Colombian officials uncover assassination plot against investigative reporters May 15, 2013 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today urged Colombian authorities to remain vigilant in helping ensure the safety of the country’s journalists following the revelation Monday of a plan to assassinate a respected reporter together with two civil society researchers. Officials at Colombia’s national journalist-protection unit announced they had raised security for freelance reporter Gonzálo Guillén […] Read more »
IPI urges Azerbaijan’s president to veto criminal defamation expansion May 15, 2013 Steven M. Ellis | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today urged Azerbaijan’s president to veto a bill that would expand the criminal offences of slander and insult to apply to information posted online. The country’s National Assembly on Tuesday approved the proposal, which now goes before President Ilham Aliyev, who in 2011 set forth a National Action Plan on […] Read more »
IPI urges Azerbaijan to repeal criminal defamation, not broaden it May 3, 2013 Steven M. Ellis | Leave a Comment Azerbaijan should decriminalise defamation, not broaden it to target online media, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today. A parliamentary committee on Tuesday discussed a draft bill that would expand the crimes of slander and insult to apply to information posted online. The crimes currently apply to public statements and information transmitted through mass media. […] Read more »
Ruling by Ethiopia’s Supreme Court in Eskinder Nega case another missed opportunity May 3, 2013 | Leave a Comment On World Press Freedom Day, the International Press Institute (IPI) joined 13 other organizations in condemning journalist Eskinder Nega’s 18 year prison sentence, which was upheld by an Ethiopian court yesterday. The full text of the statement is below. Ruling by Ethiopia’s Supreme Court in Eskinder Nega Case Another Missed Opportunity Today, Freedom Now, Amnesty […] Read more »
Dominican Republic government signals intent to abolish criminal defamation April 29, 2013 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment Government officials in the Dominican Republic have agreed on the need to remove criminal penalties for defamation from the national press law, the International Press Institute (IPI) reported following its second visit to the country in the last 12 months. “We are pleased that there is consensus to modernise Law No. 6132, which regulates the […] Read more »
IPI calls for investigation into killing of Somali journalist April 24, 2013 Jan Beyer | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today urged authorities in Somalia to conduct a swift and comprehensive investigation into the killing of journalist Mohamed Ibrahim Rageh. AFP reported that unidentified assailants fired lethal shots at Rageh as he returned home after work on Sunday, April 21 in Mogadishu. Rageh, a journalist with Somali National Television and […] Read more »
Bangladeshi journalist arrested April 15, 2013 Jan Beyer | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) expressed concern about the arrest of Bangladeshi editor Mahmudur Rahman. Rahman was arrested on Thursday, Apr. 11, on the premises of the Bengali-language pro-opposition newspaper Amar Desh, of which he is currently the acting editor. According to reports by AP, charges brought against Rahman include sedition, cyber-crimes as well as […] Read more »
Australian journalists ordered to reveal their sources April 11, 2013 Konstantin Balev | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today expressed concern at Australia’s attempt to force journalists to reveal their sources – an act that contravenes a fundamental journalistic right. Five Australian journalists – Fairfax Media reporters Adele Ferguson, Richard Baker, Nick McKenzie and Philip Dorling and The West Australian’s Steve Pennells – were served subpoenas last month […] Read more »
Mission report reveals state authorities as one of the principal obstacles to press freedom in Mexico April 11, 2013 | Leave a Comment A report released by the International Press Institute (IPI) and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) following their February joint press-freedom mission to Mexico states that the new Mexican federal government must work to fully implement recent institutional measures designed to improve journalist safety. The report also reveals that Mexican state governments […] Read more »
Cuban journalist freed April 10, 2013 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment After 204 days in prison and two hunger strikes, Cuban journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias was released yesterday following months of lobbying by the International Press Institute (IPI) and other media and human rights organisations. “Victory,” tweeted Roberto J. Guerra, director of the independent news agency Hablemos Press, where Martínez had worked prior to his […] Read more »
Press attacks across Africa April 10, 2013 Jan Beyer | Leave a Comment Violent conflicts in Mali and the Central African Republic have gravely affected the state of press freedom in these countries, but journalists in other African countries have also been subjected to recent attacks. Mali: A war on terror, a war on journalists While Mali’s general security situation might have improved to some degree after the […] Read more »
