International Convention on the Safety and Independence of Journalists and Other Media Professionals. The PEC particularly endorsed the idea of establishing a Committee on the Safety of Journalists.
Shamshad TV is Afghanistan’s major Pashto-language station. This attack highlights the risks facing journalists, who are increasingly targets in the war-torn country. This is the second deadly attack on media organizations in Afghanistan in 2017. On May 17, six people including four employees of the RTA state broadcaster were killed in an ISIS raid in Jalalabad.
(Photo: a screen grab of Parwiz Sapy, a Shamshad TV news anchor who was wounded by shattered glass in the attack. Shamshad TV stopped broadcasting during the attack but resumed a few hours later)
09.10.2017. VENEZUELA. La Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC, por sus siglas en inglés) se muestra satisfecha por la liberación, este lunes por la mañana, de tres periodistas detenidos el sábado pasado en Venezuela. Se trata de Filippo Rossi (27), un periodista suizo independiente de Lugano y quien trabaja para el diario milanés, Il Giornale. El segundo liberado es el italiano, Roberto Di Matteo, quien también trabaja para el mismo diario. Y el último profesional que recobró su libertad es Jesús Medina, colaborador del sitio web DolarToday, opuesto al gobierno. Según el Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Prensa (SNTP), los tres periodistas fueron acusados de poseer dispositivos de registro electrónicos no autorizados durante una investigación efectuada en la penitenciaría de Tocorón, en el estado de Aragua. Esta prisión está ubicada a unos cien kilómetros al suroeste de la capital, Caracas.
Los tres periodistas fueron arrestados por la Guardia Nacional Venezolana. Una foto que los mostraba desde atrás, aparentemente esposados y vigilados por dos soldados, fue transmitida por el SNTP y su caso fue conocido mundialmente. Representantes sindicales y abogados pudieron reunirse con los detenidos antes de que fueran liberados.
Lankesh (photo, 55), a respected veteran journalist and outspoken critic of Hindu nationalists, was shot dead outside her home in Rajarajeshwarinagar in northern Bengaluru, Karnataka, as she returned from work and as she entered through the gate of her home. Lankesh died at the scene after receiving gunshots to the head and chest. Lankesh edited and published a Kannada-language weekly newspaper Gauri Lankesh Patrike and wrote in the English media.
Christopher Allen (photo, 26), a US freelance reporter and photographer who had written for various outlets, was embedded with rebel forces when fighting broke out. He was killed in a firefight between government forces and rebels near the Ugandan border. The warring sides have given conflicting accounts of his death and whether he was wearing a press vest when he died.
“Despite the demand to shut down Al Jazeera, all our journalists carried on doing their job. We have stood firm on the quality of our journalism. Demands were made to shut down Aljazeera so let’s make a demand ourselves: on behalf of all journalists we demand that journalists be allowed to do their job without threat or intimidation”, said Giles Trendle (photo), Aljazeera English Managing Director & Director of Programmes (Read the full PEC interview on PEC NEWS)
demands, the coalition is asking Qatar to shut down Al-Jazeera and its affiliate stations, as well as the news outlets funded directly and indirectly by this country. In late May, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates moved to block the websites of Al Jazeera and other Qatari media outlets. On June 7, Jordan closed Al Jazeera’s Amman bureau and stripped it of its operating license. Saudi Arabia followed suit the next day, closing Al Jazeera’s Riyadh bureau, according to reports.
22.06.2017. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) joins a coalition of freedom of expression and journalists’ organisations urging all 57 OSCE participating States to urgently appoint a new Representative on Freedom of the Media. The former mandate holder, Dunja Mijatović, left Office on 10 March 2017. She has done remarkable work documenting the violations in the whole region and she intervened successfully several times. Dunja was awarded by the PEC Prize in Geneva in June 2015 (photo). There has been no announcement of her successor. Continued failure to appoint a successor will weaken protections for freedom of the media across the OSCE region, at a time when media organisations are under critical attack. Here is the letter to the members of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), calling for the appointment of a new Representative on Freedom of the Media without delay, to ensure the Office’s achievements over the last two decades are not lost.
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) expresses its condolences to the families of French journalist Stephan Villeneuve (photo) and Iraqi Kurdish journalist Bakhtiar Haddad killed by an explosive device while they were covering Iraqi operations in the Ras Al-Jadah district of Mosul, in northern Iraq, on Monday. Villeneuve was a very experienced reporter who had covered wars all over the world. Véronique Robert, another French reporter was badly injured by the same explosion. She, Villeneuve and Haddad were all on assignment in Mosul for the France 2 TV channel’s programme Envoyé Spécial. They were accompanying Iraqi army forces in areas held by Islamic State in the old town. Iraq is one of the world's deadliest countries for journalists. Sixteen journalists were killed last year in Iraq and now five since the beginning of this year. PEC warned of the high risks for journalists in the battle of Mosul several times.
Photographe indépendant collaborant notamment au Monde et au Wall Street Journal, Mathias Depardon a été arrêté le 8 mai alors qu'il réalisait un reportage pour le magazine National Geographic sur le déplacement d'un tombeau médieval menacé d'inondation à Hasankyef, dans la province de Batman, au sud-est du pays. Il était soupçonné de «propagande terroriste» pour des photos de militantes du Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK) publiées dans des médias français et sur les réseaux sociaux. Par deux fois, le président farnçais Emmanuel Macron a discuté de sa situation avec le président turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan. La mobilisation, notamment grâce aux efforts de RSF, a payé. "C'est un bon signe, mais 165 autres journalistes sont détenus en Turquie. Il faut continuer à se mobiliser", a affirmé à Genève le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen. La PEC avait consacré son prix annuel à la liberté de la presse en Turquie le 1er juin et avait demandé à cette occasion la libération, entre autres journalistes emprisonnés, de Mathias Depardon. "Je pense que l’idée était d’envoyer un message assez fort auprès des journalistes étrangers et turcs qui ont pour but de faire des sujets dans le sud-est de la Turquie", a estimé le journaliste après son expulsion de Turquie et son retour en France. Les régions kurdes du sud-est, ainsi que les abords de la frontière avec la Syrie, sont des zones où les journalistes ne sont pas bienvenus.
"Turkish journalists are being punished for telling the truth, for saying things those in power do not want to hear. In fact there are 169 Turkish journalists behind bars making Turkey the world's most vicious prosecutor of journalists", he added.
The index is based on a six-month period and is published twice a year, to coincide with World Press Freedom Day on 3 May and the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on 2 November.
Read more on the official website, where you will find the concept note and more information about the event,
144 صحفياً وصحفية قُتِلوا فى 2016
In YEMEN, on Saturday the 8th October the Saudi -led coalition have carried out a series of devastating airstrikes on a funeral procession in the capital of Yemen that killed more than 140, and over 500 people were injured including cameraman Hashim Al-Shami of Al-Masirah Satellite Television. Since the War on Yemen began more than 15 journalists have been killed, and eight media outlasts were deliberately destroyed. The PEC requests that all parties fully implement the international law on safety of journalists working in war zones; which include the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1738, the UN Human Rights Council Resolutions on the Safety of Journalists, the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. The PEC regrets that the Human Rights Council has not decided at its last session to undertake an international investigation into the violations committed by all parties in Yemen including against journalists, media worker, and media outlasts.
