Grief and anger in Pakistan as yet another journalist is killed
The mounting violence against journalists in Palkistan has claimed yet another victim. Local reporter Malik Zafar Iqbal Naich, pictured, was shot dead while distributing newspapers in Rahim Yar Khan, in southern Punjab. He is the eighth journalist killed in the country since January 2024. The killing prompted a wave of condemnation from Pakistani media organisations. […]
Freedom of Expression a key issue at CHOGM
As Heads of Government prepare to approve the Commonwealth Principles on Freedom of Expression at their summit in Samoa, a side event is exploring practical ways in which the organisation can strengthen this most fundamental of rights into the future. The session, hosted by several organisations including the CJA and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, […]
Why this CHOGM is crucial for our cause
Commonwealth leaders must use this gathering to take action on Media Freedom, writes CJA Executive Committee member WILLIAM HORSLEY. Journalists across the Commonwealth have their eyes turned to the coming Heads of Government meeting in October for signs that those leaders realise the gravity of the dramatic erosion of press freedom that’s taking place – […]
Samoan journalists decry ‘ridiculous’ restrictions
Restrictions on journalists covering the upcoming summit of Commonwealth nations in Samoa are “ridiculous” and at odds with a government that purportedly values democracy, the Pacific island country’s media association has declared. The Samoa Observer newspaper in an editorial condemned the government of Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa, pictured, for attempting to limit coverage of the Commonwealth […]
Journalists’ friend, Sonny Ramphal
By CJA Executive Committee member Richard Bourne The death of the former Commonwealth secretary-general, Sir Shridath Ramphal, better known as Sonny, his boyhood nickname from Guyana, has been greeted by an outpouring of memories, affection and admiration from all who knew him, and many who only knew of him. He led the Commonwealth from 1975 […]
Four major threats to press freedom in the UK
By WILLIAM HORSLEY, international director of the Centre for Freedom of the Media, and member of the CJA Executive Committee. This article first ppeared in https://theconversation.com/four-major-threats-to-press-freedom-in-the-uk-228932 Just five years ago, the UK took the bold step of setting up a Media Freedom Coalition of 50 countries committed to protecting press freedom against its enemies in authoritarian states […]
Nigerian military accused over editor’s detention
Journalists in Nigeria have come together to accuse the military of usurping the role of the media and violating fundamental human rights of those in detention. The claims were made at a joint meeting in Abuja of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigeria Union of Journalists and the International Press Institute, IPI, following, the […]
Rwandan journalist alleges torture in prison
Media rights bodies have expressed alarm at reports that journalist Dieudonné Niyonsenga, pictured, had been tortured in a Rwandan prison, and called on the authorities to unconditionally release him. He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for forgery and impersonation. During a hearing in January at the court of appeal in Kigali, Mr Niyonsenga said that he was held under inhumane […]
Nigerian journalists charged over corruption reports
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the authorities in Nigeria to swiftly drop all charges against journalists Aiyelabegan Babatunde AbdulRazaq and Oluwatoyin Luqman Bolakale, pictured, and allow them to work freely. On September 11, police detained the two, who are publishers of the independent news websites Just Event Online and The Satcom Media, over their critical […]
Indian campaigning journalists suffer arson attack
Picture shows Khushboo Akhtar surveying the wreckage of her home. There’s been widespread condemnation among journalists and rights activists in India over an arson attack on the home of journalists Khushboo and Nadeem Akhtar, as well as physical threats against them. The family home, in Sultanpuri, north Delhi was badly damaged in the fire. The […]