Abdul Rahman Abu Batra, Syria Abdul Rahman Abu Batra was killed by Islamic State militants on December 5, 2014 in Lattakia, a city in northwest Syria, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that he was kidnapped nearly a year earlier. Batra was a presenter and journalist at Syrian Al Shaab TV. […] Read more »
Aung Kyaw Naing (Par Gyi), Myanmar Freelance journalist Aung Kyaw Naing, aka Par Gyi, was killed in military custody on Oct. 4, 2014. He reportedly was detained on Sept. 30 while covering violent clashes between Myanmar’s military and the rebel group Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) near the Thai border. Military reports originally claimed that he was taken into custody as […] Read more »
Egypt pressed to curb violence against journalists August 31, 2016 Egyptian leaders must act immediately to curb police intimidation of media workers and provide a safer working environment for journalists, who have endured months of attacks from street mobs as well as security agents, the International Press Institute (IPI) said in a report released today. Since the military-led ouster of Egypt’s democratically elected president last […] Read more »
Pablo Medina, Paraguay Pablo Medina, a correspondent for Paraguayan daily newspaper “ABC Color,” was shot in his car in the country’s northeastern Canindeyú department while returning from covering a news story on Oct 16, 2014. The unknown gunmen ambushed the journalist and his two assistants. One of them, Antonia Almada, was also killed by the gunfire. Stay informed. […] Read more »
Long-time Mexican journalist found dead days after abduction August 31, 2016 Vanessa I. Garnica The International Press Institute (IPI) today urged Mexican authorities to conduct a full investigation into the murder of Mexican journalist Jorge Torres Palacios, whose body was found on June 2, four days after he was kidnapped by his home in Acapulco, Guerrero state. The long-time journalist had worked as the spokesman for the Health Office […] Read more »
Hernán Cruz Barnica, Honduras Hernán Cruz Barnica, 45, community radio journalist, was reportedly killed near Dulce Nombre, in the district of Copan, in Honduras on May 28. Stay informed. Stay engaged. Join thousands of journalists who receive the IPI Weekly Digest—press freedom news, opportunities, and media innovation insights delivered weekly. Join us! The reporter hosted a show called Otro […] Read more »
Yonni Steven Caicedo, Colombia Colombian journalist Yonni Steven Caicedo was shot and killed on Feb. 19, 2014 after receiving death threats for covering a criminal investigation in the Caldas neighbourhood, located in the coastal town of Buenaventura, in western Colombia, human rights and press freedom groups reported. Stay informed. Stay engaged. Join thousands of journalists who receive the IPI […] Read more »
Andrea Rocchelli, Ukraine Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli was killed in Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine along with Andrei Mironov, his Russian interpreter and fixer, on May 24, 2014 when they were hit by mortar fire. French photojournalist William Roguelon was wounded in the attack. The three were covering clashes between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the area and […] Read more »
Turkey detains more journalists as purge continues August 30, 2016 Turkey’s government has issued warrants to detain another 35 people, including journalists, with alleged links to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gülen just two days after authorities detained dozens of Kurdish journalists, reportedly bringing the total number of journalists now held in Turkey to 140. Hürriyet reported that police detained nine of the 35 sought under the […] Read more »
2016 Alfred Fried Photography Award (Sept. 20) For the third consecutive year, the International Press Institute (IPI) has partnered with the Photographische Gesellschaft (PHG) and Edition Lammerhuber to present the 2016 Alfred Fried Photography Award. Named for Austrian pacifist, author and 1911 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Alfred Hermann Fried, the Award recognises the year’s best photograph signifying the theme of peace. The […] Read more »
Zambia suspends independent broadcasters’ licences August 23, 2016 Zambia’s broadcasting regulator yesterday suspended the licences of the country’s only major independent television channel and two radio stations on as-yet unexplained “national security” grounds, a move the International Press Institute (IPI) said appeared illegal and politically motivated. The chair of the IBA’s board, Brigadier General Justin Mutale, said the decision targeting MUVI TV, Komboni […] Read more »
St. Vincent and Grenadines adopts cybercrime law August 16, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) yesterday joined human rights defenders in a call on St. Vincent and the Grenadines to repeal a new cybercrime law that they said poses “a serious threat to freedom of the press, the free flow of online information, and public debate”. The new law, which the Caribbean nation’s Parliament approved […] Read more »
