2006
Journalist shot two weeks ago in Diyarbakir riots dies
New York, April 17, 2006—Journalist Ilyas Aktas died on April 14 in an Ankara hospital two weeks after he was shot in the head during protests in the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, in southeast Turkey, local and international media reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the shooting and is still…
Protests against Kremlin control of broadcast media
New York, April 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed solidarity today with the more than 1000 Russian journalists and activists who protested the Kremlin’s control of television news reporting. The demonstrators rallied in downtown Moscow Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of the hostile takeover by state gas monopoly Gazprom of the leading independent…
Security forces detain, assault radio correspondent
April 15, 2006 Posted: April 17, 2006 René Dillah Yombirim, BBC and Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne (RNT) ATTACKED Security forces detained Yombirim, a correspondent for the BBC and state-owned radio, while he was interviewing residents in the capital, N’Djamena, following an attempt by rebels to overthrow the government of President Idriss Déby. Local journalists told CPJ…
As strikes continue in Nepal, attacks on journalists reported
New York, April 14, 2006—Thirteen journalists were arrested today in Baglung, west of Kathmandu, while protesting against media restrictions during the seventh day of a nationwide strike, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists reported. Others detained during the past week, including veteran journalist Kanak Mani Dixit, remain in police custody.
Prosecutor files criminal libel charges against editor
New York, April 14, 2006—Prosecutors in the western city of Kaliningrad have filed criminal libel charges against Arseny Makhlov, publisher of the weekly Dvornik, the Moscow-based news agency Regnum reported today. The charges relate to three articles in Dvornik during 2004 and 2005 which criticized a local prosecutor for accepting money to close a fraud…
Columnist released from prison
Updated: APRIL 12, 2006 Original Alert: February 6, 2006 Angel Mario Ksheratto, Cuarto Poder IMPRISONED Ksheratto was released on February 22 after posting a 100,000 pesos bail (US$9,000). The columnist spent 18 days at El Amate Prison, a maximum security facility in the city of Cintalapa.
Death threats force Peruvian journalist to flee the country
New York, April 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by death threats made against Peruvian journalist Marilú Gambini Lostanau and her family after she reported on the influence of drug traffickers in Peruvian politics. The threats forced the journalist and two of her children to leave the country last week. An unidentified woman…
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…
Journalist released on parole
Updated: April 12, 2006 Original Alert: March 6, 2006 Gustavo Azócar, Televisora del Táchira IMPRISONED After being held at a maximum security prison in San Cristóbal for two weeks, Azócar was released on parole on March 22. Azócar may continue to host his television program “Café con Azócar” on Televisora del Táchira and write for…
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…