Ahead of upcoming hearing, IPI and WAN-IFRA call for release of Ethiopian journalist April 5, 2013 | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) today reiterated their call for the Ethiopian authorities drop terrorism charges against Eskinder Nega and immediately free him from prison, along with other journalists who are currently being held in connection with their work. While Nega was supposed to have […] Read more »
World’s press calls for action as threats continue to undermine Mexican media April 3, 2013 | Leave a Comment Leer en español With media professionals across Mexico continuing to face high levels of violent crime, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the World Editors Forum (WEF) and the International Press Institute (IPI) call on the federal government to do more to protect journalists and reverse the prevailing culture of impunity. President […] Read more »
OAS resolution excludes changes to Special Rapporteurship March 25, 2013 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today cautiously welcomed the exclusion, in a resolution approved on Friday by an Organisation of American States (OAS) Special General Assembly, of provisions designed to weaken the Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression, the bloc’s free-speech watchdog. Most significantly, the government of Ecuador – and its allies in Venezuela, Bolivia, […] Read more »
IPI urges investigation into killing of Guatemalan journalist March 22, 2013 Jan Beyer | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today urged Guatemalan authorities to conduct a swift and comprehensive investigation into the killing of journalist Jaime Napoleón Jarquín Duarte on Wednesday, March 22. According to reports, Jarquín was chatting with three friends in a small store in Ciudad Pedro de Álvaro, in the municipality of Moyuta, along Guatemala’s southern […] Read more »
OAS member states to vote on possible changes to Special Rapporteurship March 20, 2013 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment Foreign ministers representing the 35 members of the Organisation of American States (OAS) will gather this Friday in Washington for a possible vote on proposed reforms to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that the International Press Institute (IPI) fears would greatly weaken the OAS Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. In a series […] Read more »
Brazilian journalist gunned down in front of his home March 11, 2013 Jan Beyer | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today called on Brazilian authorities to fully investigate last Saturday’s killing of journalist Rodrigo Neto de Faria. Neto de Faria, who worked for Radio Vanguarda and the daily Vale do Aço, was shot by unknown gunmen on Saturday, March 9 in front of his home in Ipatinga, a city in […] Read more »
Mexican online journalist killed, 1st under new administration March 6, 2013 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) and the World Association of Newspapers and Newspaper Publishers (WAN-IFRA) today called for an immediate investigation into the killing of Mexican journalist Jaime Guadalupe González Domínguez in the northern state of Chihuahua on Sunday. According to reports, González, the editor of the news site ojinaganews.com.mx, was intercepted by a group […] Read more »
Bahraini TV station disconnected from its audience March 6, 2013 Jan Beyer | Leave a Comment Nearly two years after an upstart TV station kicked off with the intention of serving Bahrain, it is still unable to reach its core audience. Only four hours after Lualua TV, which is licensed in the United Kingdom, started operating from a warehouse in North West London in July 2011, its satellite signal experienced a […] Read more »
OAS Special Rapporteurship under threat at Ecuador meeting March 5, 2013 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment This Friday, at the invitation of the Ecuadorean government, state parties to the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights will meet in Guayaquil, Ecuador to discuss proposed reforms to the inter-American human rights system. The outcome of this gathering, whose results will be presented at an Organization of American States (OAS) Special General Assembly meeting on […] Read more »
IPI addresses open letter to Kenyan media and government March 4, 2013 | Leave a Comment Following is the text of a letter addressed by IPI Executive Director Alison Bethel McKenzie to the media and state representatives of Kenya on the occasion of the national elections on March 4, 2013 Today Kenyans go to the polls to elect a new president, and in the event that no candidate has an absolute […] Read more »
IFEX members concerned over undermining of OAS Special Rapporteur March 3, 2013 | Leave a Comment The following is a statement signed by over 30 IFEX members and initiated by the International Press Institute (IPI) that is directed at member states of the Organisation of American States (OAS). The original link can be found here. To read IPI’s full report on the efforts to undermine the Special Rapporteur, click here. IFEX […] Read more »
