“Frame by Frame” and IPI at This Human World Film Festival (Dec. 10) [fusion_text]IPI, with the support of the Embassy of Canada to Austria, has teamed with Austrian international human rights film festival “this human world” to screen the documentary “Frame by Frame”, the story of four Afghan photojournalists navigating their country’s emerging and dangerous media landscape, on Dec. 10 at Vienna’s Top Kino theatre. Following the screening, […] Read more »
Groups urge Panama to release Dutch journalist November 25, 2016 Panamanian authorities should immediately release Dutch investigative journalist Okke Ornstein and abolish the crime of criminal defamation, Transparency International, the International Press Institute (IPI) and ARTICLE 19 said today. Ornstein is currently facing a 20 month prison sentence for reporting on alleged corruption through his blog. “Journalists must be allowed to do their jobs freely,” Cobus […] Read more »
IPI sends letter of hope to Kadri Gürsel, all jailed journalists in Turkey November 21, 2016 “We will not stop fighting until you and your colleagues walk free”, IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi concluded in the letter she addressed directly to IPI Executive Board Member Kadri Gürsel and all journalists currently in jail in Turkey. The letter is intended to bring hope to all imprisoned journalists, and specifically to Kadri Gürsel, […] Read more »
Governments urged to press Turkey on media freedom November 11, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today endorsed a call by the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) on governments to rethink relations with Turkey in light of ongoing efforts to silence independent media in the country. The ACM, a strategic partner of IPI, urged Caribbean governments to speak out against Turkey’s actions and to hold […] Read more »
Global coalition slams Cumhuriyet arrests, media closures November 2, 2016 A coalition of 14 leading international press freedom and freedom of expression organisations today condemned as an “extraordinary attack on press freedom” the jailing of top journalists with Turkey’s Cumhuriyet newspaper and the closure of 15 pro-Kurdish media in a letter to leading Turkish officials. On Monday, October 31, Turkish authorities launched a mass operation […] Read more »
IPI members speak out for detained Turkish journalists On Monday, 31 October, IPI’s global network yesterday awoke to the news of the arrest of at least 13 journalists at the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, among them IPI Executive Board Member Kadri Gürsel and IPI Member and Cumhuriyet Editor-in-Chief Murat Sabuncu. Gürsel, Sabuncu and their colleagues are the latest victims of the Turkish government’s […] Read more »
Letter: Harassment of Indonesian independent journalists continues October 24, 2016 H. E. Gen. Haji Mohamed Suharto President of the Republic of Indonesia Office of the President Jakarta Indonesia Vienna, 20 March 1995 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI) is most concerned about the latest development in the Indonesian government’s campaign of harassment against members of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI). Stay informed. Stay […] Read more »
Groups urge Turkey: end emergency powers abuses October 19, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) and a broad coalition of international human rights defenders today urged Turkey’s government to revoke provisions of the ongoing state of emergency following a failed July coup attempt that violate citizens’ fundamental human rights. At least 25 international groups – including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others – have […] Read more »
Letter: IDF appears to target media in latest military offensive October 18, 2016 His Excellency Ariel Sharon Prime Minister Israel Fax: (+ 972-2) 513 950 Vienna, 13 March 2002 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, strongly condemns the Israeli army’s most recent attacks on journalists and media outlets in the city of Ramallah. Stay informed. Stay engaged. […] Read more »
Court: Burkina Faso must investigate journalist’s 1998 death October 12, 2016 IPI Contributor Cora Henry The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed the African Court for Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR)’s decision to reopen the investigation into the death of Norbert Zongo, an investigative reporter killed nearly 17 years ago, and three companions killed with him. The ACHPR ruled that the Burkina Faso government must search for the killers and […] Read more »
Mexico’s new president urged to protect journalists October 12, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, has urged Mexico’s newly inaugurated president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to end the impunity with which journalists are being killed in the country. In a letter, Deputy Director Scott Griffen urged President Obrador to order law enforcement agencies to expedite […] Read more »
