2006
Publisher charged, harassed
April 12, 2006 Posted: April 17, 2006 Alfred Egbegi, Izon Link HARASSED, THREATENED, LEGAL ACTION Police detained Egbegi, publisher of the weekly tabloid newspaper Izon Link, in Yenagoa, the capital of southern Bayelsa State. Egbegi was released on bail after several hours in custody. The following day, he appeared before a Yenagoa magistrate, who charged…
Chadian radio journalist seized by rebels
New York, April 12, 2006—Rebel fighters abducted a journalist on Tuesday when they seized the central Chadian town of Mongo, the head of the Union of Chadian Journalists, Evariste Toldé, told the Committee to Protect Journalists today. Eliakim Vanambyl, editor at the N’Djamena-based radio station FM Liberté, had traveled to Mongo to report on a…
Third journalist from leading newspaper arrested
New York, April 12, 2006—A third journalist from The Independent, a leading Gambian newspaper, was arrested at his home this afternoon, according to his colleagues. Reporter Lamin Fatty’s arrest follows that of Editor Musa Saidykhan and General Manager Madi Ceesay, who have been detained without charge since March 28. Fatty was the author of a…
China: Writer Li Jianping tried for online pro-democracy articles
New York, April 12, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the prosecution of Internet writer Li Jianping on charges of “inciting subversion” for articles criticizing Communist Party leaders and Chinese government actions. Li was tried today in a proceeding that lasted less than three hours, according to Agence France-Presse. “How can China, one…
Russian reporters death prompts questions among family, colleagues
New York, April 11, 2006—Family and colleagues of Russian journalist Vagif Kochetkov, a 31-year-old who died in January from injuries suffered in an attack the month before, are raising questions about the motive for the assault and local prosecutors’ conclusion that it stemmed from a robbery, according to local press reports. Kochetkov, who died on…
Pakistan: CPJ calls on Pakistani and U.S. authorities to reveal all information about missing journalist
New York, April 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on U.S. and Pakistani authorities to reveal all information they have on abducted Pakistani journalist Hayatullah Khan after his brother claimed he was being held by the United States. Khan was seized by unidentified gunmen in the lawless North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan…
Third journalist from leading newspaper arrested
New York, April 12, 2006—A third journalist from The Independent, a leading Gambian newspaper, was arrested at his home this afternoon, according to his colleagues. Reporter Lamin Fatty’s arrest follows that of Editor Musa Saidykhan and General Manager Madi Ceesay, who have been detained without charge since March 28. Fatty was the author of a…
Two other journalists freed after weeks in prison
New York, April 11, 2006–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about newspaper publisher Patrice Booto, who has been in jail in the capital, Kinshasa, since November 2, 2005. Booto recently told a representative of Journaliste en Danger (JED), a Kinshasa-based press freedom organization, that he was suffering from several health problems and had…
Charges dropped against 4 of 5 columnists
New York, April 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Turkish court ruling today to drop charges against four prominent newspaper columnists but deplores the decision to continue with the trial of a fifth. All five writers were charged over comments they made about an Istanbul conference last September on the killing of Armenians…
Newspaper director convicted on defamation, slander charges
APRIL 11, 2006 Posted: May, 05 Ada Mireya Zurita, El Siglo LEGAL ACTION A judge decision convicted Zurita, director of the Maracay-based daily El Siglo, on criminal charges of defamation and slander. Judge Verónica Castro gave Zurita an 18-month suspended sentence and ordered her to pay legal fees to the plaintiff, Terry Rojas, chief of…