06.09.2016. SYRIA: ONE MORE JOURNALIST KILLED IN ALEPPO. Shamel Al Ahmed (photo) was one of the Aleppo Media Center founders. He passed away on 2 September in an hospital in Gaziantep after a struggle with his wounds being hit with a barrel bomb in Aleppo two weeks ago along with his wife who passed away four days ago. He was well known with his good moral and a bright smile. He captured with his camera, horror and poetry of a city guilty only of wanting to be free, to be against the dictatorial regime of Assad, against the terror of his bombs, of those of its allies.
18.08.2016. BURUNDI: journalist Jean Bigirimana missing for four weeks. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) asks the United Nations to investigate the disappearance of the Burundian journalist Jean Bigirimana (photo) missing for four weeks. Bigirimana, a reporter with the independent weekly newspaper Iwacu, left his home in the capital Bujumbura on July 22. He has not been seen or heard from since. The worst is feared: Iwacu's editor in Burundi has issued a cry for help after two bodies were found during a search for his missing journalist. There are more than 100 Burundian journalists in exile, and the very last media houses have been facing extraordinary pressures and threats for over a year now. Instead of helping the search being conducted by the Iwacu team, the police tried to obstruct it.
Receiving the PEC award at the Swiss Press Club in Geneva
(here with the PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen), Zhanna
Nemtsova said : "I strongly believe in free journalism (...)
Unfortunately we now in Russia don't only have independent
media. We have propaganda. My father put it this way "
Russian propaganda is a weapon of mass destruction of
people's brains". It breeds hatred towards the so-called
enemies, the West, and to opponents of the regime within the
country and leads to aggressive behavior. Finally it aims at
destroying people 's ability of critical thinking. Russian state-
controlled media present a very simple picture of the world
where there are only two colors: black and white".
Gilkey, 50, was an award-winning journalist who had extensive experience covering conflicts in Gaza, South Africa, Iraq, the Balkans and Afghanistan. Tamanna was a freelance journalist who worked for NPR as well as the NBC News and Turkey’s Anadolu News Agency. He had also worked with Chinese news agency Xinhua as a photojournalist. So far, 10 media workers have been killed in Afghanistan this year, a very heavy toll.
The prominent Azerbaijani investigative journalist has been released on probation after her detention was widely criticised by activists. Khadija Ismayilova was arrested in December 2014 and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail in September last year. She was freed by the country’s supreme court on Wednesday 25 May after judges ruled her sentence would be changed to a three-and-a-half-year suspended term. Speaking after she left court (photo), Ismayilova said she would persist with her reporting and push for a full acquittal. “I will continue my journalist work with renewed energy,” she said. “I feel younger and more energetic, and I will fight until the end.”
SYRIA. GOOD NEWS ! THE PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN (PEC) WELCOMES THE RELEASE OF THREE SPANISH JOURNALISTS AFTER ALMOST A YEAR IN CAPTIVITY. Reports suggested they had been kidnapped by al-Nusra Front. They arrived in Madrid on Sunday 8 May and were received by friends and family (photo). The trio were flown on a Spanish defence ministry jet from Turkey. A statement from the spanish prime minister's office said that "allied and friendly" countries had helped to secure the journalists' release, highlighting the role of Turkey and Qatar which had provided assistance "especially in the final phase".
BUENA NOTICIA. PEC se felicita por la liberación de tres periodistas españoles Antonio Pampliega, José Manuel López y Ángel Sastre, secuestrados en Alepo, al norte de Siria, en julio del año pasado. Los reporteros, a quienes se perdió la pista el 12 de julio de 2015, llevaban cubriendo la guerra en Siria desde su estallido en 2011. Pampliega y López han publicado en la prensa española amplios reportajes narrando el drama de los civiles sirios.
“In the space of two hours we have experienced two assassination attempts: one was done with a gun, the other was judicial,” said Can Dündar, speaking in front of the court after the verdict was announced Friday, May 6. “The [jail sentences] we received are not just to silence us. The bullet was not just to silence us. This was done to all of us, to scare us into silence, to make us stop talking", he added, according to reports. Dündar, editor-in-chief of Turkish daily Cumhuriyet, and fellow journalist Erdem Gül, its Ankara bureau chief, were acquitted on charges of trying to overthrow the government, but convicted of publishing secret state documents. Dündar was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison and Gül to five years. “This is a verdict against journalism and we don’t accept it,” said Gül. The verdict came on a dramatic day in which an attacker fired several shots in quick succession at Dündar, who was unharmed. NTV television reported that one of its reporters had suffered minor injuries from ricocheting bullets. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the verdict and the attack against the journalists and urges the court of appeal to acknowldege that Dündar and Gül were only doing their job.
World Press Freedom Day 2016 - The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the killing of 40 journalists since the beginning of 2016 and is launching a new index to rate countries according to their safety for journalists
Journée mondiale de la liberté de la presse 2016 - La Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) condamne le meurtre de 40 journalistes depuis le début de l'année et lance un nouvel indice sur la sécurité des journalistes
Día Mundial de la Libertad de la Prensa en 2016 - La PEC condena el asesinato de 40 periodistas desde comienzos del año y lanza un nuevo índice sobre la seguridad de los periodistas
READ THE PEC PRESS RELEASE ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH AND ARABIC ON PEC NEWS
The Egypt's Press Syndicate has called on members to continue a round-the-clock sit-in at the HQ (photo) until Wednesday's general assembly. The interior ministry said in a statement Monday, May 2 that it followed all legal procedures while carrying out the arrests. The two journalists are accused of "inciting violation of the protest law, disrupting security and attempting to destabilise the country," the ministry added. Amr Badr, editor-in-chief and founder of Yanair (January) news portal, and journalist Mahmoud El-Sakka, who works for the same website, were staging a sit-in in the syndicate to protest against their arrest warrants as well as the storming of their homes by security forces last month. Syndicate head Yehia Qallash and other journalists said the ministry's move was a clear violation of Egyptian press law.
Mexico continúa la cuenta de periodistas asesinados. El cadáver de Anabel Flores Salazar, secuestrada por un comando armado en su casa en Veracruz, ha sido hallado al borde de una carretera del Estado de Puebla. En El Sol de Orizaba había trabajado como colaboradora los últimos seis meses. La especialidad de Flores era la información sobre crímenes. La periodista tenía 32 años y era madre de un bebé recién nacido y de otro niño de cuatro años.
The Venezuelan journalist was a strong supporter of the governments of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro. Ricardo Duran was killed outside his home Wednesday 20 January in Caracas. His work colleague, Daniel Aponte, told VTV, “They did not take anything from Ricardo Duran, not his wallet, nor money, nor his cell phone, nor his side arm, not even his car.” PEC calls for a thorough investigation.