Canada urged to prioritise free expression in relationship with China October 7, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) has joined 34 other civil society organisations in calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to put human rights, especially free expression and press freedom, at the heart of Canada’s “renewed” relationship with China. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang recently visited Canada for talks with Prime Minister Trudeau, during which an agreement […] Read more »
IPI Nepal Committee welcomes arrest of suspects in 2004 journalist killing October 6, 2016 Siromani Dhungana The International Press Institute’s (IPI) Nepal National Committee today welcomed the decision of police in Dailekh, in mid-western Nepal, to prosecute suspects allegedly involved in the 2004 abduction and subsequent killing of Dailekh-based journalist Dekendra Thapa. Dailekh district police arrested five individuals all belonging to the then-Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). A further four accused, […] Read more »
Russia detains Ukraine journalist on espionage charge October 5, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined calls for Russia to free a Ukrainian journalist detained late last week on charges of espionage, voicing concern that the arrest was a politically motivated move to impact the ongoing conflict between the two countries. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) detained Roman Sushchenko, 47, a foreign correspondent for Ukrainian […] Read more »
Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta target of fresh attacks October 5, 2016 IPI Contributor Antonio Prokscha The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, today condemned the latest attacks on the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. IPI calls on the Russian authorities to protect independent media and thoroughly investigate the threats against the newspaper and its staff. On Monday, March 15, […] Read more »
Another journalist murdered in Russia’s Dagestan Republic October 5, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) condemns the murder on Tuesday of Dagestan-based newspaper editor Malik Akhmedilov, who was found dead in his car near the republic’s capital Makhachkala with bullet wounds to the stomach. Akhmedilov’s killing starkly underscores Russia’s worrying reputation as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for reporters. According to […] Read more »
Pakistani journalists stand up against online harassment October 3, 2016 Eden Vered, IPI Contributor Leading Pakistani women journalists appeared before a parliamentary committee on human rights on August 18 to address pervasive online attacks against women in the industry, after launching a campaign under the hashtag #AttacksWontSilenceUs earlier this month. The campaign, including a joint statement signed by tens of prominent journalists and organizations, describes the violent nature of […] Read more »
Two more Mexican journalists killed October 3, 2016 Naomi Hunt Journalists Juan Francisco Rodríguez Ríos and Maria Elvira Hernández Galeana were killed Monday evening in Coyuca de Benitez, a town located near the resort city of Acapulco in Mexico’s Guerrero state, according to local news reports. Rios worked for the newspaper El Sol de Acupulco and for Diario Objetivo de Chilpancingo as well as for […] Read more »
In Veracruz, powers that be have clear message: Don’t mess with us October 3, 2016 Scott Griffen A well-known investigative journalist who covers organised crime for a nationally renowned news magazine is found beaten and strangled to death in her home. Shocked, the local authorities immediately launch an investigation, exhausting any and all possible leads in order to find out who killed her and why. The national government, alarmed at the implications […] Read more »
Two more Mexican journalists killed, as slaying of journalists intensifies October 3, 2016 Naomi Hunt Less than three weeks after two journalists – a man and his wife – were gunned down in an Internet café in Mexico, a further two reporters have been killed, edging Mexico past Honduras as the world’s most dangerous country for journalists so far in 2010. Marco Aurelio Martinez Tijerina of Montemorelos in Nuevo Leon […] Read more »
Mexican journalists demand president tackle climate of impunity October 3, 2016 Mexican journalists in the drug-violence-wracked city of Ciudad Juarez called on Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Tuesday 12 October to take action against the climate of impunity shrouding attacks on journalists, joining calls made by freedom of expression groups last month. In an open letter to the president, who was visiting the northern Mexican city, […] Read more »
Turkey shutters at least 20 more TV, radio stations September 30, 2016 Turkey’s use this week of emergency powers granted in the wake of the July 15 coup attempt to shutter more than 20 media outlets with no discernible relationship to the failed putsch, and calls to extend the state of emergency, again illustrate the need for safeguards to prevent arbitrary use of such power, the International […] Read more »