Bangladesh urged to free ailing journalist August 12, 2016 IPI Contributor Tara Nissl The International Press Institute (IPI) has joined 25 other members of the IFEX global free expression network in calling on Bangladesh to grant journalist Shafik Rehman compassionate release due to his deteriorating health. Rehman was arrested in Dhaka on April 16, 2016 on suspicion of seditious activity, reportedly in relation to an alleged plot to […] Read more »
IPI condemns journalist killings in Syria August 12, 2016 Naomi Hunt The International Press Institute (IPI) condemns the killing of journalist Naji Assaad (also spelled Naji al-Asaad) in Syria yesterday, as well as the recent string of targeted attacks perpetrated by both pro-government and opposition forces against journalists and media outlets. IPI Press Freedom Manager Barbara Trionfi said: “We condemn the targeted killing of any journalist, […] Read more »
Zaman Mehsud, Pakistan Senior Journalist Zaman Mehsud of Tank District in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was gunned down on Nov. 3, 2015. According to local media, Mehsud – who was working with the Daily Ummat and Nai Baat newspapers, and who served as president of the South Waziristan chapter of the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ) and as district coordinator of […] Read more »
Murder of Pakistani journalist highlights impunity again August 12, 2016 IPI Contributor Çağla Zimmermann The murder of yet another journalist in Pakistan this week because of his journalistic work once again raises the issue of journalists’ safety and the importance of ending the impunity both in that country and worldwide. Senior journalist Zaman Mehsud of Tank District in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was gunned down on Tuesday, one […] Read more »
IPI joins over 80 groups in calling for release of Syrian freedom of expression defenders August 11, 2016 The following is an appeal from over 80 groups, initiated by the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC), calling on the authorities to free human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and writers in Syria, some of whom have been detained incommunicado: […] Read more »
French magazine office firebombed August 11, 2016 Scott Griffen The offices of a French satirical magazine were attacked on Tuesday night after the publication featured a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad on its cover. Some news reports suggested that the magazine had not yet been distributed. According to news reports, a petrol bomb was thrown through the window of Charlie Hebdo’s Paris headquarters around […] Read more »
Guatemala journalist shot dead walking with grandson August 11, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemned the killing of television journalist in Guatemala who was shot dead yesterday by two unidentified attackers on a motorcycle while walking with his teenage grandson. Víctor Hugo Valdez Cardona, the head of a cultural programme on the local cable network TL-COM, was killed while walking in a street […] Read more »
IPI urges Maldives president to reject defamation bill August 11, 2016 IPI Contributor Tara Nissl and IPI staff The International Press Institute (IPI) today urged the president of the Maldives to reject a widely criticised defamation bill that the Indian Ocean archipelago’s Parliament passed on Tuesday. The law would reportedly criminalise defamation, as well as communication that includes any gesture deemed to be against “any tenet of Islam”, Reuters reported. President Abdulla Yameen’s […] Read more »
A year later, killers of Ukraine journalist Vadym Komarov still evading justice August 11, 2016 IPI Contributor Monika Martinovic One year ago today, Ukrainian local investigative journalist Vadym Komarov died in hospital of serious wounds he suffered from three devastating blows to the head with a heavy object. The brutal assault took place on the morning of May 4, 2019, when Komarov, 57, was attacked by an unidentified individual in his hometown Cherkasy in […] Read more »
IPI report finds ‘shadow over democracy’ in Zambia August 5, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today released a report on its joint emergency press freedom mission to Zambia last month with the African Media Initiative (AMI) to examine government pressure on opposition newspaper The Post ahead of Aug. 11 elections. The report finds that the ongoing seizure of the daily’s offices and printing press in Lusaka […] Read more »
