One-day experts workshop organised by IPI and Austria focuses on journalist safety November 24, 2011 Naomi Hunt | Leave a Comment A one-day experts meeting on impunity and the safety of journalists held on Wednesday by the International Press Institute (IPI) in cooperation with the Austrian Foreign Ministry ended with a resolve by Austria to carry the critical issue forward during its term on the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, to which it was […] Read more »
Justice delayed: The Maguindanao massacre, two years on November 22, 2011 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment On the day of the crime … Ampatuan Jr. told his father by phone – with its loudspeaker on – that he had blocked the convoy. The father ordered him to gun down everybody but spare the media, to which Ampatuan Jr. replied: “No … somebody could talk if we won’t wipe out everybody.” – […] Read more »
IPI SPECIAL REPORT: Impunity: a global scourge November 22, 2011 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment 23 November 2011 marks the two-year anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, in which 32 journalists along with 26 civilians were slain in a terrible incidence of electoral violence. Today serves as a day of remembrance––but in light of the fact that the masterminds of this heinous crime have yet to be brought to justice, we […] Read more »
Thai editor faces jail on lèse majesté charges November 21, 2011 Barbara Trionfi | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) on Monday expressed concern about the lèse majesté charges pending against Thai editor Somyot Prueksakasemsuk in connection with two articles that appeared in his newspaper, the Voice of the Oppressed (Voice of Taksin), earlier this year and which, Thai authorities argue, made negative references to the monarchy. Lèse majesté laws, […] Read more »
Council of Europe criticises Turkey November 18, 2011 Steven M. Ellis | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined with the Council of Europe’s leadership in calling on Turkey to change its attitude toward media freedom. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the Council’s secretary general, Thorbjorn Jagland, said Turkey had approximately 16,000 cases pending before the European Court of Human Rights, 1,000 of which concerned media freedom. […] Read more »
Hungarian media law: International mission condemns chilling effect and calls for change November 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment Hungary’s new model of media regulation is creating a chilling effect and undermining freedom of expression said an international partnership mission comprised of leading press freedom and media development organizations today. The partnership mission to Hungary, which took place from November 14th to 16th, included meetings with lawyers, journalists, editors, professional associations, representatives of civil […] Read more »
Amnesty International report details crackdown on dissent in Azerbaijan November 16, 2011 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment The government of Azerbaijan has stepped up its campaign to silence independent media and free expression in the country, according to a new report by Amnesty International. In the report, called “The spring that never blossomed: Freedoms suppressed in Azerbaijan,” Amnesty details a worsening human rights situation in the oil-rich former Soviet republic. The group […] Read more »
South Sudan editors still in detention November 15, 2011 Naomi Hunt | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) calls for the immediate release of the editor and deputy editor of The Destiny newspaper in South Sudan, who were arrested just days after the paper – now banned – published its first issue. Ngor Garang and Dengdit Ayok have been in detention since 2 November and 5 November, respectively. […] Read more »
Swedish journalists appear in Ethiopia court November 3, 2011 Naomi Hunt | Leave a Comment Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were on Thursday acquitted in an Ethiopian court of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism, but still face charges of supporting the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which Ethiopia deems a terrorist organization, and of entering the country illegally, news reports said. The reporter pair had already admitted […] Read more »
Macedonia media freedom still concerning November 2, 2011 Steven M. Ellis | Leave a Comment International groups again raised concern last week over the state of media freedom in the Republic of Macedonia / Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. A joint delegation of freedom of expression and media development groups – including the International Press Institute (IPI) and its affiliate, the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) – did […] Read more »
Azerbaijani editor arrested November 2, 2011 Steven M. Ellis | Leave a Comment Azerbaijani authorities have arrested an opposition newspaper editor following a Parliament member’s claim that the editor demanded more than €9,200 from her to avoid the release of compromising information. Local media reported that authorities detained Khural Chief Editor Avaz Zeynalli Friday on blackmail and extortion charges under a court order allowing them to hold him […] Read more »
