013–Iranian authorities arrested another journalist this weekend as part of a broad crackdown aimed at intimidating the press before Iran’s presidential election in June. Mohammad Javad Rouh, editor for the reformist monthly magazine Mehrnameh, was arrested in his home in Tehran on Sunday, according to news reports.
Somali appellate court upholds journalist’s conviction
Nairobi, March 4, 2013–Sunday’s decision by an appellate court in Mogadishu to uphold the conviction of a freelance Somali journalist in connection with his interview of a reported rape victim prolongs a miscarriage of justice and is a direct assault on press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Nigerian broadcast regulator closes down radio station
New York, March 4, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a decision by Nigeria’s media regulatory body to shut down a radio station in connection with a broadcast that questioned the local government’s motives in an anti-polio vaccination program.