Legal Action Archives - Page 218 of 229 - Committee to Protect Journalists

Morocco silences the pens of its journalists

December 1, 2009 1:06 PM EST

On the eve of Hillary Clinton’s departure to Morocco for the Forum of the Future on November 3, CPJ urged her to “impress upon the Moroccan authorities that a free press is a crucial component of any free society.” The forum is a gathering of political, business, and social leaders from the Middle East and…

Huang Qi sentenced to three years in jail in China

November 24, 2009 1:54 PM EST

New York, November 24, 2009—After almost 18 months in detention, prominent Internet publisher and human rights activist Huang Qi was sentenced to three years imprisonment on Monday by a court in Wuhou in China’s Sichuan province. The sentencing hearing lasted 10 minutes, according to international news reports. Police in Chengdu detained Huang on June 10,…

Chansa Kabwela speaks to reporters. (Thomas Nsama)

Zambian editor acquitted in hospital ‘obscenity’ case

November 17, 2009 5:10 PM EST

As the news editor of Zambia’s largest circulation newspaper and a mother to two young children, Chansa Kabwela already has her hands full. For the last four months, however, this 29-year-old journalist was mired in a court case with a peculiarity that made international headlines and sparked a debate on press freedom in this landlocked nation in southern Africa. The case…

Sierra Leone’s criminal libel law sparks barber boycott

November 10, 2009 2:24 PM EST

My looks have completely changed in recent months. Long hair now colonizes my chin and my head. Never in my adult life have I waited longer than a week without a shave or a haircut, let alone for four months. One ends up doing the strangest things for press freedom in Sierra Leone.

CPJ rejects Iran espionage charges against American hikers

November 9, 2009 4:24 PM EST

New York, November 9, 2009—Three American hikers who inadvertently crossed the border into Iran on July 31 are facing chargers of espionage, according to a report from the state news agency IRNA.

New Yemeni press court sentences, bans journalists

November 2, 2009 4:44 PM EST

New York, November 2, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to end the intensifying judicial and media campaign to silence critical journalists and eradicate press freedom.

Media rules could bring back the bad old days in Pakistan

October 30, 2009 4:24 PM EDT

On a day when Western media focused on the ramifications of the official visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Islamabad, I got a heads-up email message from Mazhar Abbas in Islamabad this morning.

Driss Chahtan holds his daughter while being taken to prison. (Abdelwahid Mahir)

In Morocco, editor imprisoned, court shutters paper

October 16, 2009 2:51 PM EDT

New York, October 16, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the decision of a Rabat court Thursday to imprison the managing editor of Al-Michaal newspaper for one year.

Veteran Zambian editor charged with contempt over op-ed

October 15, 2009 5:03 PM EDT

New York, October 15, 2009—The editor-in-chief of Zambia’s largest newspaper was criminally charged for the second time on Wednesday after running an op-ed critical of controversial pornography charges against a journalist, according to local journalists and news reports.

Algerian journalist faces 16 politicized lawsuits

October 8, 2009 4:17 PM EDT

New York, October 8, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Algerian authorities to drop charges against journalist and rights activist Hafnaoui Ghoul, who is on trial for writing articles critical of local authorities in Djelfa province.