2008

November 2008News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

New York, November 11, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the long prison sentence handed down by a Burmese court to blogger Nay Phone Latt, who has been held in detention since his arrest on January 29.

Dear Minister Jamil, The Committee to Protect Journalists brings your attention to a one-month prison sentence handed down last week by the criminal court in Sulaymaniyah in contravention of the region’s new press law.

Alexis Sinduhije founded Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) in 2001 to bridge Burundi’s ethnic divide. Divisions between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups have sparked widespread and lingering violence throughout the country. 

New York, November 10, 2008–Two days after the release of CBC journalist Mellissa Fung, contradictory details have begun to emerge about her captivity, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail. Fung was kidnapped 28 days ago while conducting interviews in a Kabul refugee camp. She was apparently held, chained and blindfolded, in Wardak, the province…

New York, November 10, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists extends its condolences today to the family and colleagues of Mohammed Shoaib, a reporter for the daily Azadi who was shot Saturday in the town of Mingora in the Swat Valley. 

The release of CBC correspondent Mellissa Fung, who had been abducted by a criminal gang in Afghanistan, is the focus of a few stories today. The Associated Press has coverage of her month-long ordeal, and that piece has been picked up by various papers including The Boston Globe and The Baltimore Sun. 

We issued the following statement after learning of the release today of abducted CBC correspondent Mellissa Fung in Kabul…

New York, November 7, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s release of a Belgian journalist, his interpreter, and his driver, who were kidnapped on Tuesday while reporting on the war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. CPJ remains concerned about the safety of journalists in the rebel-held town of Kiwanja, where the only radio station…

New York, November 7, 2008–On the 21st anniversary of the coup that brought Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to power, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on the longtime leader to end his government’s repressive media tactics.