Cambodian authorities must thoroughly investigate the disappearance of Canadian journalist Dave Walker, who went missing on Friday under mysterious circumstances in the country's western Siem Riep province, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Walker, a veteran freelance journalist and co-founder of the Animist Farm Films film production company, was last seen leaving his room at the...
The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by today's ruling by the U.K. High Court that said David Miranda was lawfully detained under antiterrorism legislation at Heathrow airport last summer. "This ruling risks bracketing journalistic activity together with terrorism," said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. "The judges themselves acknowledged that Miranda's detention and the seizure of...
Libya’s provisional parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), has passed very disturbing legislative provisions in the run-up to the February 20 election for a 60-member constituent assembly, according to Reporters Without Borders. An amendment to the penal code approved on February 5 bodes ill for the drafting of a constitution that respects freedoms and Libya’s international...
Al Arabiya TV correspondent Mohamed Al-Arab and cameraman Amjad Taha were attacked by a small group of demonstrators in the northern town of Al-Buddaya on February 15 while covering an opposition protest marking the third anniversary of the 2011 uprising. Reporters Without Borders called on the Bahraini authorities to investigate the incident thoroughly and to take appropriate measures to protect...
A 12-year jail sentence has been passed by a Riyadh court on Wadji Al-Ghazzawi, the owner of Al-Fajr TV and host of a programme called “Al-Fadfada†(Relaxed Conversation), for accusing Saudi Arabia of links with terrorism and Al-Qaeda in particular. In its February 4 sentence, the court also banned Ghazzawi from leaving the country for 20 years after completing his jail sentence and from ever...
A Vietnamese court today rejected the appeal of blogger and human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan, who was sentenced in October to 30 months in prison on tax evasion charges, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ruling and calls for the blogger's immediate and unconditional release. The Hanoi People's Court of Appeals ruled in a half-day trial that Quan's appeal...
Pakistani authorities should launch an efficient investigation into attacks against media outlets in Karachi and ensure the perpetrators are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Explosive materials were found in the parking lot of ARY television network's offices in Karachi today, according to the Pakistan Press Foundation and news reports. The materials, which did not...
Costa Rica may suffer a blow to its image as one of Latin America’s beacons of democracy after a government agency was accused of spying on one of the country’s most popular daily newspapers. Diario Extra reported that the Investigative Police Body in Costa Rica, or the OIJ, had been monitoring and recording the telephone conversations of one its reporters. The daily published a story on...
A recent wave of anti-press violations, including repressive legislation, abductions, and physical attacks, threatens to set back the steps Libya has taken toward democracy since the revolution that removed the late Muammar Qaddafi from power, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 5, the General National Congress (GNC) amended the Qaddafi-era penal code that stipulated a...
