IPI condemns intimidation of media during Fiji coup December 5, 2006 The International Press Institute (IPI) is deeply concerned by the intimidation and violent threats made against the management and staff of the Fiji Daily Post by the Fijian military during a coup d’état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama. According to information before IPI, the Fiji Daily Post was forced to halt operations and evacuate their […] Read more »
IPI concerned by new wave of prosecutions of journalists in Azerbaijan October 20, 2006 According to information before IPI, on 3 October, a court in Azerbaijan sentenced Sakit Zahidov, also known as Mirza Sakit, a satirical journalist with the opposition daily Azadlig, to three years in prison on drug possession charges. Human rights organisations said the trial was marred with irregularities. Zahidov, an outspoken critic of President Ilham Aliyev, […] Read more »
IPI strongly condemns murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Russia October 9, 2006 According to information before the International Press Institute (IPI), Anna Politkovskaya, a well-known Russian investigative journalist and political commentator, was found shot dead in the lift of her apartment building in Moscow on 7 October 2006. She worked as a reporter for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and was reportedly finishing a story on the […] Read more »
IPI worried by use of “defamation of religions” phrase in international statements, fears it may encourage media persecution September 29, 2006 The International Press Institute (IPI) is becoming increasingly alarmed at the use of phrases calling for the prevention of the “defamation of religions” in a series of documents issued by the United Nations (UN). The phrase “defamation of religions” has its origins in a draft resolution brought before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights […] Read more »
IPI honoured by U.S. National Television Academy at News Emmys September 26, 2006 At the News and Documentary Emmys, on 25 September, the U.S. National Television Academy (NTA) honoured the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) and two other organisations for their press freedom work. After noting that 2005 had been one of the deadliest years on record for working journalists, President/CEO of the NTA, Peter Price, said in his […] Read more »
IPI concerned about official harassment of Russian newspaper August 18, 2006 The International Press Institute (IPI) is concerned about the situation of the Permsky Obozrevatel independent business weekly newspaper, based in the city of Perm, which has reportedly suffered repeated harassment in recent months. According to information before IPI, on 2 August, more than 20 armed men wearing camouflage uniforms and masks stormed the office of […] Read more »
IPI welcomes Millennium Challenge Corporation’s suspension of Gambia June 21, 2006 According to information provided to IPI, on 19 June, the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an organisation providing US congressional aid to countries that rule justly and encourage economic freedom, suspended Gambia’s suitability for assistance after “a pattern of actions inconsistent with MCC’s selection criteria.” In reaching its decision, the Board […] Read more »
Letter: IPI concerned about legal actions aimed at intimidating Polityka’s staff December 19, 2005 His Excellency Aleksander Kwasniewski President of the Republic of Poland Office of the President Ul. Wiejska 10 00-902 Warsaw Poland Fax: (+ 4822) 695 12 53 Vienna, 19 December 2005 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, is concerned about recent legal actions undertaken by […] Read more »
Letter: PI appeals to South African President to raise the issue of press freedom in neighbouring Zimbabwe December 14, 2005 H.E. Thabo Mbeki President of South Africa The Presidency Union Buildings, West Wing Government Avenue Pretoria 0001 Republic of South Africa Fax: (+ 2712) 323 82 46 / 2573 Vienna, 14 December 2005 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, leading journalists and media executives in over 110 countries, invites […] Read more »
Letter: IPI condemns the treatment of the Magazine Cicero and its reporter Bruno Schirra by German authorities November 24, 2005 H.E. Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble Interior Minister Ministry of the Interior Alt-Moabit 101 D D-10559 Berlin Germany Fax: +49 1888 68 12 926 Vienna, 24 November 2005 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, leading journalists and media executives in over 110 countries, condemns the ongoing treatment of the magazine Cicero […] Read more »
IPI concerned about harassment of the media during parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan November 11, 2005 According to information before IPI, several journalists and other media workers covering the November election campaigns, including the parliamentary elections, have been beaten, arrested, prevented from entering polling stations, and otherwise harassed. The Turan Information Agency reported that the National Television and Radio Council banned foreign news crews from broadcasting live during the elections due […] Read more »
