News

A court decision against one of Tajikistan’s leading independent news outlets and its editor harm freedom of expression in the country, Human Rights Watch said Monday. The decision upholds a finding of guilt for committing “insult” and a draconian level of damages against Asia Plus, one of the few independent news sources, over a critical article. The decision could have a chilling effect on...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the attack on Zafar Aheer, a resident editor for the Daily Jang newspaper. Half-a-dozen unidentified armed and masked men attacked Aheer and left him injured in Multan, Punjab province on Saturday, May 31. Aheer was returning home from his office when the attackers stopped his car and started beating him. The assailants, travelling on two...

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on the United States Department of Justice to withdraw a subpoena seeking to force journalist James Risen to give testimony that would reveal a confidential source. The Supreme Court said today it would not consider Risen's appeal of a lower court ruling that he must testify, meaning the journalist has exhausted his legal avenues to challenge the...

The International Federation of journalists (IFJ) has joined its affiliate, the Association of Iranian journalists (AoIJ), to demand that the government of Iran follows up on its election promises by showing respect for press freedom and releasing all journalists imprisoned in the country. According to the AoIJ, three more Iranian journalists have been imprisoned in the country in recent months â€...

The International Press Institute (IPI) Friday expressed concern over recent developments in Turkey in which journalists were targeted with excessive prison sentences and the prime minister urged grieving families to sue his media critics. Turkish media reported last week that prosecutors were seeking 26-52 years behind bars for daily Taraf journalist Mehmet Baransu and Managing Editor Murat Sevki...

The International Press Institute (IPI) Friday condemned an Israeli security forces raid on a Palestinian printing plant in an apparent effort to halt publication of several newspapers. Security forces stormed the Al-Ayyam daily and stopped its printing operations, according to the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms and IPI sources. The Ramallah-based newspaper prints editions...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned that a Chinese news assistant working for a Japanese news agency has been accused of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble” and detained by police for two weeks. Xin Jian, a Chinese news assistant for Nikkei Inc, the Japan Economic Times News Agency, was taken away from her home by Chongqing police on May 13. She was released...

Three local and international journalists are missing or being held hostage in eastern Ukraine, while unidentified assailants burned down the offices of a newspaper. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Ukrainian authorities to ensure the safety of journalists covering the crisis. "All sides in Ukraine's continuing crisis are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined its Israeli affiliate, the National Federation of Israel Journalists (NFIJ), in expressing its strong concerns about a draft bill being prepared by the Israeli government that will close down the countries only public broadcaster, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA). In a Initiates file downloadletter sent to each member of the...

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has today called on the Azerbaijani government to stop criminalising journalism following a new wave of criminal prosecutions against journalists, bloggers and human rights activists in the country. The call came after the government has sent eight journalists and eight bloggers to jail for their criticism against the government. They include blogger...