IPI Blog: Electronic ‘media fiefdoms’ up for sale October 31, 2011 Alison Bethel McKenzie | Leave a Comment Every month I receive my email copy of Escape from America Magazine (EFAM), produced by Escapeartist.com. Because I am so busy, I often find myself having to catch up on back issues. Well, recently I was reading through the April issue when I came across this headline: “Own a Country, Now You Can With Escapeartist.” […] Read more »
Journalists charged under Ethiopian anti-terror law appear in court October 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment Three Ethiopian journalists arrested this summer and charged with terrorism appeared before an Addis Ababa court last week. Their respective cases, along with that of two Swedish journalists detained in eastern Ethiopia in July, have deepened suspicions that the government is using a new, vaguely-worded national security law to stifle independent media in the country. […] Read more »
Journalists charged under Ethiopian anti-terror law appear in court October 25, 2011 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment Three Ethiopian journalists arrested this summer and charged with terrorism appeared before an Addis Ababa court last week. Their respective cases, along with that of two Swedish journalists detained in eastern Ethiopia in July, have deepened suspicions that the government is using a new, vaguely-worded national security law to stifle independent media in the country. […] Read more »
Ukrainian reporter shot in head October 21, 2011 Steven M. Ellis | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today urged Ukrainian authorities to determine who shot a local reporter in the head this week, leaving him in critical condition, and to bring the assailant to justice. The website novosti-N.mk.ua reported that the journalist, Oleksandr Vlaschenko, who also reports for the Nash Gorod Nikolaev newspaper, was attacked Sunday night in a […] Read more »
Freed Turkish journalist dies October 18, 2011 Steven M. Ellis | Leave a Comment A Turkish journalist released in June after spending two years in pre-trial detention has died, reportedly as a result of the government’s alleged failure to provide adequate medical care during her incarceration. Hürriyet reported that Suzan Zengin – a human rights activist, journalist and translator who was imprisoned for alleged ties to an illegal organisation […] Read more »
Press freedom deteriorates in Chile October 18, 2011 Scott Griffen | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) is highly concerned at the continued deterioration of press freedom in Chile. As major student-led protests continue across the country, the frequency of attacks on journalists has risen sharply and the government has drafted a new law that would unacceptably limit both freedom of expression and the ability of reporters […] Read more »
Italy TV station seeks compensation October 13, 2011 Steven M. Ellis | Leave a Comment An Italian television station argued before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) yesterday that the Italian government should pay the station over two billion Euros for not allowing it to take to the airwaves for eleven years. Centro Europa 7 told judges at the Strasbourg court that the sanction was the only way to […] Read more »
IPI remembers Anna Politkovskaya October 7, 2011 Steven M. Ellis | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI), marking the fifth anniversary of the murder of Russian journalist and IPI World Press Freedom Hero Anna Politkovskaya, today called on authorities to identify and hold accountable the mastermind of the killing. The move came amid reports that investigators announced the indictment of Chechen native Lom-Ali Gaitukayev in the slaying […] Read more »
Executive Director’s Blog: ‘Friend of IPI’ Desmond Tutu turns 80 October 7, 2011 Alison Bethel McKenzie | Leave a Comment Today a good friend of the International Press Institute (IPI) is celebrating his 80th birthday. It is with sincere respect and gratitude that we say Happy Birthday to Bishop Desmond Tutu, a staunch supporter of press freedom, freedom of speech and other basic human rights. It was just last year that Bishop Tutu sent us […] Read more »
From Bolivia to Honduras, 12 Latin American journalists receive death threats October 4, 2011 Mariela Hoyer Guerrero | Leave a Comment Mónica Oblitas is in danger. She feels lost, uneasy. Everything has changed for this Bolivian journalist since she published, in La Prensa newspaper, an investigative report about alleged corruption in the Bolivian Forensic Research Institute. She has received anonymous threatening phone calls, text messages and emails; she and her son have been followed and the […] Read more »
More press freedom attacks in Egypt September 30, 2011 Naomi Hunt | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute is alarmed at continued reports of press freedom violations in post-Mubarak Egypt, particularly as an opposition newspaper was prevented from being distributed. Copies of the opposition Sawt Al-Ummah newspaper were confiscated and destroyed before they could be distributed, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Al-Arabiya reported. Chief Editor […] Read more »