IPI/SEEMO demands reform of Hague Tribunal’s Rule 77 October 14, 2005 At a meeting of over 60 editors-in-chief, leading journalists and media executives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro, on 13 October 2005 in Opatija, Croatia, the International Press Institute (IPI) and its affiliate, the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), expressed their support for the actions taken by the Organisation for Security […] Read more »
Letter: IPI increasingly worried at the worsening press freedom situation in Niger September 16, 2005 H.E. Mamadou Tandja President Presidential Palace Niamey Niger Fax: +227-722 245 / 733 430 / 724 529 / 732 245 Vienna, 16 September 2005 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, leading journalists and media executives in over 112 countries, is becoming increasingly worried at the worsening press freedom situation […] Read more »
Letter: IPI’s response to the European Commission’s External Relations Directorate General September 7, 2005 Head of Unit European Commission External Relations Directorate General B-1049 Brussels Belgium Fax: + 32-2-295 10 28 Vienna, 7 September 2005 Dear Sir, Thank you for your letter of 11 August setting out the European Commission’s (EC) reply to our letter dated 16 June in which we raise our concerns about the press freedom situation […] Read more »
IPI disturbed by promotion of economic trade with PRC, fails to emphasise press freedom abuses September 5, 2005 According to the International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, leading journalists and media executives in over 112 countries, the meeting of British Prime Minister Tony Blair with representatives of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), held on 5 September, fails to properly address the need for the country to respect press freedom […] Read more »
IPI concerned for safety of journalists in Yemen August 25, 2005 The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, strongly condemns the abduction and harassment of Al-Wasat editor-in-chief Jamal Amer. According to information before IPI, in the early morning of 23 August, Amer was blindfolded and forced into a car by armed assailants who took him to a remote […] Read more »
IPI concerned over ongoing harassment of journalists in Belarus August 8, 2005 According to information before the International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, several Polish and Belarusian journalists of Polish descent were recently harassed and detained in the Belarusian cities of Schuchin and Grodno. On 1 August, Belarusian police arrested Andrzej Pisalnik, editor-in-chief of Glos znad Niemna, a Polish minority […] Read more »
IPI condemns Media Commission’s refusal to grant banned newspaper a licence July 22, 2005 On 18 July, the Media and Information Commission (MIC) refused to grant Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) an operating licence to resume publication of the Daily News and its sister paper, the Daily News on Sunday, both of which were shut down in September 2003 for violating sections of the 2002 Access to Information and […] Read more »
Letter: IPI and WAN call for repeal of seditious libel law under which editor Paul Kamara is currently imprisoned July 4, 2005 His Excellency Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Office of the President State House 15 Siaka Steven Street Freetown Sierra Leone Fax: +232 22 231 404 Vienna, 4 July 2005 Your Excellency, We are writing on behalf of the International Press Institute (IPI) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), to call for the repeal of Sierra Leone’s […] Read more »
Letter: IPI criticizes EU over People’s Republic of China June 16, 2005 His Excellency José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission European Commission 200 rue de la Loi 1049 Brussels Belgium Fax: (+ 322) 295 01 38 Vienna, 16 June 2005 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is writing to express […] Read more »
IPI condemns continued harassment and arbitrary arrests of Nepalese journalists June 15, 2005 According to information before the International Press Institute (IPI), hundreds of journalists have been arrested and detained this week as protests against the state’s current restrictions on reporting continue. In the most recent development, on 13 June, police in the Kavre district postponed diffusing a bomb in order to intervene in a peaceful protest to […] Read more »
