Killer in Hrant Dink murder to be tried in juvenile court October 25, 2010 Naomi Hunt An Istanbul court today agreed that Ogun Samast, the suspected gunman in the murder of Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, can be tried in juvenile court because he was 17 years old at the time of the shooting, news reports said. Hrant Dink, founder of Agos newspaper and an ethnic Armenian, wrote extensively on the killings […] Read more »
Four years on, IPI recalls unsolved murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya October 7, 2010 Alicia Versteegh Four years after Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot and killed by an unknown assailant in the elevator of her apartment building in Moscow her killers have yet to be brought to justice. Repeatedly criticised by rights groups over its handling of the case, the Russian government recently announced it was reinvigorating the investigation, […] Read more »
Interview with IPI Press Freedom Hero Akbar Ganji September 21, 2010 Andreas Hackl, Nicole Friesenbichler and Laura Pannasch Mr. Ganji, you spent six years in an Iranian prison. Since your release four years ago, you have been living in exile. What have you been doing since you were freed? I am working as an activist and write a lot, every day in fact. Even in prison, I never stopped writing. I criticize the […] Read more »
Interview with IPI World Press Freedom Hero Pap Saine September 21, 2010 Valentin Ladstaetter and Laura Pannasch As one of the 60 “World Press Freedom Heros”, to be honored at the IPI World Congress in Vienna this year, he dedicates himself to the struggle for press freedom. Speaking to Valentin Ladstaetter and Laura Pannasch, he talks about the country’s President Yahyah Jammeh and about the foundation of the first local independent newspaper […] Read more »
IPI General Assembly Resolution 2010: Press Freedom in Europe Meeting at their Annual General Assembly on 13 September 2010 in Vienna, Austria, the IPI members unanimously adopted a resolution condemning a deterioration in the press freedom climate in Europe, notably a strong trend by some established democracies to backtrack on legal guarantees of media freedom. The IPI Weekly Digest & IPI Distribution List Subscribe […] Read more »
IPI General Assembly Resolution 2010: Iran Meeting at their Annual General Assembly on 13 September 2010 in Vienna, Austria, the IPI members unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the government of Iran to release immediately all journalists currently in detention. Following the presidential election of 12 June 2009, after which the re-election of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad was proclaimed, dozens of journalists, […] Read more »
South Africa security minister should rework repressive information bill August 17, 2010 Naomi Hunt One week after sending an open letter to South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma expressing concern at moves by the government and the ruling ANC party to pass an Information Bill and create a Media Appeals Tribunal answerable to Parliament, the International Press Institute (IPI) today called on South African Minister for State Security Siyabonga Cwele to seriously […] Read more »
Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji declared IPI’s 59th World Press Freedom Hero August 9, 2010 Iranian journalist and dissident Akbar Ganji was today declared a World Press Freedom Hero by the International Press Institute (IPI), in recognition of his decades of work defending freedom of speech and equal rights for all, in the face of continued harassment and imprisonment. Often called ‘Iran’s most prominent political dissident’, Ganji spent six years […] Read more »
Four kidnapped Mexican journalists still being held July 29, 2010 Naomi Hunt Four Mexican journalists abducted on Monday afternoon in the city of Gómez Palacio remain in the custody of a group of gunmen, according to news reports on Thursday. Gómez Palacio is located in the northern state of Durango, a region wracked by a brutal turf war between the Zetas and Sinaloa drug cartels. The four […] Read more »
Hollman Morris granted US visa following pressure from IPI and other international organizations July 28, 2010 The U.S State Department has reversed its decision to deny a visa to noted independent Colombian journalist Hollman Morris. Morris will now be able to travel to Harvard University to take up a year-long Nieman Foundation fellowship. The journalist, who is well-known as a vocal critic of Columbia’s outgoing president Alvaro Uribe and his administration, […] Read more »
IPI urges U.S State Department to reverse decision to deny Colombian journalist’s visa July 21, 2010 Nayana Jayarajan The International Press Institute urges the U.S State Department to reconsider its decision to deny a visa to independent Colombian journalist Hollman Morris. Morris, who was awarded the prestigious Nieman Fellowship to spend a year at Harvard University, was informed on 16 June that his visa had been rejected under the Patriot Act (2001) because […] Read more »
