Articles by International Press Institute (IPI)
In EU, calls to repeal blasphemy laws grow after Paris attacks
Calls in Europe for the abolition of the continent’s remaining blasphemy laws have grown louder following last week’s deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo, a French magazine known for its unsparing religious satire.
NGOs call on Bahraini government to drop Twitter charges against Nabeel Rajab
The international community’s response to the current charges leveled against prominent activist Nabeel Rajab has been monumental in denouncing the Criminal Investigations Department and the Bahraini government for their actions.
Turkish printing press raided over Prophet Mohamed cartoon fears
On 14 January 2015, Turkish police raided the printing press of daily Cumhuriyet to prevent the newspaper from distributing an issue that authorities feared might contain images of the Prophet Mohamed.
IPI marks drop in journalists’ deaths – 98 lost in 2014
Some 87 of the journalists on IPI’s Death Watch for 2014 were targeted due to their profession or lost their lives while covering conflict. Another 11 lost their lives while on assignment, most in vehicular crashes.
Kenyan parliament to vote on restrictive security bill
Kenya’s Security Laws (Amendment) Bill 2014 would, among other measures, expand intelligence agency surveillance powers. Several provisions would restrict media coverage of terrorist acts in Kenya, potentially inhibiting journalists seeking to report on matters in the public interest from doing so.
U.S. Justice department will not force reporter to name source
The International Press Institute welcomed news that the U.S. government will not force New York Times reporter James Risen to go to jail rather than revealing a source, yet remain concerned that the Justice Department may still subpoena Risen to answer other questions that could indirectly identify the source.
Turkish court bans coverage of Parliament corruption inquiry
“This gag order, which seeks to pull a veil of secrecy over allegations of corruption, a matter of vital public interest, will undermine confidence in the rule of law and cast further shadow over democracy in Turkey,” states IPI Senior Press Freedom Adviser Steven M. Ellis.
Call for release of veteran Chinese journalist, World Press Freedom Hero
The results of the 21 November hearing in the case of journalist Gao Yu have not been released publicly, but her lawyer said he hoped a verdict will be delivered soon. Gao reportedly pled “not guilty” to the charge, asserting that the prosecutor’s evidence was unreliable.