2006
CPJ condemns rising attacks on the press and its leaders
New York, December 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by an upsurge in arrests and the harassment of journalists by rival groups battling for control of Somalia. Both the Islamists who hold Mogadishu and the U.N.-backed transitional government based in Baidoa, northwest of the capital, have cracked down on the press this month.…
As election approaches, press attacks draw concern
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about threats and attacks against journalists in the run-up to general elections scheduled for January 23, 2007. We urge you to do everything in your power as leader of the interim government to ensure that assaults on the press are adequately investigated and punished, and that journalists are free to report on the election campaign without fear of retribution.
Columnist convicted on criminal defamation charges
Updated: DECEMBER 15, 2006 Original Case: April 8, 2006 Julio Balza, El Nuevo País LEGAL ACTION The Caracas Sixth Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s conviction of Balza, a columnist for the Caracas-based daily El Nuevo País, on criminal defamation and slander charges.
In Burundi, three radio journalists return to prison after one-day trial
New York, December 14, 2006—Three private radio journalists returned to prison today after their one-day trial in the capital, Bujumbura, according to local journalists. The three have been jailed for more than two weeks while a fourth journalist went into hiding after receiving a judicial summons. Since September, the government has cracked down on three…
Empty promise of press freedom
Bob Dietz Published in the South China Morning Post December 12, 2006 China media-watchers are accustomed to seeing moderate pendulum swings in the government’s approach to press freedom. Over the years, rules have been eased, only to be reined back when social conditions or political administrations change.
China: CPJ Welcomes Release of Investigative Journalist Jailed Since 1998
New York, December 12, 2006–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the early release of investigative reporter Gao Qinrong, who served eight years of a 12-year prison sentence for his reporting on a corrupt irrigation scheme in northern China’s Shanxi Province. “The long imprisonment of Gao Qinrong is a horrible reminder that even those journalists who…
CPJ condemns murder of APTN cameraman
New York, December 12, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder today of an Associated Press Television News (APTN) cameraman in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Aswan Ahmed Lutfallah, 35, was gunned down by insurgents while filming clashes between Iraqi police and insurgents in the city’s al-Karama neighborhood, The Associated Press reported.
Independent journalist released after nine days
UPDATE December 12, 2006 Original alert: December 6, 2006 Ahmed Rodríguez Albacia, Jóvenes sin censura IMPRISONED Rodríguez Albacia, a reporter for the independent news agency Jóvenes sin censura, was released at 10 p.m. on December 12, after being detained for nine days at Havana’s police station, 100 y Aldabó. He told CPJ that authorities filed…
New law still threatens press freedoms
New York, July 12, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by Egypt’s newly amended press law that fails to honor a promise by President Hosni Mubarak to abolish prison for press offenses. The law also sharply increases fines for defamation. The amendments lift some minor restrictions on the media but still mandate…