New York, June 18, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the continued imprisonment of Basile Agboh, publication director of the independent Lomébased weekly Le Scorpion. Agboh has been in prison for two weeks. Agboh was arrested on June 5 along with Maurice Atchinou, editor-in-chief of Le Scorpion, who was released the following day. Their arrests…
Manila, June 18, 2002—The family of slain Filipino broadcast journalist Edgar Damalerio said they are facing harassment and obstruction as they search for justice in the May 13 murder. They have traveled with a key witness to the crime to Manila from their home in the southern Philippines to present affidavits to senior police officials…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by the announcement last week that Indonesian officials are abandoning their investigation into the murder of Sander Thoenes, a Dutch journalist who was reporting for The Financial Times and The Christian Science Monitor when he was killed in East Timor in September 1999. Separate investigations conducted by the United Nations, Dutch authorities, and The Christian Science Monitor identified members of Indonesian army Battalion 745 as prime suspects in the murder.
Port-au-Prince, June 13, 2002—After a three-day fact-finding mission, a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found that journalists in Haiti face a troubling atmosphere of intimidation and fear. Haitian journalists have told CPJ of violent attacks and threats that largely remain unpunished. Some have felt obliged to censor themselves, go into hiding,…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the independent, twice-weekly newspaper Novaya Gazeta, could be closed by the Basmanny District Court of Moscow at any time following proceedings to seal the paper’s property that were initiated last week by a bailiff. This action comes as a result of an excessive damage award in a recent libel suit against the paper.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the arrest of Iftikhar Gilani, the New Delhi bureau chief for the Jammu-based newspaper Kashmir Times and a regular contributor to the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, as well as to the Pakistani newspapers The Friday Times and The Nation.
New York, June 11, 2002—A Brazilian judge has granted an injunction banning the country’s media from publishing any information regarding proceedings against another judge. This is the second case of prior censorship in Brazil within two weeks. On May 23, Judge Zélia Maria Antunes Alves, of the São Paulo State Court of Justice, granted an…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent detention and deportation of Canadian journalist Jiang Xueqin, who was filming labor unrest in northeastern China. We call for an immediate easing of restrictions on journalists trying to cover the protests, which are the largest to hit China since the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations.
New York, June 11, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the decision by a United Nations war crimes tribunal to compel the testimony of retired Washington Post reporter Jonathan C. Randal. In its June 7 decision, the tribunal ruled that Randal will be forced to testify regarding the accuracy of a 1993 article…