#MemberBlog: Press freedom in Turkey An estimated 76 journalists* are currently imprisoned in Turkey. They are victims of anti-terrorism legislation and of a criminal justice system that does not differentiate between terrorists and journalists who write about terrorism. As a result, fear among the media has spread and journalists practise self-censorship to avoid being thrown in jail — all of […] Read more »
Q&A: FLIP on criminal defamation in Colombia February 19, 2013 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment Last year, Colombia’s Press Freedom Foundation (FLIP, according to its Spanish acronym) published a printed manual for journalists facing libel and insult* charges. This past month, the organisation released an online version of the manual, “so that any journalist could access it,” FLIP director Andrés Morales explained to the Knight Foundation. The International Press Institute […] Read more »
IPI urges investigation into attack on Sri Lanka journalist February 18, 2013 Jan Beyer | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today urged the Sri Lankan authorities to conduct a swift and comprehensive investigation into the violent attack on Sunday Leader journalist Faraz Shauketaly. Shauketaly was seriously injured on Saturday after three gunmen broke into his house near the Sri Lankan capital Colombo and opened fire from close range. The 54-year-old […] Read more »
Journalists’ safety draws international mission to Mexico February 15, 2013 | Leave a Comment A delegation from the International Press Institute (IPI) and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) this week examined Mexican government measures to ensure greater safety of journalists, along with strategies adopted by media and journalists to continue reporting from highly dangerous parts of the country. The delegation met with a wide variety […] Read more »
Guest Comment: Turkey’s imprisoned press February 14, 2013 Aryeh Neier | Leave a Comment According to two pro-government newspapers in Turkey, Star and Yeni Akit, as well as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself, those who denounce the state of press freedom in Turkey are “terrorists.” That is the term that they were using last week to denounce the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Paris-based […] Read more »
New restrictions for legal commentators in Cambodia February 13, 2013 Jan Beyer | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) is concerned about the Cambodian government’s efforts to restrict the capacity of lawyers to appear on national radio and television. On Friday, Feb. 8, the Ministry of Information made public an instruction given to radio and TV stations on Jan. 31, stipulating that lawyers could only be interviewed with prior […] Read more »
The Gambia should end media oppression January 23, 2013 | Leave a Comment H.E. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh President of the Republic of The Gambia State House Banjul, The Gambia Dear President Jammeh, We, the undersigned organizations working to promote the compliance of states to their international and regional human rights obligations, are writing to bring to your attention a series of abuses by the National Intelligence Agency […] Read more »
Nepal’s PM angered by arrests in journalist murder case January 9, 2013 Siromani Dhungana | Leave a Comment Nepal’s prime minister Baburam Bhattarai has reportedly expressed anger over the arrests of individuals allegedly involved in the 2004 murder of journalist Dekendra Thapa in Dailekh, in mid-western Nepal. At an event organised in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, on Jan 8, PM Bhattarai stated that the government did not support the arrests. In fact, Bhattarai condemned […] Read more »
IPI India Award for Excellence in Journalism goes to The Tribune January 2, 2013 | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute’s Indian National Committee has named Chandigarh-based English-language newspaper The Tribune as the 2012 recipient of its IPI India Award for Excellence in Journalism. IPI India, in a press release noting the newspaper’s “outstanding journalistic work done during 2011,” specifically recognized Tribune Bureau Chief “Prabhjot Singh’s in-depth series on the looting of […] Read more »
Blog: Despite revolution, press freedom remains under attack in Egypt December 30, 2012 Shahira Amin | Leave a Comment I was deputy head of Nile TV International. I was also one of the network’s senior anchors and correspondents and I had traveled the world covering major events. Then came the revolution. I was away for the first five days in London attending an EU-sponsored workshop on free expression. I was following closely the events […] Read more »
Bolivian journalist wounded in arson attack returns home after treatment December 14, 2012 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed news that Bolivian journalist Fernando Vidal was released from an Argentine hospital where he had been treated for third-degree burns suffered during an arson attack in October. Vidal’s son-in-law, Esteban Farfán Romero, informed IPI that the journalist arrived in his hometown of Yacuiba, Bolivia, late at night on […] Read more »