From the Editor Dangerous Assignments he last edition of Dangerous Assignments featured a column by Somali reporter Bill Sweeney Nasteh Dahir Farah. He paid tribute to colleague Hassan Kafi Hared, who was killed Editorial Director Tin a January explosion that also claimed the lives of two aid workers and a child. Lauren Wolfe In June, just weeks after you would have received that issue, Farah was killed. Two Deputy Editor hooded men armed with pistols followed Farah home from work in Kismayo, called Virginia Anstett out his name, and then shot him as he turned around. Farah, 27, was survived by his Designer pregnant wife and their 1-year-old son. Barbara Ross, Fiona Maazel, Farah, right, worked primarily as a radio reporter for local and inter - Deanna Martin-Osuagwu national news organizations. He also served as vice president of the Copy Editors National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), which provides vital help Sebastian Dettman Proofreader to local journalists covering the years-long conflict in Somalia. A NUSOJ report found that Farah, working in a town controlled by clan militias Photo Arts Limited Printer and Islamic insurgents, was targeted for his reporting. Somalia, which has had no effective central government since 1991, has been particularly dangerous for the Published by the Committee to press over the past two years. Farah was the ninth Somali journalist killed for his work Protect Journalists 330 Seventh Avenue, 11th Floor during that time, according to our research. New York, N.Y. 10001 I knew Farah only through the e-mails we exchanged as he was preparing and On the Web: www.cpj.org revising his column. He filed an eloquent and detailed piece, along with a beautiful E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (212) 465-1004 photo of Hared’s family. Despite obstacles large and small—from gunfire in the streets to faulty Internet service—Farah was unfailingly cordial and professional. His death, CPJ Staff sudden, brutal, and senseless, might lead you to despair. Joel Simon Here in the United States, a lot of discussion about journalism today involves ideas Executive Director such as reinventing and right-sizing—concepts that have a lot to do with economic Robert Mahoney realities but seem distant from reporting on wars, politics, and natural disasters Deputy Director worldwide. A July study by the Pew Research Center found that 46 percent of U.S. John Weis newspapers have cut staffing for international news in the last three years. U.S. news Development and Outreach Director media rely, perhaps more than ever, on the information gathered by local journalists Lade Kadejo on front lines across the world. Finance and Administration Director In conflict zones such as Somalia, these local reporters go to the scenes of trouble. Meredith Greene Megaw They interview people in villages where gathering information is considered treason. Interim Communications Director Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal They shoot photographs in places where carrying a camera makes them targets for Staff Members peo ple who shoot guns. Farah was among these local professionals, most of them vir - salute CPJ for its dedication to the Denise Abatemarco, Sebastian tually unknown, who report the news at great personal risk. His life’s work was timely, Dettman, Bob Dietz, Madeline skilled, and essential—and that can replenish your faith in being a newsperson. Earp, Mariwan Hama-Saeed, protection of press freedom. Mohamed Hassim Keita, Sharon Mootoo, Carlos Lauría, Andrew Levinson, Janet Mason, Kavita And we are proud to be a sponsor of the Menon, Nina Ognianova, Karen Bill Sweeney Phillips, Tom Rhodes, María International Press Freedom Awards Ceremony. Salazar, Frank Smyth, Mick Stern, Muzaffar Suleymanov, Elisabeth Witchel. The Committee Kramer, David Laventhol, David Paul E. Steiger Marash, Kati Marton, Michael Massing, Geraldine Fabrikant International Program Chairman Consultants Metz, Victor Navasky, Andres Terry Anderson Oppenheimer, Burl Osborne, Borja Bergareche, Monica Walter Cronkite Charles L. Overby, Clarence Campbell, Shawn W. Crispin, Honorary Co-Chairmen Page, Norman Pearlstine, Dan Kamel Labidi, Marcelo Soares. Rather, Gene Roberts, Sandra Mims Rowe, Diane Sawyer, Paul Directors On the cover: C. Tash, Mark Whitaker, Brian Mexico’s missing reporters, Andrew Alexander, Franz Allina, Williams, Matthew Winkler. clockwise from top left: José Christiane Amanpour, Dean Antonio García Apac, Rodolfo Baquet, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Rincón Taracena, Alfredo Advisory Board Sheila Coronel, Josh Friedman, Jiménez Mota, Gerardo Paredes Anne Garrels, James C. Goodale, Tom Brokaw, Steven L. Isenberg, Pérez, Gamaliel López Can - Cheryl