CPJ urges Pakistani officials to rescue Jang executive, keep other journalists safe

The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the kidnapping of Abid Abdullah, executive director of the Jang media group, and called on Pakistani authorities to ensure the safety of journalists who the kidnappers explicitly threatened. A group of unidentified gunmen intercepted Abdullah's car in the northwestern city of Peshawar in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province early yesterday morning as Abdullah and his driver, Zafar Hussain, departed for a hotel after a visit to the local printer of the daily Jang, the country's largest circulation newspaper. The gunmen fled with Abdullah in their vehicle. They also seized…Read more

Nigeria detains 13 journalists, bloggers, and media workers

Committee to Protect Journalists Nigerian authorities should immediately release at least 11 journalists, bloggers, and media support staff detained in recent days across the country and stop harassing the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. "The impunity with which Nigerian security forces have recently attacked the press is reminiscent of Nigeria's darkest days of military rule," said CPJ West Africa Representative Peter Nkanga. "We call on President Muhammadu Buhari's administration to reverse this alarming slide and let journalists do their jobs without fear of reprisal." At around 1:45 a.m. on September…Read more

Seizure of Canadian reporter’s computer threatens journalist independence

Reporters Without Borders Condemning last week's raid on the Journal de Montréal newspaper and the seizure of a reporter's computer as disturbing media freedom violations, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Canadian authorities to refrain from inspecting the computer's contents and return it to its owner without further delay. The Quebec police seized Journal de Montréal reporter Michael Nguyen's computer during a search of the newspaper on September 21 in response to a complaint by Quebec's judicial council about a story in June describing a judge's aggressive behaviour after a Christmas party in December 2015. According…Read more

India court urged to let journalists cover proceedings

International Press Institute (IPI) Executive Director Barbara Trionfi this week sent a letter to the chief justice of the High Court of Kerala, India expressing concern over continued restrictions on journalists' right to cover court proceedings. In the letter, which was also directed to the chief minister of Kerala's government, Trionfi noted that journalists have been denied access to courts in the southern Indian state for months and must rely on information provided by public relations officers. "This, however, is not a substitute for independent reporting," she wrote. "A free and independent judiciary…Read more

Regional journalists call for job safety for PNG media

Pacific Freedom Forum Pacific journalists say Papua New Guinea media bosses should provide more security and insurance to protect colleagues increasingly under attack. "Journalism is obviously having an impact if attacks are anything to go by," says PFF Co-Chair Monica Miller. "Equally obvious, Papua New Guinea journalists need greater security to protect them against such attacks." STRONG CONCERNS As the regional Article 19 network, PFF is raising strong concerns over the safety conditions for their media colleagues in PNG. The concern comes after two journalists were wounded in a machete attack last week [September 15,…Read more

2016 World Press Freedom Index published

RSF 2016 World Press Freedom Index The 2016 World Press Freedom Index has been published by Reporters sans Frontiers.  Established in 2002 it has become a useful tool for media freedom organisations across the globe. Finland, once again, tops the list as being the country with the highest level of media freedom and, inevitably, North Korea and Eritrea languish at the very bottom.  In between, Commonwealth countries are fairly broadly spread across the middle and lower middle ground.  At the top end, New Zealand lies 5th and Jamaica 10th with Britain in 38th place.…Read more

Police raid newspaper after critical documentary airs in Maldives

Authorities in the Maldives should cease harassing the Maldives Independent, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police raided the daily newspaper's office hours after the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera aired a documentary produced by the paper's former editor alleging high-level corruption in the Maldives. Six police officers arrived at the independent, English-language daily's office in the capital Male the afternoon of September 7 with a warrant authorizing them to search the premises on suspicion that the newspaper and its employees had participated in an alleged conspiracy "to overthrow the elected government, getting external help to…Read more

Journalist detained over criminal defamation complaint in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi journalist Siddiqur Rahman Khan has been detained since September 1 after a criminal defamation complaint was filed against him under Article 57 of the 2006 Information and Communication Technology Act, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for Khan's immediate release and an end to the use of criminal charges to harass and stifle online media in Bangladesh. Khan, the editor-in-chief of news portal Dainikshiksha, was detained by cybercrime unit police in the Shikkha Bhaban district of Dhaka, the capital, according to reports. Police spokesman Masudur Rahman told reporters that Khan…Read more

Zambia suspends licenses of three broadcasters

Zambian regulators should immediately reinstate the broadcasting licenses of three media outlets it revoked, and police should drop all charges against four media workers arrested when police sealed the offices of the country's largest privately owned television station, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Zambia's Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) on August 22 suspended the licenses of Muvi TV, the country's largest privately owned television station, as well as Komboni Radio and Radio Itezhi Tezhi, which are also privately owned. It alleged in a statement that the three were guilty of professional misconduct and "posed…Read more

Nigerian military threatens journalist for not revealing sources

The Nigerian military should cease threatening freelance journalist Ahmad Salkida with prosecution for not acting as an informer, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The military has said the journalist could face terrorism charges if he does not provide it with information he gained in the course of his reporting on the militant group Boko Haram. In a statement carried by Nigerian news websites on August 14, military spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman declared Salkida and two civil-society workers - Aisha Wakil and Ahmed Bolori - "wanted for interrogation" regarding the location of over two…Read more