AFGHANISTAN. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) strongly condemns the barbaric attack on Afghan TV channel TOLO in Kabul. Seven employees of popular Afghan TV channel TOLO were killed Wednesday 20 January when a Taliban car bomber rammed into their minibus in Kabul, just months after the militants declared the network a legitimate "military target". At least 25 other people were wounded in the first major attack on an Afghan media organisation since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001. The deadly assault spotlights the growing dangers faced by media workers in Afghanistan, as the security situation worsens amid a growing wave of militant attacks. The PEC is shocked and saddened by this outrage and demands that those responsible are arrested and brought to justice.
PEC press release on PEC NEWS (English and Arabic)
La PEC pleure la mort de la photographe franco-marocaine Leila Alaoui.
IRAN. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the release of the US-Iranian journalist Jason Rezaian (photo) as part of a prisoner exchange after spending 543 days in detention.
The Washington Post’s Tehran bureau chief was one of four American-Iranian prisoners who were released in exchange for seven Iranians held in US custody on Saturday 16 January. Washington Post publisher, Frederick Ryan released a statement welcoming the announcement, saying: “We couldn’t be happier to hear the news that Jason Rezaian has been released from Evin Prison". His newspaper said that the journalist had been subjected to physical and psychological mistreatment during his detention. He was accused of spying for US government officials before he was eventually convicted of espionage in October and sentenced to jail.
PAKISTAN. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) strongly condemns as an attack against press freedom a grenade attack on the Islamabad offices of Pakistani broadcaster ARY News 13 January. A video editor was wounded. Daesh Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the attack in pamphlets thrown outside the office, according to reports. Copies of the pamphlets warned the broadcaster about its coverage of the Pakistani military offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region. PEC condemns intimidation of journalists by terrorist groups anywhere in the world. Media are independent and not part of the military institution. More on:
http://arynews.tv/en/ary-news-officresponsibility/
Israel. Break the silence. Hunger-striking Palestinian journalist's health failing
DECEMBER 2015. SOMALIA. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is horrified and strongly condemns the attempted murder in Mogadishu of Omar Faruk Osman, Secretary general of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). Omar Faruk is a supporter of the PEC since the launch of our ONG in 2004 and we frequently joined our efforts during the sessions of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. According to reports, Osman was entering 29 December the union’s office in the Taleh area in Mogadishu when his car was sprayed with bullets by gunmen and he only owed his life to the quick thinking of his body guards, one of them was wounded in the attack as well two pedestrians (photo nusoj/ifj: Omar Faruk speaking at the HRC session in Geneva) (read the PEC press release English and Arabic on PEC NEWS)
ONE MORE SYRIAN JOURNALIST KILLED IN TURKEY. The PEC condemns the murder of Syrian journalist and filmmaker Naji Jerf gunned down in Gaziantep, in Turkey near the Syrian border. Editor-in-chief of the monthy Hentah and the maker of documentary films on the group Islamic State, he was killed 27 December by unknown assaillants in front of a building that houses Syrian opposion news outlets in Gaziantep. The PEC calls on Turkish authorities to sep up measures to protect all Syrian journalists on Turkish soil.
Naji Jerf, 38, was shot with a silenced pistol in downtown Gaziantep, near the Syrian border, Turkish media reported. Mr Jerf was the film director for Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), a group of journalists who risk their lives daily to report on IS abuses. It is the second murder of a member of the group in December, after Ahmad Mohammed al-Mousa was killed in Idlib, in Syria. Mr Jerf directed two recent documentaries about the group - one about the killing of Syrian activists in Aleppo, the other about the work of RBSS. As well as his work with RBSS, Mr Jerf was editor-in-chief of Hentah, a Syrian magazine that reports on the "daily lives of Syrian citizens", according to the publication's website.
Somalia ranks 5th with 42 killed, then Brazil 36 and the Philippines 34.
- OCTOBER 2015: BURUNDI - the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the murder of a TV cameraman and his family in Bujumbura. At least seven people were killed in shootings and a grenade attack on Tuesday 13 October in Burundi's capital, police and residents said, in a further spate of violence following the election of President Pierre Nkurunziza to a third term. Residents of the Ngagara neighbourhood - a stronghold for opposition supporters - said two police officers and a television cameraman and his family were among the dead. Residents identified the cameraman as Christophe Nkezabahizi who worked with state-run RTNB radio and television station, who they said was shot dead along with his wife and two children.
- ISRAEL-PALESTINE - 39 attacks against journalists in 10 days. PEC concerned about excessive use of force, urges calm and restraint (read on PEC NEWS)
Assange, Manning and Snowden, "traitors" or heroes of our time? The public can respond by mounting a fourth chair intentionally left empty. "Art has the power to make things happen. The chair has a double meaning. It may be comfortable, but it can also be a pedestal to grow, to have a better perspective, to learn. All three of them mounted on a chair with courage at their own risk and peril ", said Davide Dormino.
- The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the release of Syrian human rights activist and journalist Mazen Darwish after spending more than three years in prison in Syria. Mazen Darwish received the PEC award in absentia in Geneva in June 2012.
Darwish is still facing trial and is due to attend a court hearing later this month. He was jailed for reporting on the government's crackdown on protesters in the early days of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
The PEC heartily congratulates his wife Yara Badr and his family members and calls on the Syrian regime to drop all remaining charges against Mazen Darwish.
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) has registered a 7 percent increase in the number of journalists killed from January to June in 24 countries, the number has gone up to 71 journalists killed. This increase is related to the intense fighting in Middle East.
Countries with the highest casualties are as follows: France 8, Libya 8, Iraq 6, South Sudan 6, Yemen 6, Mexico 4, Ukraine 4, Brazil 3, Honduras 3, Guatemala 3, the Philippines 3, Colombia 2, India 2, Pakistan 2, Syria 2. One journalist was killed in each of the following countries: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Gaza, Indonesia, Kenya, Paraguay, Poland, and Somalia.
The Press Emblem Campaign expresses at the Human Rights Council its disappointement that on 12 June, an Israeli military tribunal has closed the case involving the killing by Israeli shelling of four children in Gaza in July 2014 without any further legal proceedings – criminal or disciplinary – to be taken against those involved in the incident. Journalists were direct witnesses of the attack on a beach in Gaza City on 16 July 2014. Four young Palestinian boys were killed (Credit Tyler Hicks, The New York Times).
Ali Lmrabet (photo) a commencé le 24 juin une grève de la faim devant le siège de l'ONU à Genève parce que le Maroc refuse de lui renouveler ses papiers. "Je suis un journaliste indépendant et c'est ce qui dérange", a-t-il expliqué. Le journaliste a l'intention de relancer ses journaux satiriques au Maroc, mais ne peut le faire sans certificat de résidence. NOUVEAU: Ali Lmrabet a cessé sa grève de la faim le 28 juillet après avoir reçu des assurances du ministère marocain de l'Intérieur qu'il pourra renouveler son passeport et obtenir un certificat de résidence dans son pays. La PEC est soulagée et félicite Ali Lmrabet pour sa ténacité (pec)
"The continuing war represents a profound failure of diplomacy (...) While upholding the need for a political solution, some States have deepened their military involvment, accentuating the internationalisation of the conflict", said in his statement, the chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic Paulo Sergio Pinheiro (here with Carla del Ponte, member of the COI). "The absence of decisive action by the community of States, as a whole, has nourished a now deeply entrenched culture of impunity", stressed the chair.
