2004
Four years later, case of murdered journalist Gongadze remains unsolved
New York, September 16, 2004—Four years after the disappearance and death of Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze, the Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the lack of progress in the government’s inquiry into the case. CPJ also remains concerned that journalists are being harassed in the run-up to October elections. “It is reprehensible that President…
CPJ condemns guilty verdict in libel case
New York, Sept. 16, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores today’s guilty verdict and sentencing of Indonesia’s Tempo magazine Chief Editor Bambang Harymurti. The journalist received a one-year prison sentence for publishing an allegedly libelous article in the weekly last year. “Today’s ruling is a disturbing setback for Indonesia’s hard-won press freedoms,” said CPJ Executive…
Editor arrested and detained
New York, September 15, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the continued detention of Isaac Umunna, an editorial consultant to the private, Lagos-based weekly Global Star as well as the general editor of Africa Today, a monthly news magazine based in London. On September 8, members of Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS)…
Court shuts Internews ahead of parliamentary elections
New York, September 14, 2004—A court in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent shut the media training organization Internews-Uzbekistan yesterday for six months for violating a law regulating non-governmental organizations, according to local and international press reports. The closure comes amid a broad government crackdown on the independent media and non-governmental organizations ahead of parliamentary elections…
At least eight journalists attacked in Dhaka campus unrest
New York, September 14, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the violent attacks by pro-government activists on at least eight journalists covering demonstrations on the Dhaka University campus in the capital, Dhaka, last Saturday, September 11. Members of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s youth wing, the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), went on a rampage around…
More than two years after journalist’s murder, suspect surrenders
New York, September 13, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the surrender and detention of former police officer Guillermo Wapile, the lead suspect in the 2002 slaying of journalist Edgar Damalerio. In a press conference today, Philippine National Police Chief Edgar Agilpay announced that Wapile surrendered to police in Camp Crame on the southern island…
Al-Arabiya reporter killed, two other journalists wounded in Baghdad fighting
New York, September 12, 2004—A reporter for Al-Arabiya television was killed and two other journalists were wounded today after a U.S. helicopter fired missiles and machine guns to destroy a disabled American vehicle, international news reports said. Mazen al-Tumeizi, who was taping a report today during some the heaviest fighting in the capital in weeks,…
Government expels last foreign correspondent
New York, September 10, 2004—The last remaining foreign correspondent in Eritrea left the country yesterday after the government ordered his expulsion, he told the Committee to Protect Journalists in an interview today. Jonah Fisher, who worked in Eritrea for 18 months as correspondent for the BBC and Reuters, said authorities gave no reason for his…