Timeline: Pius Njawe, 1957-2010 July 14, 2010 Alison Bethel McKenzie 1957 – Born Pius N. Njawé on 4 March at Babouantou in Upper Nkam in the Western Region of Cameroo 1972 – Njawé, age 15, obtains his first newspaper job as a paperboy for Seeds Africa newspaper. He would hold the position until 1974, after which he signed on as a reporter with La Gazette. 1976 – Njawé is arrested for […] Read more »
Gambian editor Pap Saine named IPI World Press Freedom Hero July 8, 2010 The International Press Institute today named Gambian publisher and editor Pap Saine an IPI World Press Freedom Hero in honour of his courageous work for press freedom in the face of attacks and harassment. Pap Saine is the publisher and editor of The Point, and the dean of Reuters’ correspondents in West and Central Africa. […] Read more »
Azerbaijan court sentences journalist to a further 30 months in prison July 8, 2010 Nayana Jayarajan A court in Azerbaijan’s Baku district of Garadag has sentenced opposition journalist Eynulla Fatullayev to an additional 30 months in prison. The journalist, who has been imprisoned since April 2007, was found guilty of illegal possession of narcotics, a charge based on small amounts of heroin which were allegedly found in his clothes in December […] Read more »
As Tunisian court upholds journalist’s sentence, IPI releases report on covering corruption in Tunisia July 7, 2010 Anthony Mills A day after a Tunisian appeals court upheld a four-year prison sentence for a journalist who covered violent protests against unemployment and corruption in the southern mining region of Gafsa, the International Press Institute (IPI) released a report outlining the pressure faced by journalists who cover corruption in Tunisia. The report follows IPI’s participation in […] Read more »
Polish journalists ‘blacklisted’, denied visas by China July 5, 2010 Louise Hallman A second Polish journalist has been refused a visa for China, three months after his colleague was also “blacklisted” and denied entry into the country. Konrad Godlewski, 34, a freelance journalist commissioned by Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s largest daily newspaper, was denied entry to China for the China-Europe Forum in Chengdu from 7-11 July, despite having been […] Read more »
Rwandan newspaper editor shot dead June 26, 2010 An unidentified gunman shot dead a journalist for a banned Rwandan newspaper on Thursday, according to media reports. Jean Leonard Rugambage, an editor for the local-language Umuvugizi newspaper, was shot twice in front of his home on the outskirts of the capital Kigali on Thursday night, a police spokesperson was quoted as saying. Umuvugizi’s editor, […] Read more »
IPI adds name to global coordinating committee of press freedom letter to Venezuelan president June 23, 2010 On Monday, 14 June 2010 IPI reported that Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for Guillermo Zualoga, the owner of Globovisión television station, and his son on charges of conspiracy and usury. Zualoga and his son were charged with business malpractice, after 24 new Toyota SUVs were found at one of their homes during a […] Read more »
IPI condemns passage of Tunisian act targeting free flow of information June 16, 2010 The Tunisian Chamber of Deputies yesterday passed a new law under which press freedom activists and other human rights defenders could find themselves jailed for up to 12 years in times “of war” – and five in peace time- if they lobby against Tunisia’s economic interests. The act amends Article 61 bis. of the […] Read more »
Turkish journalist sentenced under anti-terror law June 11, 2010 Nayana Jayarajan The International Press Institute calls on the judiciary in Turkey to overturn the sentence imposed on Irfan Aktan, a Turkish journalist, for an article he wrote in October 2009. The journalist was sentenced on 4 June to a year and three months in prison, and a fine of 16,000 Turkish Lira was imposed on Merve […] Read more »
IPI joins launch of TMG Tunisia mission report in Beirut June 7, 2010 The Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) yesterday unveiled the findings of its 7th Mission to Tunisia during a panel on the first day of the 4th Arab Free Press Forum in Beirut, Lebanon – an event attended by IPI Director David Dadge. The report, entitled Behind the Façade: How a Politicised Judiciary and Administrative Sanctions Undermine […] Read more »
Taiwanese journalists receive WHA accreditation for second year May 25, 2010 For the second year in a row, representatives of Taiwanese media were handed accreditation for the World Health Assembly (WHA), which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 17-21 May. The WHA is the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organisation (WHO), a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). Until 2008, the WHA had […] Read more »