Switzerland has flown out of Azerbaijan the opposition journalist Emin Huseynov (photo) who had been sheltering for 10 months at its embassy in Baku, a day after the inaugural European Games opened in the tightly-controlled country. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the arrival in Switzerland of the opposition journalist and congratulates the swiss diplomats for their successful efforts, but deplores that seven other journalists remain behind the bars on the basis of fabricated charges.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic (photo) was the guest speaker at the PEC event June 4 in Geneva attended by more than 40 diplomats, journalists, NGOs representatives. "The media freedom situation in Ukraine is very complex. The main media freedom issue in this conflict is journalists'safety; journalists are being threatened, intimidated and attacked just for doing their job", stressed Ms Mijatovic.
"False and misleading information must be countered and fought with truthful and factual information, that must be the basis encountering and addressing propaganda", she added. Ms Mijatovic called to fight propaganda and incitment to hostility or violence.
At the Swiss Press Club during the award ceremony on Thursday 4 June, from left to right: PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen, OSCE Representative for freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic, Liudmyla Zlobina, Executive Director Information Press Center in Kiev, and the Mayor of Geneva, Esther Alder (photo pec) // de gauche à droite pendant la cérémonie au Club suisse de la presse jeudi 4 juin: le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen, la représentante de l'OSCE pour la liberté des médias Dunja Mijatovic, la directrice de l'Information Press Center à Kiev Liudmyla Zlobina et la maire de Genève, Esther Alder (photo pec)
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) demanded that the crime be investigated rigorously and quickly. Violence against professional journalists is growing all over Brazil. The investigative reporter Evany Jose Metzker (photo) was found decapitated in the town of Padre Paraiso, in Minas Gerais state, authorities said May 19. Metzker, 67, wrote an investigative reporting blog called Coruja do Vale, which published news of crime and corruption, along with critical articles about politicians in the Valle del Jequitinhonha region, a poor rural area of northeast Minas Gerais.
Since the beginning of the year, in 4 months, 53 journalists were killed in 20 countries against 41 during the same period last year, an increase of 29% - more than 3 journalists killed a week, a very worrying trend, according to the PEC figures.
The PEC stressed that whatever the motivations are journalists must be spared from being targeted because of political rivalries.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered "a quick and transparent" investigation into the murders of a pro-Russian journalist Oles Buzina (photo) and an ex-lawmaker loyal to ousted President Viktor Yanukovich. "Their nature and political import are clear - this is a deliberate act, which plays into the hands of our enemies," his press service quoted him as saying in an online statement.
It is a great day for the PEC when one of its executive committee members and a very dedicated member becomes president of IMPRESSUM which assembles 6000 Swiss journalists. PEC president Hedayat Abdel Nabi noted that being elected president of IMPRESSUM is well deserved for Christian Campiche (photo). PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen stressed that IMPRESSUM has supported the PEC since the Geneva based NGO was created in 2004. The PEC wishes him a great tenure as president.
#PressUncuffed is a campaign started by University of Maryland journalism students to raise money to free imprisoned journalists by selling bracelets bearing their names - JOIN THE CAMPAIGN (read the press release on OTHER NEWS)
On the occasion of the 28th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) urged Member States to act to protect media workers. The PEC has delivered four oral statements: on the situation of journalists in Syria and in Palestine, on "Charlie Hebdo" and other terrorists attacks and on other situations that requires the Council's attention (read the PEC statements on PEC NEWS)
One of Yemen's top journalists and activists close to the country's dominant Houthi militia, Abdul Kareem al-Khaiwani, has been killed, the group's official television channel al-Maseerah said. The son al-Khewani, who is also a respected writer, said a pair of armed men riding on a motorbike opened fire and gunned down his father as he came out of his home on Wednesday morning.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though Sunni Muslim al Qaeda militants have claimed several previous attacks on the Shi'ite Houthis, whom it regards as heretics. Khaiwani's editorials were once the scourge of Yemen's veteran autocrat, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Le film Citizenfour a été présenté dans le cadre du Festival international du film et forum sur les droits humains (FIFDH) à Genève. Sous le pseudonyme de Citizenfour se cache un jeune homme qui aura 30 ans dans quelques jours, dont le nom et le visage sont encore inconnus. C'est Edward Snowden que rencontrent, en juin 2013, dans une chambre d'hôtel, à Hongkong, la réalisatrice et le journaliste Glenn Greenwald, accompagnés parfois par un autre journaliste spécialiste du renseignement, le Britannique Ewen MacAskill. Leurs conversations durent huit jours et portent sur le processus à adopter pour révéler dans les meilleures conditions souhaitables ce que Snowden a découvert, à savoir que l'agence NSA espionne les citoyens du monde entier...Interrogé par Darius Rochebin, de la TSR, après la présentation du film, Snowden avoue que son exil en Russie lui pèse: voir la vidéo
Sergii Nikolaiev (photo) died of wounds he received on Feb. 28 in eastern Ukraine, according to news reports. The tragedy occurred in the village of Pisky located just 1.5 kilometers from Donetsk airport, which is now controlled by separatists. Several of his colleagues on the scene reported that Nikolaiev was wounded by explosion of the mine, while Segodnya newspaper reported that he was wounded by shells. Nikolaiev, 43, has worked in numerous conflict zones, including wars in Georgia, Libya, Syria, and Somalia. He has become the tenth journalist killed since the beginning of 2014 in Ukraine, the seventh directly caused by the war (five Russians, one Italian, one Ukrainian).
Mohamed Fahmy, here with his fiancee, Marwa Omara, in Cairo on Saturday, tells the Star that his ordeal with the Egyptian justice system is far from over. The 40-year-old Canadian journalist was let out on bail Friday 13 February after spending 411 days behind bars along with his Al Jazeera colleagues, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed. Mohamed Fahmi is still very cautious
Since August 2014, the human rights defender and journalist Emin Huseynov of Azerbaijan has been forced into hiding at the Swiss embassy in Baku. As chairman of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), a local NGO, Huseynov is one of many victims of an intense government crackdown on free speech and civil society that has taken place in Azerbaijan over the past year
Australian journalist Peter Greste (here on his arrival in Cyprus) has been deported and is free after 400 days in detention in Egypt. Greste was arrested in December 2013 with his colleagues Mohamed Fadel Fahmy (Canada) and Baher Mohamed (Egypt). Accused of collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood after the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by the military in 2013, the three men said they were simply reporting the news.
"Kenji Goto reported the plight of people in conflict areas like Iraq, Somalia and Syria.
It was his passion to highlight the effects on ordinary people, especially through the eyes of children, and to inform the rest of us of the tragedies of war", his wife Rinko - Sunday, 01 February 2015.
