2006
Iraq journalist deaths match number killed during Vietnam War
Richard Pyle Associated Press May 31, 2006 With the deaths of two CBS television crew members from a car bomb in Baghdad, the casualty toll among journalists in Iraq has risen to 71 — the same number that were killed or presumed dead during the Vietnam War, the deadliest ever for the media until now.
Bangladesh:Party activists attack journalists and printing press
New York, May 31, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled by attacks on journalists and a newspaper in the town of Kushtia in western Bangladesh. Witnesses told local media that about 20 men, whom they recognized as activists from the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP), attacked the offices of Quality Press on Wednesday, damaging…
French radio reporter denied accreditation in run-up to election
New York, May 31, 2006—Congolese authorities are refusing to accredit Radio France Internationale’s Ghislaine Dupont to cover July elections, despite the fact that she obtained a visa and has been in the country for five weeks, according to RFI Africa Director Henri Perilhou. Information Minister Henri Mova Sakanyi has pressured RFI to withdraw Dupont, who…
Editors given two-month jail sentences for publishing Prophet cartoons
New York, May 31, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the sentencing Tuesday of two Jordanian editors to two months in prison for publishing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Jihad Momani, former editor-in-chief of the weekly Shihan, and Hashem al-Khalidi, editor-in-chief of the weekly Al-Mehwar, were found guilty by an Amman…
TV sports reporter gunned down in Baghdad
New York, May 31, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of an Iraqi sports journalist by unidentified gunmen in Baghdad today. Ali Jaafar, 24, a well-known sports correspondent and anchor at Iraq’s state television channel Al-Iraqiya, was shot as he opened up his recently deceased brother’s auto shop near his home in Al-Shorta…
Chilean journalists injured, detained during student strike
New York, May 31, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Tuesday’s attacks by local police against six Chilean reporters covering clashes between security forces and high school students during a massive strike demanding reforms in Chile’s education laws. Nearly 600,000 high school students protested in Chile’s capital, Santiago, calling for a reduction in public transportation…
Wounded CBS TV correspondent flown to Germany
New York, May 30, 2006—CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier, who was critically wounded in Iraq by a bomb that killed her two colleagues, was flown today to a U.S. military hospital in Germany. Dozier, 39 is being treated for injuries to her head and lower body, CBS reported. Col. Brian Gamble of Landstuhl Regional Medical…
Reporter jailed in Cuba after covering government evictions
New York, May 30, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of independent Cuban journalist Armando Betancourt who was arrested a week ago while covering the evictions of dozens of families from their homes in the central city of Camagüey, sources told CPJ. On May 23, authorities forcefully evicted families allegedly occupying homes illegally,…
Journalist sentenced to six months for “insulting government”
New York, May 30, 2006—A Kinshasa court today sentenced journalist Patrice Booto to six months in prison and a $500 fine for “offending the head of state,” and “insulting the government,” according to local press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED). The court ruled that Booto, who has already spent more than six months in…
Three journalists detained in crackdown on U.S.-hosted Web site
New York, May 30, 2006—At least three local journalists were detained by the Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on Friday as part of a growing crackdown on the U.S.-based news site Freedom Newspaper, local sources told the Committee to Protect Journalists. The three were arrested after their names and addresses appeared on a list of…