2001
CPJ concerned about press freedom decline
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by the increased harassment of Senegalese journalists by government authorities since Your Excellency took office in April 2000. We are particularly disturbed by the prosecution of Alioune Fall, editor-in-chief of the independent Dakar-based daily Le Matin, on charges of publishing false information.
Tabloid editor sentenced to three years in prison
New York, September 20, 2001-An Egyptian State Security Court has convicted tabloid editor Mamdouh Mahran of undermining public security, publishing scandalous photos, insulting religion, and causing civil turmoil. On September 16, Mahran, editor of the controversial weekly newspaper Al-Nabaa, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 200 Egyptian pounds (about US$50). The charges…
U.S. PHOTOJOURNALIST AMONG WORLD TRADE CENTER DEAD
New York, September 20, 2001—An American free-lance news photographer is among the 233 confirmed dead in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Several other media workers have been reported injured or missing. As of today, CNN reported, the confirmed death toll in the World Trade Center attacks stands at 233, with…
Government suspends all private newspapers
New York, September 20, 2001—Eritrean authorities have suspended all the country’s privately owned newspapers until further notice, the state radio station announced on Tuesday. Newspapers affected by the suspension order include Meqaleh, Setit, Tiganay, Zemen, Wintana, and Admas. It is unclear what prompted the decision, which surprised both Eritrean and foreign observers.
Radio host arrested for airing anti-American commentary
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists protests the unlawful detention of T-max Jlateh, a journalist with the private radio station DC 101.1. Jlateh was arrested on September 17 for airing listener comments that celebrated the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
On anniversary of journalist’s disappearance, CPJ supports calls for international inquiry
New York, September 18, 2001—One year after the disappearance of Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze, CPJ joins Gongadze’s widow in calling for an international investigation into the unsolved case. “President Kuchma and other cabinet officials have spent an entire year obstructing this inquiry,” said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. “Journalists in Ukraine will not feel safe…
Controversial radio journalist killed
New York, September 18, 2001—Guatemalan radio journalist Jorge Mynor Alegría Armendáriz was murdered at around 10 p.m. on the evening of September 5, CPJ has confirmed. Alegría was shot at least five times outside his home in Puerto Barrios, a port city located on the Caribbean coast in Izabal Department. His personal effects were untouched,…
Two Chinese citizens arrested for online speech
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the prosecution and imprisonment of Zhu Ruixiang and Lu Xinhua, who were both arrested and charged with subversion after writing or distributing articles via the Internet. Though the two cases are separate, they both illustrate your government’s ongoing efforts to restrict online freedom of expression by jailing journalists and political dissidents.
CPJ concerned about South Korean government investigations of local media companies
New York, September 17, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is monitoring events in South Korea with some concern, as the government’s crackdown on alleged financial wrongdoing by the country’s major media companies is likely to have profound implications for local journalism. Despite President Kim Dae-jung’s international reputation as a champion of democracy, capped in…