Kenji Goto (photo), 47, is an experienced freelance journalist covering the conflict in Iraq and Syria. Goto was kidnapped in Syria in October 2014 and had been a journalist for years, contributing to NHK and other Japanese news organizations.
Journaliste, photographe, grand reporter et écrivaine voyageuse, lauréate du Prix Unesco pour l’éducation à la paix en 1987, la Genevoise Laurence Deonna vient de publier son dernier livre intitulé « Mémoires ébouriffées » (Editions de l’Aire/Ginkgo). Cette fine connaisseuse du Moyen-Orient a accordé un entretien exclusif à la Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC). Elle nous parle du métier de reporter de guerre devenu beaucoup plus dangereux
Some 1.5 million people, including over 50 world leaders, thronged central Paris Sunday afternoon in a massive and historic show of support against terrorism (read on OTHER NEWS a press release of the French syndicates of journalists)
Over one hundred journalists and UN spokepersons attended the commemoration at the United Nations in Geneva to pay homage to the victims of the attack in Paris, with the DG of the UN in Geneva Michael Moller, the High Commissionner, the Permanent Representative of France Nicolas Niemtchinow, the president of the UN Association of Journalists in Geneva and a Representative of Cartooning for Peace
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said: "We do not need retaliation. Neither Islam nor multiculturalism in Europe is to blame for the bloody attack two mornings ago, as some right-wing political leaders have already begun to say". He added: "The right to the freedom of expression has always been considered as that human right which best answers to the wickedness brought on by tyranny and racism (...) That right, the freedom of expression, must therefore be argued for vigorously, most especially by this organization: by us".
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) took part in the special event to pay homage to the victims of the attack in Paris and to reaffirm the importance of freedom of the press. Here on the photo Tamer Aboalenin, member of the PEC board, during the minute of silence with many journalists accredited at the United Nations in Geneva (more on PEC NEWS)
Les dessinateurs Cabu, Tignous, Charb et Wolinski ont été victimes de la tuerie perpétrée mercredi 7 janvier dans les locaux du journal français "Charlie Hebdo" à Paris.
Most dangerous countries in 2014: Syria (19 killed), Gaza (16), Pakistan (12), Iraq (10), Ukraine (9), Mexico (8), Afghanistan (7), Honduras (6), Somalia (5), Brazil (5), Central African Republic (4), Cambodia (3), Guinea (3), Paraguay (3), and Philippines (3).
Middle East is on the top of the list, with 52 journalists killed, followed by Asia with 32, Latin America with 29, Sub-Saharan Africa with 15 and Europe 10.
Luke Somers appears in a propaganda video released by al-Malahem Media. The authorities in Sanaa had received information that the hostage was due to be killed by al-Qaeda on Saturday morning 6 December, prompting the rescue attempt. Chuck Hagel, the US defence secretary, later confirmed his death.
The Press Emblem Campaign calls upon all governments to take steps to prevent attacks on journalists and to hold accountable those who commit them (speaking at the Doha Symposium, right, the PEC Representative Gianfranco Fattorini)
La « révolution numérique » est-elle un progrès de la démocratie, des libertés individuelles, un nouvel avenir radieux ou au contraire l’avènement du règne de la surveillance et de la désinformation généralisées ? Atteintes aux libertés, conflits socio-culturels, ingouvernabilité, le livre de Blaise Lempen aide à y voir clair - à commander sur: www.georg.ch (dessin: Chappatte)
Ashoka Mukpo (photo), a freelance journalist from Providence, Rhode Island, was working as a cameraman for NBC News when he fell ill last Wednesday. The American photojournalist who became infected with Ebola left disease-ravaged Liberia on Sunday night. Mukpo was being flown back to the U.S. to the Biocontainment Unit at the Nebraska Medical Center Monday October 6
(media reports)
Les 3e Assises du Journalisme, organisées par Impressum, Amnesty, la PEC, RSF et l'Université de Fribourg ont réuni à Lausanne le 24 septembre plus de 200 journalistes, éditeurs, rédacteurs en chef, étudiants, membres d'ONG pour discuter de la liberté de la presse, de la Convention européenne des droits de l'homme, de la protection des journalistes en zone de guerre et de la cybersurveillance lors de quatre ateliers (photo PM).
The so-called Islamic State has released a haunting video that shows John Cantlie (photo) pledging to expose the "truth behind the Islamic State". The PEC strongly condemns such statements under duress ot the former british reporter for The Sunday Times, The Sun and The Sunday Telegraph.
Mostefa Souag (left) was invited by the director of the Swiss Press Club in Geneva Guy Mettan (right). The Al Jazeera Media Network's director general said that the verdict was political. Al Jazeera reporters have gotten attention, but Egyptian journalists have far more difficulties. According to Souag, 60 journalists are detained in Egypt.
A disguised militant from the Islamic State, or ISIS, said the execution of an American journalist purportedly shown in a new video was the result of U.S. airstrikes in Iraq. The White House said Wednesday Sept 3 the video showing the killing of U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff is authentic. Mr. Sotloff, 31 years old, was abducted near the Turkish border in Syria in August 2013. Few knew about his capture until the release on Aug. 19 of another video showing the beheading of American journalist James Foley.
Russian journalist Andrey Stenin (photo) has been confirmed dead Sept 3. He was in a vehicle, traveling in a convoy containing escaping civilians when it came under heavy fire. Stenin, 33, a photojournalist contributing to several news agencies including Rossiya Segodnya (RIA Novosti) and ITAR-TASS, had been covering the conflict in eastern Ukraine before all contact with him was lost on August 5.
Foley, 40 (photo), vanished in Syria in November 2012 while covering the Syrian civil war for GlobalPost. The car he was riding in was stopped by four militants in a contested battle zone that both Sunni rebel fighters and government forces were trying to control. He had not been heard from since. At the end of the video posted August 19 by the Islamic State, a militant shows a second man, who was identified as another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, and warns that he could be next captive killed. Sotloff was kidnapped near the Syrian-Turkish border in August 2013 and freelanced for Time, the National Interest and MediaLine.
This photo taken in August, 2014 shows italian Associated Press video journalist Simone Camilli on a balcony overlooking smoke from Israeli Strikes in Gaza City. Camilli, 35, was killed in an ordnance explosion in the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, Aug. 13, together with Palestinian Ali Shehda Abu Afash from Agence France-Presse and three members of the Gaza police. AP photographer Hatem Moussa was also injured. According to AP, Simone Camilli was a passionate, talented newsman who covered popes in the serene splendor of the Vatican and the horrific violence on battlefields from the former Soviet republic of Georgia to the Middle East.
Palestinian journalists are under fire. Israeli war jets are reported to have bombed the offices of the Al-Aqsa TV station, in the Alnaser neighbourhood of Gaza (photo), and the Al-Aqsa radio station, in the El-Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in northern Gaza Tuesday 29 July. The attack on the Al-Aqsa offices means that four media outlets have until now been targeted. The PEC strongly condemns these attacks. The fact that the Hamas broadcast stations serve as propaganda organs does not justify making them a military target.
