Women journalists imprisoned and in peril


Not seeing a lot of press on this, but you should know

It's been a dangerous few years for journalists, as many have died or suffered serious injury while covering several hotspots of turmoil and violence.

Right now there are several American women journalists who are being held by foreign governments, potentially as "spies". It doesn't seem to be high enough on any news orgs. radar (which, granted, may be to not antagonize while there are sensitive negotiations going on) but if you don't know about these cases? You should.

1. Laura Ling and Euna Lee from Current TV are being held in North Korea.

It's been almost two months since they were taken captive. And if you check Google News you're not going to see incredibly active coverage of this story. You have to wonder if there would be any coverage at all if Ms. Ling wasn't the sister of Lisa Ling, also a journalist, but more prominent. Or if they weren't working for Current TV with its Al Gore connection. Then again, people seem to be assuming that the radio silence is purposeful. We can only hope so.

2. Roxana Saberi has already been sentenced to eight years in an Iranian prison for "spying"

Saberi's case is getting more attention, including public statements from Obama. She was originally arrested for buying alcohol, but then they added charges about working without a press credential and then spying. According to the NY Times her appeal has been moved up to tomorrow, and there is some hope for a reduced sentence, or maybe even an acquittal.

May 3rd was World Press Freedom Day, and I recommend checking out Professor Kim's post on BlogHer about it, and for links to lots of other great sources.

Posted: Sat - May 9, 2009 at 02:54 PM       EmailFeedback

©