New York, March 5, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Tamrat Zuma, former publisher and editor-in-chief of the defunct Amharic-language weekly Atkurot, after more than nine months in prison. At the beginning of 2001, seven Ethiopian journalists were in prison for their work, according to CPJ research, making Ethiopia Africa’s leading jailer…
Your Excellency: Given the fact that Zimbabwean authorities had threatened to bar foreign correspondents from covering the March 9 and 10 presidential elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is pleased that a number of foreign news reporters have been granted accreditation. However, we remain concerned that the accreditation process was applied selectively and that some foreign correspondents have been denied entry into Zimbabwe because of their professional affiliation or critical reporting on the country’s deepening political crisis.
New York, February 28, 2002—Four radio stations were attacked and destroyed on February 23 as violence erupted over disputed presidential election results. Supporters of President Didier Ratsiraka allegedly attacked the offices of the Madagascar Broadcasting Service’s (MBS) radio station in Fianarantsoa, some 90 miles south of the capital, Antananarivo. The station’s facilities were set ablaze,…
New York, February 11, 2002—The Bulawayo city bureau of the independent Daily News was bombed in the early hours of Monday morning, CPJ has learned. At about 3 a.m., two gasoline bombs were thrown at the Daily News building from a moving vehicle. No one was hurt in the explosion, and the office suffered only…
New York, January 17, 2002—After a week of intense international pressure, Zimbabwe’s government delayed its vote yesterday on a harsh media bill that would stifle dissent during the run-up to the presidential elections, scheduled for early March, until certain changes can be made to the legislation, according to Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest the ongoing prosecution of Marcelo Mosse, formerly chief reporter for the now defunct daily Metical, on criminal defamation charges. Your son, Nympine Chissano, filed charges against Mosse and Metical over a February 21 Metical article reporting that Nympine was briefly detained in South Africa, around February 15, on unspecified charges.
New York, January 7, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns legislation before Zimbabwe’s Parliament that would create a rigid system to register and regulate media companies and the journalists who work for them. Parliament is expected to vote on the legislation this week. The bill, called the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy…
Read first-hand accounts by journalists covering the war in Afghanistan. • December 21, 2001—The New York Times reported that on December 20, Afghan tribal fighters detained three photojournalists working for U.S. news organizations. The journalists were detained for more than one hour, apparently at the behest of U.S. Special Operations forces in the Tora Bora area….
New York, December 13, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists applauds the creation on December 7 of the Zimbabwe Foreign Correspondents Association (ZFCA), which has vowed to challenge a restrictive new press law in court. The draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill would allow only Zimbabwean citizens to work for foreign media. A…