While Mr Shihab was going at about 10:00 pm Tuesday 9 July to Omar Al-Mukhtatr's street in Gaza city to transfer a cameraman to the headquarters of the company Media 24, the car, which had a press sign TV in red (photo), was shelled by a rocket by an Israeli airplane.
Nairobi-based Al Jazeera English reporter, Australian Peter Greste (left), Al Jazeera English Cairo bureau chief, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy (center), and Al Jazeera producer, Baher Mohamed, were sentenced to seven years in prison - an appalling attack on press freedom - The PEC condemns the sentence as a dangerous precedent affecting freedom of expression.
Two journalists for Russian TV channel Rossiya have died from wounds sustained during a Ukrainian military shelling attack near Lugansk, eastern Ukraine. Reporter Igor Kornelyuk (photo) passed away on the operating table, a doctor at the hospital confirmed to RT. The second alleged victim is sound engineer Anton Voloshin. According to RT's information, he died immediately at the scene.The Rossiya channel crew consisted of three people with only one of them, Viktor Denisov, the cameraman, surviving the Ukrainian military shelling.
Navi Pillay (photo): "States must adopt legislative and policy measures for ensuring the safety and protection of journalists and other media workers, with zero tolerance of any form of violence against journalists, and full accountability for any such violence" (...) "Every act of violence committed against a journalist that goes uninvestigated, and unpunished, is an open invitation for further violence. Ensuring accountability for attacks against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks."
Jean-Luc Mootoosamy, from Radio Ndeke Luka in Bangui (RCA) and Jean-Marie Etter, director general Fondation Hirondelle, receiving the PEC Award 2014 at the Swiss Press Club in Geneva (photo pec) (more photos on our page PEC AWARD)
Meftah Bouzid (50, photo), a prominent Libyan journalist and vocal critic of the country’s jihadists, was shot dead on Monday in the Islamist stronghold of Benghazi, generating a wave of condemnation from domestic and international rights organizations. Bouzid had previously been the subject of death threats for his frequent condemnation of Islamic extremists.
Rocchelli (30, photo) and Mironov were killed by mortar fire near Slavyansk where they were covering the conflict ahead of the presidential election. French photographer William Roguelon of Wostok Press was injured during the attack. Rocchelli is the third reporter killed in Ukraine this year and the first foreigner. The PEC calls on authorities in Ukraine to carry out a thorough investigation to find out exactly what happened and ensure those responsible are held accountable.
According to media reports, Times writer Anthony Lloyd (photo) and photographer Jack Hill had spent several days reporting from the city of Aleppo and were returning to the Turkish border early on Wednesday when the car they were travelling in was forced to the side of the road. Lloyd was bound to the back seat of a car, while Hill and a local guide were put in the boot before being driven to a warehouse in the town of Tall Rifat.
Reports say that Hill and a guide attempted to escape, but they were recaptured. Hill was severely beaten while Lloyd was shot in the legs to prevent him from escaping. They were eventually freed and managed to cross the border into Turkey after receiving treatment in a Syrian hospital.
Six mois après l'assassinat de deux reporters français de RFI au Mali, une autre journaliste française, la photographe Camille Lepage, 26 ans (photo AFP), a été tuée alors qu'elle effectuait un reportage en République centrafricaine (RCA). Le président François Hollande, qui a annoncé mardi 13 mai dans un communiqué le décès de la jeune femme originaire d'Angers, a ensuite indiqué à la presse que Camille Lepage était sans doute tombée dans un guet-apens. François Hollande a promis de mettre en œuvre "tous les moyens nécessaires pour faire la lumière sur les circonstances de cet assassinat et retrouver les meurtriers". Le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU a condamné fermement mardi le meurtre et a réclamé une enquête aux autorités centrafricaines. Son travail a été publié par Le Monde, le Sunday Times, le Washington Post, le Wall Street Journal....Elle avait couvert la révolution égyptienne en 2011, elle était au Soudan du Sud en 2012.
Anja Niedringhaus, 48 (photo) an internationally acclaimed German photographer, was killed instantly. Kathy Gannon, 60, a canadian reporter, was wounded twice. The two were traveling in a convoy of election workers delivering ballots to the outskirts of Khost city when the incident took place, AP said. A unit commander named Naqibullah walked up to them as their car was waiting for the convoy to move, shouted God is Great and opened fire on them in the back seat with an AK-47, according to news reports. Anja Niedringhaus was the only woman on a team of 11 AP photographers that won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for coverage of the Iraq War. That same year she was awarded the International Women's Media Foundation's Courage in Journalism prize.
It is not clear who is responsible for the murder of the young woman journalist Mayada Achraf (photo) Friday in Cairo. This tragic event happened exactly when the United Nations discussed at the Human Rights Council a resolution on the right to peaceful protests, including the need to ensure the safety of journalists in demonstrations.
The PEC condemns in the strongest terms the killing of veteran Swedish Radio reporter Nils Horner (photo), shot dead March 11 in Kabul as he conducted interviews ahead of next month’s presidential election in Afghanistan. Nils Horner, 51, had been a Swedish Radio foreign correspondent since 2001. He reported from Afghanistan when the Taliban were forced from power in 2001, from Baghdad when the USA entered in 2003, from Thailand following the Tsunami in 2004, and from Japan after the tsunami and ensuing Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in 2011. The motive for his killing is unknown.
Dozens of journalists were injured while covering the violent demonstrations in Kiev. Many of these journalists were deliberately targeted and none of their cases have been properly investigated. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls on all parties to show respect for the work and the physical integrity of media personnel, and reminds the Ukrainian authorities of their responsibility to ensure journalists' safety.
Both Espinosa and García are seasoned reporters who have been covering the uprising against the Assad regime since it began in March 2011. Espinosa, 49 (photo), has been based in Beirut as El Mundo’s Middle East correspondent since 2002. García is a freelance photographer and videographer who has been covering wars and humanitarian crises for more than 15 years. After covering the uprising in Libya in 2011, he has done a lot of reporting in Syria in the past two years, winning many awards. The news media he has worked for include Channel 4, APTN, Reuters and Euronews. According to PEC, at least 12 foreign journalists are currently kidnapped or missing in Syria.
Magnus Falkehed (left) is a freelancer for among others Dagens Nyheter. The Swedish photojournalist agency Kontinental, where Niclas Hammarström (right) is a member, had kept regular contact with the journalists in Syria. It was Kontinental that raised the alarm over the weekend.
Giuliana Sgrena, journaliste italienne enlevée en Irak en 2005, s'est confiée dans un entretien exclusif accordé à Luisa Ballin pour la PEC sur les suites de son enlèvement. "Malheureusement, l’enquête n’avance pas. Nous nous sommes battus pour qu’il y ait un procès en Italie à l’encontre de Mario Lozano, le soldat de l’armée américaine qui a tiré contre notre voiture. Nous n’y sommes pas parvenus malgré un procès préliminaire lors duquel le juge avait décidé d’envoyer Mario Lozano devant la justice pour l’homicide politique volontaire de Nicola Calipari, le numéro deux du SISMI (les services italiens de la sûreté de l’Etat) et pour la tentative d’homicide contre moi et contre l’autre agent du SISMI Andrea Carpani" (lire l'interview sur PEC NEWS) - links to other contributions to mark International Day to End Impunity on our page NO IMPUNITY
The profession of journalism more and more dangerous - the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns in the strongest possible manner the summary executions of French journalists working for Radio France Internationale Ghislaine Dupont (left, 57) and Claude Verlon (right, 55).
