2007
Somali government shuts down Al-Jazeera bureau
New York, March 23, 2007— The bureau of satellite television Al-Jazeera in the capital Mogadishu was indefinitely shuttered on Thursday following an order from intelligence officials of Somalia’s Ethiopian-backed transitional government, according to news reports. The bureau of the Qatar-based broadcaster was “effectively closed” today after the station received a letter from the transitional government’s…
Press for release of Afghan journalist Ajmal Nakshbandi
Dear Colleagues, We are asking you–journalists and news organizations–to help pressure the Afghan government to work for the release of Ajmal Nakshbandi, the freelance Afghan journalist who was seized with La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo and the group’s driver Sayed Agha. As you know, Agha was beheaded a few days after the men were taken on March 5. According to most sources, Ajmal is still being held by the Taliban group that abducted them and is still somewhere in Helmand province.
In Sri Lanka, Tamil journalist released after four-month detention
New York, March 22, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s release of Tamil journalist Parameswaree Maunasámi, who petitioned the Supreme Court that she was being illegally detained after being held for four months without charge. Maunasámi, a reporter for the Sinhala-language weekly Mawbima, was arrested November 24 at her home in the capital Colombo,…
CPJ renews call for release of Afghan journalist Ajmal Naskhbandi
New York, March 22, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists remains concerned about kidnapped Afghan freelance journalist Ajmal Naskhbandi, who was acting as La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo’s translator when they were abducted by the Taliban on March 5. The two men and their driver Sayed Agha—who was beheaded while the group was held—were seized by…
Television reporter attacked, sued, after critical broadcast
New York, March 21, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the recent beating of a television journalist who reported on corruption at a railroad company in Kyrgyzstan. Kairat Birimkulov, reporter for the Kyrgyz main state broadcaster Government TV and Radio Company (GTRK), was attacked by two unidentified men on March 16 near his…
Belarusian jailed on spurious charge; ’uncensored swearing’ alleged
New York, March 21, 2007—A judge in the western city of Grodno has sentenced Igor Bantsyr, a reporter for the independent Polish-language magazine Magazyn Polski na Uchodzstwie, to 10 days in prison for “uncensored swearing” in public. Judge Natalya Kozel of the Leninsky district court convicted Bantsyr on Monday after hearing testimony from two police…
In Somalia, government troops arrest journalist and driver, seize truck
New York, March 21, 2007— Somali government troops today arrested a reporter and a driver of a leading independent broadcaster in the capital Mogadishu as they arrived to cover an official press conference at the city’s airport, according to local journalists and the National Union of Somali Journalists. Shabelle Radio reporter Mohammed Bashir and driver…
Thailand’s military government censors satellite TV station
New York, March 20, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the censorship of a new satellite television station by Thai authorities, part of an ongoing ban against the broadcaster since the military seized power in a coup last September. Over the weekend, government agencies blocked news programs carried by PTV, or People’s Television, which was…
In China, writer sentenced to six years in prison for critical articles
New York, March 20, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled that freelance writer and former Web site editor Zhang Jianhong was sentenced Monday to six years in prison by a court in Ningbo, in the eastern province of Zhejiang. Zhang was arrested in September 2006 and charged the following month with “incitement to subvert…
CPJ calls for release of Afghan translator Ajmal Naskhbandi
New York, March 20, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned about Afghan freelance journalist Ajmal Naskhbandi, who was kidnapped over two weeks ago while acting as La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo’s translator. “We call on the Afghan government to do everything in its power to secure the release of our colleague Ajmal…