Al-Jazeera cameraman’s health said to deteriorate
New York, August 24, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that an Al-Jazeera cameraman held at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for more than five years without charge is in failing health. Sami al-Haj, an assistant cameraman for Al-Jazeera who has been on hunger strike since January, has lost…
Radio journalist gunned down in southeastern Paraguay
New York, August 23, 2007—Radio reporter Tito Alberto Palma was shot to death Wednesday night at a friend’s house in Paraguay’s southeastern city of Mayor Otaño. The Committee to Protect Journalists called today on Paraguayan authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and bring all those responsible to justice. Palma, a reporter for the local radio…
Cuban journalist released after 15 months in prison
New York, August 21, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Monday’s release of independent Cuban journalist Armando Betancourt Reina, who had been imprisoned at the Cerámica Roja Prison in the central city of Camagüey since May 2006. Betancourt Reina, a reporter for the independent news agency Nueva Prensa Cubana, left prison Monday morning, reported the…
Authorities issue arrest warrant for journalist who has reported on corruption
AUGUST 14, 2007 Posted August 16, 2007 Leoncenis García, Reporte LEGAL ACTION On the afternoon of July 14, the Venezuelan Public Ministry announced in a statement that a Caracas court had issued an arrest warrant for García at its request. The statement said García, a reporter for the Caracas-based economic daily Reporte, was wanted for…
Mexican journalist recounts abuse during army detention
New York, August 14, 2007—Mexican crime reporter Sinhué Samaniego Osoria spoke to the Committee to Protect Journalists today and detailed the abuse that he and three other Mexican reporters suffered during their arrest by Mexican soldiers last week in the northern state of Coahuila. CPJ called on Mexican authorities to investigate the conduct of the…
COLOMBIA: Bogotá journalist receives threats after probe
AUGUST 13, 2007 Posted August 21, 2007 Juan Pablo Monsalve, RCN THREATENED Monsalve, a Bogotá-based reporter for the nightly news program “La Noche” on national television station RCN, received multiple threatening calls after he did initial reporting on alleged government corruption in a small town in the northern Bolívar province. Monsalve told CPJ the piece…
Committee will oversee Haitian investigations of journalist murders
New York, August 13, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the creation of an independent committee of Haitian journalists that will review the progress of official investigations into the unsolved murders of journalists in Haiti from 2000 to 2007. Haitian President René Préval announced Friday the creation of the committee, which will be composed of…
Former mayor receives prison sentence for journalist’s murder
UPDATE August 10, 2007 Original case: April 20, 2004 Samuel Romã, Radio Conquista FMKILLEDEurico Mariano, former mayor of Coronel Sapucaia in the southwestern state of Mato Grosso do Sul, was sentenced to 17 years and nine months in prison for hiring the gunmen who in 2004 shot Romã, a host and owner of Radio Conquista…
Journalists detained by Mexican army are released
New York, August 10, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release this afternoon of four Mexican journalists who had been detained on Tuesday night by the army while covering a drug raid. Charges of possession of a firearm and marijuana are still pending against them. The reporters told their lawyer that the weapon and…