The journalists were kidnapped and shot after conducting an interview in Kidal, Mali. Their bodies were found about 10 km from the town centre Nov 2.
Les deux journalistes français, Nicolas Hénin (à gauche), reporter, et Pierre Torrès (à droite) photographe, ont été enlevés le 22 juin dans la ville de Raqqa, dans le nord de la Syrie, ont annoncé le 9 octobre leurs familles et le ministère français des Affaires étrangères qui avaient gardé jusqu'à présent secrète leur détention. Au total, ce sont officiellement quatre journalistes français qui sont retenus en otages en Syrie, avec Didier François et Edouard Elias, enlevés le 6 juin. Selon les familles, les deux journalistes sont en vie, mais rien n'a été indiqué de leur lieu et conditions de détention, ni de l'existence d'une revendication. Nicolas Hénin (37 ans) était en Syrie pour un reportage pour l'hebdomadaire Le Point et la chaîne de télévision Arte. Il est le responsable du bureau de l'agence de presse de télévision Solas Films en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient depuis 7 ans. Il collabore à Radio France et à diverses radio-télévisions francophones, RTBF, RTS et Radio Canada. Pierre Torres (29 ans), est un photographe qui a couvert la révolution libyenne et a vendu notamment des images à l'AFP en 2012.
Pour Domenico Quirico (ici lors de son retour en Italie, accueilli par Emma Bonino), les journalistes sont sans protection face à de nouveaux acteurs dans les conflits actuels, "des fanatiques religieux ou des bandits". Mais il ne faut pas renoncer à décrire ce qui se passe en allant sur le terrain.
Marc Marginedas' (photo) newspaper El Periódico revealed (September 24) that the Spanish journalist was kidnapped by Jihadi fighters near the city of Hama on 4 september. There has been no news of Marginedas since then and no group has claimed responsibility for his abduction. The Press Emblem Campaign calls for his immediate release.
Statement by Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (photo, with Carla del Ponte), Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic:
"Syria has become an increasingly dangerous place for journalists to work. A disturbing pattern of harassment, arrest and detention of journalists, especially foreigners, has emerged. In the last six weeks, reports have been received of journalists kidnapped by extremist anti-Government armed groups". (Oral update, 16/09/2013)
La journaliste Luisa Ballin (photo), membre du comité directeur de la PEC, a longuement rencontré à Paris Florence Aubenas. Ex-otage en Irak, elle s'exprime à coeur ouvert sur les difficultés d'informer dans les zones de conflit et de troubles internes, en Syrie et en Egypte, et sur l'évolution du métier de grand reporter, alors qu'au moins sept journalistes étrangers sont toujours kidnappés en Syrie, certains depuis plusieurs mois. La PEC est soulagée de la libération le 8 septembre de l'envoyé spécial de "La Stampa" Domenico Quirico et en même temps consterné par les mauvais traitements qu'il a subis en captivité en Syrie pedant exactement cinq mois.
Sky News cameraman Mick Deane (photo) has been shot and killed covering the violence in Cairo August 14. Mick, 61, had worked for Sky for 15 years, based in Washington and then Jerusalem. The Head of Sky News John Ryley described Mick as the very best of cameramen, a brilliant journalist and an inspiring mentor to many.
Journaliste ex-otage détenue en Irak pendant plusieurs mois, libérée en juin 2005, Florence Aubenas (photo) préside le comité de soutien aux deux journalistes français, otages depuis leur enlèvement près d'Alep il y a plus de deux mois, le 6 juin. D'après le ministre français de la Défense, les deux otages sont en vie. Selon Florence Aubenas, on ne sait pas qui les détient. "C'est le propre de la Syrie: tout est possible. Ils ont très bien pu être enlevés par les rebelles comme par les forces gouvernementales. Toute la difficulté est là". Au moins six autres journalistes étrangers sont détenus en Syrie, certains depuis un an. La PEC se joint aux efforts de Florence et renouvelle son appel à une libération sans condition.
A freelancer who works for the Corbis agency, the Polish photo-agency Studio Melon and other outlets, Suder (photo) was abducted July 24 during a raid in Saraqeb by an islamist group. The 36-year-old is an experienced war photographer who had worked in Somalia, South Sudan and Chechnya.
Five men are in court in Moscow in connection with the killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, which happened in 2006. A spokeswoman for the family says they are concerned the court will try to speed up the trial to coincide with the anniversary of Politkovskaya's death.
Caroline Poiron (photo) était la compagne de Gilles Jacquier, grand reporter à France2, tué le 11 janvier 2012 à Homs dans des circonstances dramatiques. Dans Attentat Express, elle retrace, avec Sid Ahmed Hammouche et Patrick Vallélian, les événements qui se sont succédé ce jour-là. Leur enquête pose de troublantes questions.
"Connus pour leur professionnalisme, les deux journalistes remplissent une mission d’intérêt général en couvrant de manière indépendante la tragédie syrienne. Les journalistes ne doivent en aucun cas être pris pour cibles par les diverses parties engagées dans le conflit ni servir en aucune façon de monnaie d’échange", a affirmé le président français François Hollande réagissant à cet enlèvement.
The PEC Prize 2013 for the protection of journalists has been awarded 6 June at the Swiss Press Club in Geneva to Ileana Alamilla (Guatemala), Allan McDonald (Honduras), ambassador Alexandre Fasel (Switzerland) and ambassador Thomas Hajnoczi (Austria).
According to the german newspaper Tagesspiegel, Armin Wertz (photo) told on May 5 by SMS that he was being held by Syrian police in Aleppo. In a new message on Sunday May 12, the reporter asked for help. PEC calls for its immediate release and evacuation, as fighting intensifies in Aleppo.
The reporter writing on a freelance basis for german and asian media is at least the fifth foreign journalist detained or missing in Syria with two Americans Austin Tice and James Foley (since last year), Italian Dominico Quirico (since April) and Palestinian Bashar Fahmi Al-Kadumi (since August 2012)
Hundreds of journalists and human rights defenders staged marches in 14 Mexican states to demand an end to the barbarity that targets them, and an end to impunity (April 28).
Italian daily La Stampa says its correspondent in Syria has been missing for about 20 days. 62 year-old Domenico Quirico (photo), an experienced war reporter, entered Syria on April 6 from Lebanon. His last contact was a text message sent on April 9 to an Italian colleague from state TV, saying he was on the road to Homs.
Four italian journalists have been kidnapped in the north of Syria, on the border with Turkey, by a rebel group April 5. According to news reports, the abducted were one reporter working for the Italian public broadcaster RAI Amedeo Ricucci (photo) and three freelance journalists Andrea Viganli, Elio Colavolpe and Susan Dabbous. PEC welcomed their release on April 13.