Gould, Charlayne Anthony Lewis, Erwin Potts, danosa, Rafael Ortiz Martínez, Hunter-Gault, Gwen Ifill, Jane John Seigenthaler. and Mauricio Estrada Zamora. Dangerous Assignments 1 © 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Contents Departments Dangerous Assignments Fall | Winter 2008 4 In Focus By Sebastian Dettman An Afghan journalist sits on death row, caught in a political vise. 5 CPJ Remembers By Alastair Macdonald q In the Gaza Strip, an Israeli tank took direct aim at Reuters cameraman e d a S Fadel Shana. The killing was only the first shock. q e d a s u M / 4 P A 6 First Person By Ousman Darboe Cover Story The writer traveled across the Gambia to find a colleague who was secretly jailed. Then he gave up everything to take the witness stand. 14 The Disappeared By Monica Campbell and María Salazar a Mexico has long been one of the world’s deadliest nations for the press, f 8 Compiled by Karen Phillips a The List t s but now reporters are vanishing at an astonishing rate. Most of the u CPJ has helped hundreds of journalists flee violence and harassment. M u missing journalists had explored links between local public officials and b Five snapshots show the challenges of life in exile. A a t i e m e criminal gangs. The disappearances, initially handled by local police, K e d h e a r were shoddily investigated in the decisive early stages. Who can be m b I a / h 10 s Interview by Joel Campagna o Q&A trusted to close these cases and stop this ominous trend? r e M t / J u 56 Egyptian editor Ibrahim Eissa is accused of publishing “false news.” P e C R a It’s the government, however, that is resorting to false accusations. 14 t e Z 12 Viewpoints By Paul Salopek The dates are carefully memorized and reeled off like anniversaries. For reporters in Africa, careers are marked by dates of imprisonment. a r a Features k i d o K 40 By Amal Jayasinghe . Dispatches S a r Defense correspondents are being silenced in Sri Lanka through a 22 h A California Dream By Robert Mahoney s I / intimidation, arrests, and assaults. P 40 Iraqi cameraman Jehad Ali survived an assassination attempt, but his F A right leg was shattered. Surgeons in California have offered to reconstruct the limb, and colleagues have raised money. Now, Ali has cleared the 42 Justice Project By Elisabeth Witchel biggest hurdle of all: He has permission to enter the United States. Russian authorities pledged they would solve the murder of Paul a v o n Klebnikov. Arrests were made, but justice has slipped away. a i n g O a 26 By Nina Ognianova n Finding Elmar’s Killers i N / 26 J An Azerbaijani editor is jailed on fabricated charges after investigating 44 By Shawn W. Crispin P On the Web C the unsolved murder of a colleague. Other reporters are under attack. n Malaysia’s open Internet policy allows bloggers far greater freedom than a i h The case has exposed widespread abuses in this strategically important T journalists working in other media. That may not last. t n e c nation on the Caspian Sea. n i V / 44 P A 46 Mission Journal By Carlos Lauría 32 The Smiling Oppressor By Joel Campagna The Salvadoran press has made great strides in covering gang-related Tunisia portrays itself as a progressive nation and extends a warm violence, but in-depth reporting is still elusive. embrace to its friends in the U.S. government. For independent journalists, though, President Ben Ali’s administration offers much 48 Drawing the Line s different treatment—harassment and imprisonment. r e t Press freedom through the eyes of cartoonist Mick Stern. 32 u e R o l l i t s a C s e s i o M / 46 P A 2 Fall | Winter 2008 Dangerous Assignments 3 In Focus CPJ Remembers Fadel Shana Israel rules that a tank crew was justified in killing a Reuters cameraman in the Gaza Strip. By Alastair Macdonald a f GAZA, Palestinian Territory a t s u s a talented young Reuters cam - M u b era man, Fadel Shana would A m e Ahave appreciated the power of l e o h a o r b b his final footage. He never had that q I / a s M r e chance. The Israeli tank he filmed in t q i u f e a R R the Gaza Strip fired a shell that Fadel Shana at work in the Gaza Strip in February 2008. / P A unleashed a hail of metal darts, which tore into his body and his camera August 12, after four months of to Fadel, whose parents remember a lens. They shredded his chest and silence, the army admitted that its fond son and favorite uncle to the blue flak jacket marked “PRESS” and tank crew had fired on Fadel without young nieces and nephews who were q e d left the 24-year-old and eight fellow warning but said the crew members his great delight in life. When not with a S q e Palestinian civilians, most of them were justified because the tripod- the children, Fadel relished quiet d a s u children, dead on a quiet lane.