A Shadow Over Democracy [separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#eae9e9″ border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”no” icon_circle_color=”#ffffff” width=”” alignment=”center” class=”” id=””] “A Shadow Over Democracy” reports on the July 13 to 15, 2016 press freedom mission to Zambia carried out by IPI and the African Media Initiative (AMI) in response to government pressure on opposition newspaper The Post ahead of Zambia’s August 2016 […] Read more »
Daughter of murdered Guatemala journalist shot dead August 4, 2016 The daughter of a veteran Guatemalan radio journalist gunned down on June 25 by unidentified attackers was herself fatally shot on Tuesday, prompting the International Press Institute (IPI) to call on authorities to do more to protect journalists and bring their killers to justice. Lindaura Aceituno, daughter of Álvaro Alfredo Aceituno López and a manager […] Read more »
St. Vincent and Grenadines urged to amend cybercrime bill August 3, 2016 The St. Vincent and the Grenadines House of Assembly should amend a pending cybercrime bill to provide stronger protection for freedom of expression and journalistic work in the public interest, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today. Following in the footsteps of other Caribbean legislatures, the House of Assembly is scheduled to vote shortly on a […] Read more »
Turkey jails journalists as president drops insult cases August 1, 2016 Turkey imprisoned 23 journalists this weekend amid an ongoing purge purportedly targeting those linked to the July 15 coup attempt, while its president, citing the country’s unity in the wake of the failed bid, said he was withdrawing all insult complaints he has filed against detractors. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the one-time gesture was intended […] Read more »
Turkey issues warrants to detain 42 journalists July 25, 2016 Amid an ongoing purge, Turkish authorities today issued 42 warrants to detain* journalists with alleged links to the U.S.-based cleric the government accuses of orchestrating the failed July 15 coup. The AP reported that authorities had detained five of the journalists and that another 31 academics had been taken into custody. Initial reports suggested that one […] Read more »
IPI voices fear for future of democracy in Turkey July 22, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today said it was deeply concerned about the future of democracy in Turkey, commenting that a growing crackdown on those accused of links to last weekend’s failed coup attempt risked fully plunging the country into authoritarianism. Parliament yesterday approved a three-month state of emergency giving President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sweeping […] Read more »
Pakistan cybercrime bill raises fears of online censorship July 21, 2016 IPI Contributor Annie Mose A bill that would give extraordinary power to the Pakistani government to censor online content continues to raise alarm among the country’s civil society as it moves through Parliament. Passed in April by the National Assembly, the lower house of Pakistan’s Parliament, the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill (PECB) is currently under review by a […] Read more »
IPI, AMI call on Zambia to allow opposition daily to reopen immediately July 15, 2016 Delegates from the International Press Institute (IPI) and the African Media Initiative (AMI) call on Zambian authorities to allow opposition daily The Post to reopen immediately, noting that the apparent politically motivated attempt to silence it ahead of elections is part of a chain of events raising deep concerns over the state of democracy in […] Read more »
Court suspends prison sentence of Kazakh journalist July 15, 2016 IPI Contributor Annie Mose and IPI Staff The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed a Kazakh court decision suspending the 18-month prison sentence of journalist Guzyal Baidalinova on libel-related charges. The Almaty Court of Appeals suspended Baidalinova’s sentence on July 12, but ordered her not to leave Kazakhstan’s largest city, according to reports. She had been detained since her arrest in December […] Read more »
Recommendations on protecting journalists from online harassment Journalists and bloggers are increasingly the victims of online harassment including death threats, verbal abuse and smear campaigns, in addition to technical attacks. The aggressors in these cases share a common goal: to intimidate journalists into silence and put a stop to critical commentary or investigative reporting that is intended to expose misdeeds and serve […] Read more »
Algeria urged to end harassment of critical media July 8, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) has joined 22 other free expression organisations in urging the Algerian government to end harassment of independent media and to bring the country’s broadcast legislation in line with international standards. In a joint statement, the groups specifically called for the release of Khabar Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) Director Mehdi Benaissa and […] Read more »
