In Peru, Courts ‘Used Like Whips’ to Silence Journalists

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The author of a book about a powerful politician has been sentenced to two years in prison. Media advocates say the case is part of a trend in which the courts are being used to punish critics.

The Peruvian journalist Christopher Acosta has been sentenced to two years in prison and, with his publisher, fined $100,000 following a defamation lawsuit brought by a powerful politician. | Angela Ponce for The New York Times
The police raided a reporter’s house after he investigated an elite Catholic society. A court ordered journalists’ assets frozen following a defamation complaint from a powerful figure. A sports journalist called the head of a soccer club inept, and was sentenced to a year in prison.

And then, last week, a judge sentenced a Peruvian journalist to two years in prison and imposed a $100,000 fine following a defamation lawsuit brought by a powerful, wealthy politician.

Media experts called the decision the most direct threat to freedom of expression in Peru in years. And, they said, it was part of a worrying trend across the region — but particularly strong in Peru — in which powerful figures are using the courts to intimidate and punish journalists who investigate them.

“It absolutely sidesteps the fundamental principles of freedom of expression,” said Ricardo Uceda, who leads the Press and Society Institute of Peru, of the ruling. » | Julie Turkewitz and Mitra Taj | Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Leer en español:

En Perú las cortes se usan ‘como látigos’ para callar a los periodistas : El autor de un libro sobre un empresario y político ha sido sentenciado a dos años de prisión, parte de una tendencia en la que los personajes poderosos emplean las cortes para castigar a sus críticos. »

Violent Attacks on Afghan Journalists by Taliban Prompt Growing Alarm

A screenshot taken from the accompanying video.
THE GUARDIAN: As images circulate of the brutal flogging of two reporters, a senior Afghan journalist declares ‘press freedom has ended’

A spate of violent attacks on Afghan journalists by the Taliban is prompting growing alarm over the freedom of the country’s media, with one senior journalist declaring that “press freedom has ended”.

As images and testimony circulated internationally of the arrest and brutal flogging of two reporters who were detained covering a women’s rights demonstration in Kabul on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists raised concern over the recent string of attacks.

In just two days this week, the Taliban detained and later released at least 14 journalists covering protests in Kabul, with at least six of these journalists subject to violence during their arrests or detention, the CPJ reported.

Other journalists, including some working with the BBC, were also prevented from filming the protest on Wednesday. Read the rest of the article and watch the video » | Emma Graham-Harrison in Kandahar, and Peter Beaumont | Thursday, September 9, 2021

Exile or Jail: The Grim Choice Facing Russian Opposition Leaders

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Experts say the current exodus of journalists and dissidents is the biggest wave of political emigration in the country’s post-Soviet history.

The Russian opposition activists Aleksei A. Navalny, Lyubov Sobol and Ivan Zhdanov taking part in a rally last year in Moscow. Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
MOSCOW — Evoking the dark era of Soviet repression, Russian politicians and journalists are being driven into exile in growing numbers.

The steady stream of politically motivated emigration that had accompanied President Vladimir V. Putin’s two-decade rule turned into a torrent this year. Opposition figures, their aides, rights activists and even independent journalists are increasingly being given a simple choice: flee or face prison.

A top ally of the imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny left Russia this month, state media said, adding her to a list of dozens of dissidents and journalists believed to have departed this year. Taken together, experts say, it is the biggest wave of political emigration in Russia’s post-Soviet history.

This year’s forced departures recall a tactic honed by the K.G.B. during the last decades of the Soviet Union, when the secret police would tell some dissidents they could go either west or east — into exile or to a Siberian prison camp. Now, as then, the Kremlin appears to be betting that forcing high-profile critics out of the country is less of a headache than imprisoning them, and that Russians abroad are easy to paint as traitors in cahoots with the West.

“Their strategy is: First, squeeze them out,” said Dmitri G. Gudkov, a popular Moscow opposition politician who fled in June. “And if you can’t squeeze them out, throw them in jail.” » | Anton Troianovski* | Monday, August 30, 2021

* Anton Troianovski is the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times. He was previously Moscow bureau chief of The Washington Post and spent nine years with The Wall Street Journal in Berlin and New York. @antontroian

CNN's Christiane Amanpour Shares Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis

CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour revealed to viewers that she has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Amanpour, 63, is one of the best-known journalists in the world. She has been off the air for the past four weeks due to the undergoing surgery.

'Turkey Is the Biggest Jail for Journalists in the World'

Killing the Messenger

As censorship increases worldwide, journalists are being attacked, kidnapped and even killed for exposing the truth.

R.I.P. : Swedish-British Journalist Gunned Down in Kabul

Nils Horner had been working for Swedish Radio

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nils Horner shot dead in smart neighbourhood, close to where militants killed 21 people at a restaurant in January

A foreign journalist with dual British and Swedish nationality was shot dead in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday.

Nils Horner, who worked for Swedish Radio, was declared dead on arrival at the city’s emergency hospital.

Witnesses said two attackers fled the scene.

“I heard a single gunshot and saw the man fall down,” a passer-by told the AFP news agency.

The killing is a reminder of the dangers in Afghanistan as the country prepares for an election next month and for the withdrawal of Nato-led combat forces this year. » | Zubair Babakarkhail, Kabul and Rob Crilly | Tuesday, March 11, 2014