Conflict Journalism

The detention of Al-Jazeera assistant cameraman Sami Al-Haj, who tomorrow begins his sixth year without charge or trial in the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is “unconstitutional and contrary to international law,” Reporters Without Borders said today, describing the detention centre as “one the biggest legal and humanitarian scandals of recent years” and reiterating its call for its...

The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has condemned the brutal murder of two prominent female journalists in Afghanistan. Koïchiro Matsuura decried the “cold-blooded killing Zakia Zaki, founder of one of the first community radio stations run entirely by women in Afghanistan, radio Sada — e — Sulh (Peace) in Jabul Seraj.” He noted that the murder...

Sami al-Haj spends his days alone, thinking of his wife and the son he barely knows. He spends his time thinking of the world beyond the razor wire, of the world away from the walls and bars, the orange jumpsuit he is forced to wear and the military guards that oversee him. He thinks too of his fellow prisoners incarcerated along with him at Guantanamo Bay and the anguish they endure. And when he...

The photographer was a seasoned operator in South Asia. So when she set forth on an assignment in India, she knew how to guard against gropers: dress modestly in jeans secured with a thick belt and take along a male companion. All those preparations failed, however, when an unruly crowd surged and swept away her colleague. She was pushed into a ditch, where several men set upon her, tearing at her...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has called on Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to do his utmost to ensure that the killers of the head of Peace Radio, Zakia Zaki, who was regularly threatened by warlords, are tracked down and punished. Two armed men broke into the family home of the head of radio Sada-e-Sulh (Peace Radio) in Jabalussaraj, in the northern province of Parwan, and gunned her down...

Reporters Without Borders voiced deep sadness today at the murder of a young cameraman employed by Associated Press Television News (APTN) in Baghdad on 1 June, a day after the father of a woman journalist employed by satellite TV station Al-Arabiya was found riddled with bullets in the Baghdad morgue. “We convey our condolences to the families of the victims and share their grief,” the press...

Reporters Without Borders voiced concern today about the safety of journalists in southern Nepal where armed groups are becoming increasingly active. At least 72 journalists have been attacked or threatened since 1 January by groups that use violence against the media and the civilian population in general. A list of the main incidents involving armed groups accompanies this release. "This is...

The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has called on democratic governments to take specific measures to protect freedom of the press in the face of widespread tightening of anti-terrorism measures. The WAN Board, meeting at the 60th World Newspaper Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, expressed its concern that following major terrorist attacks worldwide, tightened security and surveillance...

Three gunmen shot dead a female journalist in the north of Afghanistan capital Kabul, the second such killing in less than a week. Zakia Zaki, who also served as headmistress of a school in Parwan province, ran a private radio station, partially funded by a Western media group, Reuters reported. The 35-year-old married woman was killed at her house late on Tuesday night. Zaki was threatened...

Armed men attacked the headquarters of a Palestinian press agency in Gaza City Tuesday, employees said. The militants, most of them masked, broke into the offices of Palmedia and scared staff with aimless gunshots before seizing a computer and television editing equipment. Injuries were not reported. Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) Wednesday condemned the impunity with which journalists are being...