2007
Iranian journalist languishes in jail without charge
New York, January 9, 2007-The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports that an Iranian journalist has been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison for more than 40 days without charge. Ali Farahbakhsh, a former economics and foreign affairs reporter for the banned reformist dailies Yas-e No and Shargh, was detained by security officers…
Pakistan’s Silenced Press
Bob Dietz Published in Wall Street Journal Asia January 8, 2007 As the Taliban embed themselves deeper into Pakistan’s restive provinces along the border with Afghanistan, journalists covering the region are coming under attack and driven away from a story with global consequences for the U.S.-led coalition fighting militant Islamists.
CPJ welcomes release of abducted AFP reporter
New York, January 8, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release in Gaza Sunday night of Agence France-Presse photographer Jaime Razuri, who had been held by kidnappers since January 1. Razuri, 50, was dropped off at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ compound in Gaza City by Palestinian security forces, according to AFP. Razuri was unharmed…
Death threats follow allegations of police abuse
JANUARY 7, 2007 Posted January 12, 2007 María Laura Benítez, Multimedios Nuevo Mundo THREATENED Benítez, a journalist for the media company Multimedios Nuevo Mundo based out of the eastern city of Colón, was threatened with death after alleging police abuse during the Canal 8 news program “Nuevo Mundo,” according to press reports.
CPJ seeks investigation into Israeli border case
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express alarm about the treatment of an award-winning Palestinian journalist who said he was abused by Israeli Shin Bet agents at the Allenby Bridge border crossing between Israel and Jordan late last month.
Journalist held by government after Islamist town falls
New York, January 4, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports that Somalia’s transitional government in the southern city of Baidoa detained a radio reporter covering fighting between government forces and Islamist militiamen. Local journalists and the National Union of Somali Journalists said Hassan Mohammed Abikar, a correspondent for the Mogadishu-based private radio…
CPJ Press Freedom Award winner released from prison
New York, January 4, 2007-Burma has released CPJ Press Freedom Award winner Thaung Tun as part of a New Year amnesty for nearly 3,000 prisoners but six other journalists remain in jail. “We applaud the release our colleague Thaung Tun, but we call on the Burmese government to free the six journalists still being held,”…
CPJ renews call for release of abducted AFP photographer
New York, January 3, 2007—Amid growing Palestinian and international condemnation of the kidnapping of Agence France-Presse photographer Jaime Razuri, the Committee to Protect Journalists today renewed its call for his immediate release. Razuri, who was seized by gunmen in the Gaza Strip on Monday, was the 14th journalist to be abducted since 2004, according to…
Court acquits journalists charged with endangering security
New York, January 3, 2007—A court in Burundi today rebuffed the government, ordering the release of three journalists and rejecting the prosecution’s claim that their reporting in connection with an alleged coup plot compromised public security. A panel of judges in the capital Bujumbura acquitted editor Serge Nibizi and journalist Domitile Kiramvu of Radio Publique…
Journalist jailed on old charges
New York, January 3, 2007—Ethiopia’s Supreme Court has confirmed a 15-month prison sentence against a journalist who was out on bail, and sent him back to prison, according to CPJ sources. In a December 27 decision, the court ordered that Leykun Engeda, former editor of the defunct Amharic-language weekly Dagim Wonchif, should serve out the…