IPI condemns continued harassment of journalists covering events in Ethiopia June 9, 2005 According to information provided to the International Press Institute (IPI), journalists reporting on violent street clashes in Addis Ababa between police and students protesting over the 15 May parliamentary elections have come under increased pressure from the authorities. On 7 June, the Information Ministry revoked the accreditation of five Ethiopian journalists, Taddesse Engidaw and Assegdech […] Read more »
IPI concerned about the ongoing media crackdown in Uzbekistan June 6, 2005 According to information provided to IPI, journalists were barred from covering last month’s events in Uzbekistan. For several days after the unrest in Andizhan, eastern Uzbekistan, on 13 May, all local and foreign journalists were prevented from reporting in the city. The army and police sealed off the city and those journalists already present were […] Read more »
IPI condemns deportation of Professor Kenneth Good from Botswana, says decision undermines country’s position as one of Africa’s freest June 3, 2005 Based on information provided to IPI, on 1 June, Professor Kenneth Good, a political science lecturer at the University of Botswana for the past 15 years, was deported from the country by legal order and a decree from President Festus Mogae. Good’s deportation came only hours after the Lobatse High Court upheld the government’s right […] Read more »
IPI condemns detention and expulsion of foreign journalists from Cuba May 24, 2005 According to information provided to IPI, three Polish journalists, Seweryn Blumsztajn, editor-in-chief of the Krakow edition of Gazeta Wyborcza, Jerzy Jurecki, publisher and journalist for Tygodnik Podhalanski, Wojciech Rogasin, a journalist for the Polish edition of Newsweek, and their interpreters Maciej Sarna and Marta Cichocka, as well as human rights activist Wojciech Modelski, were detained […] Read more »
Letter: Ban imposed on Chinese freelance journalist May 9, 2005 His Excellency Hu Jintao President of the People’s Republic of China State Council, Beijing 100032 People’s Republic of China His Excellency Zhang Fusen Minister of Justice 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie Chaoyang-qu Beijing-shi 100020 People’s Republic of China Vienna, 9 May 2005 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and […] Read more »
Letter: IPI condems journalists’ arrest April 28, 2005 H.E. Alexander Lukashenko President Office of the President Minsk Republic of Belarus Fax: +375 17 222 35 03 Vienna, 28 April 2005 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, strongly condemns the prison sentences given to two Russian journalists in Minsk […] Read more »
IPI condemns journalist’s beating, worried by claims of government “Black List” April 26, 2005 Ulugbek Haidarov, a journalist and human rights activist, was severely beaten on 23 April in the Jizzakh region, central Uzbekistan. According to IPI’s information, an unidentified assailant was waiting for Haidarov outside his home on the evening of 23 April. During the attack one of Haidarov’s collar-bones was broken and he was later hospitalised. Haidarov […] Read more »
IPI concerned about independent journalist’s arrest April 20, 2005 According to information provided to IPI, Hurriyat weekly journalist Sobirdjon Yakubov was detained on suspicion of religious extremism on 11 April in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Three days later, Yakubov was charged under Article 159 of the Criminal Code and accused of anti-constitutional activity, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The arrest was later […] Read more »
IPI concerned about new Turkish Penal Code March 23, 2005 H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan Prime Minister Office of the Prime Minister Istanbul Turkey Fax: +90 312 417 04 76 / 417 05 73 Vienna, 23 March 2005 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, is deeply concerned about the introduction of a new Turkish Penal […] Read more »
Letter: Continued detention of Austrian journalist cause for concern March 11, 2005 Mr. José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission European Commission 200 rue de la Loi 1049 Brussels Belgium Fax: (+ 322) 295 01 38 Vienna, 11 March 2005 Dear Mr. President, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, is writing to express its grave […] Read more »
Letter: IPI concerned over possible fine and/or jail sentence for newspaper editor in Nepal March 7, 2005 His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev Narayanhity Royal Palace Kathmandu Nepal E-mail: [email protected] Vienna, 7 March 2005 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is extremely concerned at the continuing problems for journalists in Nepal. Over the last […] Read more »
IPI condemns Azerbaijani editor’s murder March 4, 2005 The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, condemns the murder of Elmar Huseynov, the founder and editor of the Russian-language independent weekly news magazine Monitor. The journalist was killed on the evening of 2 March in the stairwell of his apartment building. The unidentified assassin escaped. According to […] Read more »