Prominent Sri Lankan journalist’s body exhumed September 28, 2016 The body of slain newspaper editor and International Press Institute (IPI) World Press Freedom Hero Lasantha Wickrematunge was exhumed yesterday at Colombo’s general cemetery in the presence of a magistrate and under tight security as part of a fresh investigation into his death. Wickrematunge’s grave had been under armed guard since a new autopsy was […] Read more »
Russian journalist conducting training beaten September 28, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today called on Russian authorities to bring to justice those responsible for yesterday’s assault on well-known investigative journalist Grigory Pasko, who was attacked while in the city of Barnaul in Russia’s Altai region to train local journalists. Pasko, director of the Community of Investigative Journalists – Fond 19/29, said that […] Read more »
Yemeni journalist shot dead at his home in northwest Yemen September 26, 2016 Louise Hallman Yemeni journalist Mohammed Shu’i al-Rabu’i was shot and killed on 13 February at his home in Beni Qais, in the northwest of the country. Al-Rabu’i, 34, had worked for the monthly newspaper Al Qaira, published by the main opposition party, the Islamic Reform Grouping (Islah), for more than 10 years and had written several articles […] Read more »
Mazen Darwish warns of marriage of dictatorship and terrorism in Syria Prominent Syrian journalist Mazen Darwish, president of the Syrian Center for Media Freedom, spoke to the International Press Institute (IPI) last week on the current situation in Syria, where he says an international “proxy war” is putting political interests above the safety of civilians. The war in Syria has taken its toll on Darwish himself. […] Read more »
Series on mixed emotions of Holocaust survivors wins Alfred Fried award September 22, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined the Austrian publishing house Lammerhuber in warmly congratulating German photographer Helena Schätzle as the winner of the 2016 Alfred Fried Photography Award for peace photography. In selecting Schätzle, the international jury described her portrait series of Holocaust survivors as having captured “late moments of solace, tenderness and intimacy in […] Read more »
Charlie Hebdo insult case highlights weaknesses of Italian defamation law A lawyer for the Italian town of Amatrice, where nearly 300 people died in an earthquake in August, announced last week that the town would file criminal defamation charges against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Earlier this month the magazine “commented” on the earthquake with two cartoons, the first of which crudely depicted victims […] Read more »
IPI calls for full investigation into Rwandan journalist’s murder September 16, 2016 Naomi Hunt The International Press Institute (IPI) has called for a full investigation into the murder of Charles Ingabire last week, which other Rwandan exiles have said was linked to the victim’s journalistic work, reports say. Ingabire, 32, was the editor of Inyenyeri News, an online opposition news site, news reports say. Ugandan police told the Human […] Read more »
CNN reports Al-Massar TV director shot dead in Iraq September 16, 2016 In what seems to be a deterioration of conditions for journalists in volatile Iraq, the director of an Iraqi television station was killed in Baghdad today, according to a report from CNN. Taha Hameed, the head of al-Massar TV, was driving with Iraqi human rights activist Abed Farhan Thiyab when they were “shot dead by […] Read more »
U.N. experts to Egypt: free ‘Rabaa Operations Room’ journalists September 16, 2016 IPI Staff and IPI Contributor Annie Mose A U.N. body of human rights experts has called for the release of nine journalists that Egypt is holding in connection with the bloody clearing of Cairo’s Rabaa Square in August 2013, saying that their detention is arbitrary and a violation of their human rights. The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in an opinion […] Read more »
Bahrain journalist jailed overnight September 16, 2016 Nisha Thanki Jaffer al-Alawai, a prominent journalist, blogger and poet, was arrested on 8 November. He was released after spending over 24 hours in custody. It is still unclear why he was arrested and whether he will be formally charged. Al-Alawai previously worked as an anchor for the Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation, the state-controlled, sole television […] Read more »
Journalist shot dead in Honduras September 16, 2016 Mariela Hoyer Guerrero Honduran journalist Adán Benítez (42) was shot in the head on Monday, 4 July, after two individuals intercepted him and stole his belongings. The journalist and TV producer was killed while he was walking home in La Ceiba, Atléntida department, in the northern part of Honduras. Benítez worked for Radio Makintosh and La Ceiba´s 14 […] Read more »
