In Egypt today there remains only one Arabic language broadcaster that has not succumbed to the pressures of the military government and condemned the newly outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Though Qatari based, Al Jazeera is one of the most influential news networks in the Middle East and was particularly praised for its coverage of the 2011 […]
The corruption scandal rocking Turkey shows no signs of abatement. Already dozens of high ranking officials and their close associates have either resigned, been jailed, or brought into questioning. The New York Times reports that even Erdogan’s own son appears to have been summoned for questioning. In the ensuing counteroffensive launched by the Erdogan administration […]
As detailed in my previous post on this topic, some two dozen U.S. journalists currently face expulsion from China for investigative reporting on the personal wealth and financial ties of top Chinese government officials. This follows a pattern of harassment including the expulsion of at least three American journalists since 2012 for reporting critical of […]
Not content with controlling and censoring its own domestic news media, the Chinese government seeks also to restrict international media coverage of China. The methods Beijing employs for this purpose include political and economic pressure on Western news media, cyber-attacks on Western news websites, and harassment or expulsion of Western journalists in China. Visa denials […]
Among an avalanche of 33 resolutions adopted last month by the U.N. was one calling for the protection of journalists around the globe. The Council’s 21st session was suspended, but not before they made a clear defense of the press. The council condemned attacks and violence against the press, particularly at the hands of […]
Over the past weeks and months, in the shadows of other, more prominent global events, and with the world’s attention focused on other places, Cambodia has ceased being a democracy. If that statement sounds exaggerated, allow me to recap some of the more infamous shenanigans which have turned this former war torn nation into a […]
Today has been a difficult day. In the world of human rights, we often talk of the need to bear witness. This is why organizations like the UN, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and others send investigators and analysts to distant lands to record and document possible abuses that may be occurring there. However many […]
As the situation in Egypt ramps up by the day, a casualty that is frequently making headlines is the media. Specifically, reporters. The attacks on journalists have become so frequent and high profile (think Anderson Cooper) that the White House, in a rare move, has commented on it. According to a story in the New […]
by Cordelia Rizzo It has become very difficult to articulate what is going on in the crime-laden cities of Mexico. President Felipe Calderon makes sure we are constantly aware of the efforts to prevail in the quintessentially unwinnable “war on drugs.” In the meantime, cities have become ghost towns, and society has gone from indignation […]
A small collection of human rights story from the FPB network and beyond: And the clashes continue… For those of you living under a rock (or just caught up in World Cup fever), Kyrgyzstan is currently in the midst of some of the worst ethnic violence seen there in years. As ethnic Uzbeks flee from […]
*Noam Scheiber, the senior editor of The New Republic, says that much of the Haiti coverage is “redundant” and worries that the massive media onslaught is further complicating the recovery efforts. He proposes a “disaster pool” to deal with the problem: “Just like they do for White House coverage, the major (and some not so […]
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported earlier this week that two prominent journalists, Hengameh Shahidi and Saeed Laylaz were sentenced to extended prison terms of up to six yeas and three months, and no less than 9 years respectively, after being arrested earlier this year. Shahidi, who is an adviser to defeated presidential candidate Mehdi […]
In the annual Press Freedom Index by the Reporters Without Border, it is no surprise that Iran ranked as one of the worst countries for journalists. Iran, who was ranked 166th in 2008, has fallen to 172nd this year. The only countries to fare worst than Iran are Turkmenistan (173rd), North Korea (174th) and Eritrea […]