IPI World Congress 2011: Q&A with former Beijing bureau chief of Austria’s ORF broadcaster September 28, 2011 Lin King | Leave a Comment Cornelia Vospernik is the former Beijing Bureau Chief of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) and current Head of News, of ORF Eins. She began her career freelancing for a local ORF studio in the Austrian province of Carinthia at the age of 15. From 2000 to 2002, she was the ORF London bureau chief, and […] Read more »
IPI World Congress 2011 in Taiwan: Tweeting the revolutions from across the Middle East September 26, 2011 Nayana Jayarajan | Leave a Comment At the IPI World Congress 2011 in Taipei, Taiwan, attention on Monday focused on the role of social media as a catalyst for the ‘Arab Spring’ revolutions. Speaking on a panel titled “Social Media Revolutions: The Media and the Uprisings in North Africa, the Middle East, and Elsewhere”, Global Post founder Charles Sennott said: “When […] Read more »
IPI General Assembly Resolution 2011: Hungary The members of the International Press Institute (IPI), meeting at their 60th Annual General Assembly during the IPI World Congress on 26 September 2011 in Taipei, Taiwan, adopted by unanimous vote a resolution expressing concern over media restrictions in Hungary. Hungary’s new media law, enforced this year, has been heavily criticized by European Union politicians, […] Read more »
IPI completes Philippines press freedom mission September 24, 2011 Barbara Trionfi | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) wrapped up a press freedom mission to the Philippines on Friday with a call on the Philippines government to end impunity in the killing of journalists. The IPI delegation comprised: IPI Vice Chair Galina Sidorova, who is also chairperson of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism – Foundation 19/29, in Russia; […] Read more »
Venezuelan hackers intimidate reporters September 22, 2011 Mariela Hoyer Guerrero | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute is concerned about the recent hacking of journalists’ and news outlets’ Twitter accounts, both in Venezuela and in the United States. On 3 September, three critical Venezuelan journalists, three columnists and five opposition activists were unable to access their Email and Twitter accounts because their passwords had been stolen, EFE reported. […] Read more »
International Press Institute, UDN group announce IPI annual World Congress September 20, 2011 Nayana Jayarajan | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today formally announced the launch of its annual World Congress, to be held in Taipei, Taiwan, from 24-27 September 2011. This is the second time Taiwan is hosting the Vienna-based press freedom organization’s annual World Congress, 12 years after IPI first held its annual Congress in Taiwan, in 1999. The […] Read more »
IPI welcomes EU resolution on Eritrea September 19, 2011 Naomi Hunt | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed the European Parliament resolution of 15 September in which the body called on Eritrea to “to lift the ban on the country’s independent press and to immediately release the independent journalists and all others who have been jailed simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression.” The […] Read more »
Q&A with OSCE ‘Action against Terrorism Unit’ head September 9, 2011 Anthony Mills | Leave a Comment To mark the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the International Press Institute (IPI) interviewed Raphael Perl, head of the Action Against Terrorism Unit at the Secretariat of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Prior to assuming his current position, Perl served as the senior analyst for terrorism policy with the […] Read more »
10 years after 9/11, journalists suffer September 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment Ten years after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the world has changed for those who practice journalism. Policies adopted in the aftermath of the attacks have led to profound impacts on civil liberties, in particular freedom of expression and press freedom, as governments – in some cases quite cynically – have used the […] Read more »
New Syria media law entrenches state control September 1, 2011 Naomi Hunt | Leave a Comment Legislative Decree No. 108, passed by the Syrian Cabinet on Sunday 28 August, will entrench government control over the media, criminalize criticism, and put media regulation in the direct control of the Syrian cabinet, according to IPI’s analysis of a summary published by the Syrian Arab News Agency. According to the SANA summary, the law […] Read more »
IPI welcomes arrest in Politkovskaya case August 31, 2011 Steven M. Ellis | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed news that Russian authorities have arrested the suspected organiser of the 2006 murder of Russian journalist and IPI World Press Freedom Hero Anna Politkovskaya. A Moscow court on Friday ordered the arrest of former senior police officer Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, who allegedly promised cash to the group that carried […] Read more »