First South East and Central Europe Investigative Journalism Days to be held in Montenegro in May 2010 May 10, 2010 The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East and Central Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is pleased to announce the “First South East and Central Europe Investigative Journalism Days, which will be held in Becici/Budva, Montenegro, from 24 – […] Read more »
Slovakia Supreme Court president and former justice minister sues radio station for ‘damage to reputation’ May 7, 2010 Nayana Jayarajan The Supreme Court of Slovakia is suing a Slovakian radio station to the tune of €200,000 in a lawsuit alleging that the station falsely suggested that the Supreme Court had spent €32,700 on the refurbishment of the bathroom of the court’s president. If found guilty, the station may be ordered to pay damages to Supreme […] Read more »
Ecuador’s National Union of Journalists concerned about draft organic law on communications May 6, 2010 The National Union of Journalists (UNP) in Ecuador is calling on the country’s National Assembly to hold a final debate on a draft Organic Law on Communication (Ley Organica de Comunication) before it is passed. The journalists’ union recently presented a 15-page document to authorities calling for more debate on the proposed communications act, which […] Read more »
Press freedom continues to deteriorate under Kyrgyzstan’s new interim government May 5, 2010 Barbara Trionfi The International Press Institute (IPI) has joined 23 other international press freedom and human rights organizations in expressing concern about the unstable situation for journalists and media outlets in Kyrgyzstan and the press freedom restrictions imposed on print, broadcast and online media outlets, which prevent them from providing coverage of events in the country. Over […] Read more »
Sri Lankan leader pardons Tamil editor May 3, 2010 A Tamil editor who had criticised the Sri Lankan government’s military action against Tamil Tiger rebels and was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year on ‘supporting terrorism’ and ‘inciting communal disharmony’ charges, was pardoned this morning by Sri Lanka’s president, Mahinda Rajapaksa. J.S. Tissainayagam, who was the editor of North Eastern Monthly magazine […] Read more »
Why information wants to be free May 1, 2010 IPI Director David Dadge is speaking today at an event in Oviedo, Spain, hosted by the Press Association of Asturias in recognition of World Press Freedom Day and the Association’s 100th anniversary. The group consists of 300 journalists from the region of Asturias. Mr. Dadge’s speech, entitled “Why Information wants to be Free” is reproduced below. Ladies […] Read more »
Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho named IPI Press Freedom Hero April 29, 2010 Mexican journalist and human rights defender Lydia Cacho Ribeiro was declared today an IPI World Press Freedom Hero, in recognition of her years-long contribution to highlighting the importance of press freedom and investigative journalism in the defence of justice and human rights. Lydia Cacho has become famous for her reports on domestic violence, child prostitution, […] Read more »
IPI Joins TMG in welcoming release of journalist Ben Brik but condemns policy of punishing critical journalists April 28, 2010 Naomi Hunt While members of the Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) welcome Taoufik Ben Brik’s release from prison today, the press freedom coalition condemns the charges against journalist Fahem Boukadous as a political manoeuvre whose true aim is to silence criticism of Tunisian authorities. The TMG is a group of over twenty organisations who belong to the International […] Read more »
Tunisia releases independent journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, another journalist assaulted by police April 27, 2010 Nayana Jayarajan A prominent Tunisian journalist known for his criticism of the government has been released a day after serving a six-month sentence for allegedly assaulting a woman during a traffic incident. Taoufik Ben Brik, whose arrest and imprisonment are widely believed to have been politically motivated, was sentenced to six months in prison with no parole […] Read more »
Slovak constitutional court upholds freedom of expression April 20, 2010 Nayana Jayarajan The International Press Institute welcomes a Slovakian Constitutional Court ruling that the judiciary violated the rights of a Slovakian weekly magazine and failed to take into account the principle of freedom of expression when it directed the magazine to pay SKK 250,000 (EUR 8,300) to a judge for defamation of his character. The ruling of […] Read more »
Video on whistleblower website shows US attack that killed two Iraqi Reuters staffers April 7, 2010 Following the release of a video by Swedish whistleblower website Wikileaks showing the indiscriminate shooting of civilians, including two Reuters journalists, by US Army helicopters, IPI calls on the US government to investigate the actions of the army personnel involved. The video, which was released on Youtube and the Wikileaks website on Tuesday, involves footage filmed from an Apache helicopter, and […] Read more »
