Americas
2007
In Peru, radio commentator slain in front of family
New York, March 19, 2007—Two hooded gunmen shot and killed a popular Peruvian radio commentator in front of his wife and children on Saturday night, according to news reports. Eyewitnesses quoted by the Lima daily La República said the attackers opened fire on Miguel Pérez Julca as the journalist and his family were nearing the…
CPJ urges acting president of Cuba to immediately release all jailed journalists
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is asking you, as acting president of Cuba, to immediately release all reporters, writers, and editors imprisoned in your country. With 24 independent journalists behind bars today, Cuba continues to be one of the leading jailers of journalists in the world, second only to China.
ECUADOR: Journalist convicted on criminal defamation charges
MARCH 13, 2007 Posted: April 5, 2007 Nelson Fueltada, La Gaceta and Radio Latacunga LEGAL ACTION The Superior Court of the Ecuadorian province of Cotopaxi convicted Fueltada, the Pujilí correspondent for the Latacunga-based daily La Gaceta and Radio Latacunga, on criminal defamation charges. Fueltada was sentenced to 60 days in prison and to pay a…
Dominican court sentences man to 30 years in journalist’s murderer
New York, May 3, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Wednesday’s decision by a Dominican court to sentence a gang leader to 30 years in prison for the 2004 murder of local journalist Juan Emilio Andújar Matos. A court in Azua also ordered Vladimir Pujols, leader of the drug trafficking gang “Los Sayayines,” to pay…
Disappointment as mediation fails to free U.S. video blogger
New York, March 9, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disappointed that a freelance video blogger will remain in jail after a court-appointed arbitrator was unable to mediate a settlement that could have led to the journalist’s release. Joshua Wolf has spent 198 days in jail, the longest incarceration of a journalist in U.S. history,…
In Mexico, landmark libel bill awaits Calderón’s signature
New York, March 7, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists today urged Mexican President Felipe Calderón to sign new federal legislation decriminalizing defamation, libel, and slander. Voting 100-0 with one abstention, the Mexican Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that effectively directs all such cases to civil court. The measure, already approved by the lower chamber…
Guantanamo Bay: Al-Jazeera cameraman force-fed during hunger strike
New York, March 5, 2007—An Al-Jazeera cameraman detained at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval station lost 36 pounds (16.3 Kilograms) while on hunger strike in January, and has since been force-fed, his lawyer confirmed to CPJ. Sami al-Haj, of the Qatar-based satellite news channel, began his hunger strike on January 7 to protest five years…
Journalists threatened with death after reporting on murder scandal
MARCH 2, 2007 Posted: April 2, 2007 Guatavisión THREATENED Erick Salazar, news director for the program “Guatavisión,” aired on the national television station by the same name, reported that unidentified individuals threatened the program’s reporters with death if they continued to report on the political scandal that followed the murder of three Salvadoran congressmen and…