A TV correspondent for German public broadcaster ARD Jörg Armbruster, 65 (photo), was seriously wounded by gunfire in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo March 29, then evacuated to Turkey and Stuttgart April 1. The veteran journalist had been based in Cairo until January 2013, where he had reported on events in the Arab World.
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) delivered five oral statements and made two written contributions on the occasion of the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva (photo of room XX at the United Nations)
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the release of Ukrainian journalist Ankhar Kochneva (photo). Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday 12 March confirmed that the journalist is free after 150 days in captivity. Kochneva, who has written for Syrian and Russian newspapers, was kidnapped in western Syria on Oct. 9 and reportedly held by members of the Free Syrian Army opposition group.
Olivier Voisin (38 ans, photo) est le 4e journaliste français à mourir en exerçant son métier pour couvrir le conflit en Syrie. Il a succombé à ses blessures dimanche 24 février dans un hôpital en Turquie, après avoir été grièvement blessé par des éclats d'obus jeudi, alors qu'il couvrait les opérations d'un groupe armé d'opposition dans la région d'Idlib (nord de la Syrie)
Belgian-born French journalist Yves Debay (58)(photo) was shot by snipers once in the head and once in the chest in Aleppo. He was taken to Turkey, where medical staff pronounced him dead. Another journalist Al-Jazeera reporter Mohamed Al-Massalma was shot three times while covering the front lines in the town of Busra Al-Harir in the countryside of Daraa on Friday.
American freelance reporter James Foley (39) (photo) was kidnapped in Syria six weeks ago and has been missing since then, his family revealed Wednesday January 2nd. An experienced war reporter he was seized by armed men in the northern province of Idlib on November 22, according to witnesses. Foley worked for Agence France-Presse, GlobalPost and contributed to major US TV channels.
El-Hosseini Abul-Deif (photo), a journalist at El-Fagr newspaper, opposed to the Egyptian President, was shot in the head for photographs he has taken and was critically injured during the clashes at the Presidential Palace in Heliopolis, Egypt on Wednesday. Reports blamed members of the Muslim Brotherhood for the attack. He died on Wednesday 12 December
Nicolas Bouvier (1929-1998) (photo) was a Swiss writer and photographer. His travels all over the world incited him to recount his experiences and adventures like a journalist. His journey in 1954 from Geneva to Japan was in many ways prescient. His most famous books are The Way of the World, The Japanese Chronicles, and The Scorpion Fish. The Bouvier Prize for Journalism is awarded every two years.
Bangladesh journalists demonstrated at the UN Vienna International Center and at the Press Club during the two-day meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. They called for an investigation in the murders of four journalists in Bangladesh killed in the past 10 months.
The Vienna meeting will launch implementation of UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists for the next two years. This strategy will include international, regional and national activities. The PEC will attend the meeting in Vienna with many other professional organizations and NGOs.
Austin Tice (31, photo) last contacted his family on August 13 while in Syria reporting on the uprising there against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. At a press conference in Beirut (Lebanon), on November 12, Tice's mother, Debra Tice, called on her son's captors to release him. Three other foreign journalists are missing in Syria (PEC).
The PEC congratulates Member States of the UN for drafting a resolution on the protection of journalists. Speaking at the HRC chaired by Ambassador Laura Dupuy Lasserre (photo) the NGO calls for the adoption of the resolution by consensus
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is horrified and deeply saddened by the death of a fourth foreign journalist in Syria since January. A Japanese reporter Mika Yamamoto (photo) (45) was killed after coming under fire from pro-government troops in the conflict-wracked Syrian city of Aleppo.
Mohamud Ali Keyre (Buneyste) (photo) was murdered on Sunday evening (12 August 2012) after being struck in the head by a bullet journalists believe was fired by government affiliated armed men (PEC)
UN Special Rapporteurs Christof Heyns and Frank La Rue at a side event on protection of journalists in Geneva, 20 June 2012 (photo PEC)
Mazen Darwish and his colleagues of the Center for media freedom (SCM) are detained in Damascus since February 16 - other activists are prosecuted - The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls for their immediate release
At a press conference in Geneva organized by PEC, the President of Syrian Democrats Dr Tawfik Chamaa called for a military intervention to stop the bloodshed in Syria (photo keystone)
ROMEO LANGLOIS EST LIBRE après 33 jours de captivité dans le sud de la Colombie aux mains de la guérilla des FARC. Il avait été capturé le 28 avril lors de l'attaque d'une brigade de l'armée qu'il accompagnait pour filmer une opération anti-drogue. La PEC rend hommage à son courage professionnel pour continuer à informer dans le contexte très dangereux de la Colombie (PEC-photo AFP)
Mazen Darwish (photo) and his male colleagues Hussein Ghrer; Abd Rahman Al Hamada; Hani Zateni; and Mansour Al Omarie, are still detained since February. According to the Syrian Journalists Union, Mazen Darwish, held in solitary confinement, is suffering from a worsening health condition, after being tortured. In addition women staff at the Center Yara Bader; Razan Ghazzoui; Sanaa Meshn; Ayham Ghazzoul; Joan Ferso; and Bassam Al Ahmad have been summoned in front of the judge of the military justice in Damascus (PEC)
PEC manifiesta su preocupación por la situación del periodista francés Roméo Langlois (photo), desaparecido en Colombia // La PEC demande la libération du journaliste français Romeo Langlois disparu depuis le 29 avril en Colombie (see reports on PRESS and OTHER NEWS)
Immense soulagement à l'arrivée des deux journalistes à l'aéroport de Villacoublay, près de Paris, jeudi 30 juin, après l'une des plus longues prises d'otages
At the PEC award ceremony, in Geneva, from left to right: Neji Bghouri (Tunisia), Khaled Saleh (Libya), ambassador of Qatar Al-Dosari, PEC president Hedayat Abdelnabi and Ahmed Abdelaziz (Egypt) (photo PEC)
Journalists in Libya facing heavy risks to cover the conflict - Read the full story of New York Times journalists held and tortured in Libya (link to NYT story on our page PEC NEWS)
- NOVEMBER 2010: UPR review of the United States at the UN Human Rights Council - The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls for the protection of the WikiLeaks investigative journalism (photo Julian Assange). WikiLeaks has come under increasing pressure since July, when it first published 77,000 secret U.S. documents on the war in Afghanistan. "We have never faced such difficulties as an organization as in the past three months," he said in Geneva, flanked by two bodyguards (go to PEC NEWS)
La PEC demande aux ravisseurs de mettre fin immédiatement et sans conditions à la détention intolérable, inutile et sans aucune justification des journalistes et de leurs acompagnateurs. ( Voir tous les détails sur: www.liberezles.net)
More than 20 States and a dozen NGOs made oral statements during a three hours' discussion with six experts on protection of journalists in armed conflict, the first one at the Human Rights Council. Many speakers stressed the need to fight impunity (photo: during the debate in room XX at the United Nations' building in Geneva) (go to PEC NEWS)
Cartooning for Peace - Dessins pour la Paix