Cuban journalist sentenced to prison on ‘dangerousness’ charge
New York, April 19, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the four-year prison sentence handed down on Friday to Cuban independent journalist Oscar Sánchez Madan after a one-day trial on a charge of “social dangerousness.” Cuban authorities arrested Sánchez Madan, reporter for the Miami-based news Web site CubaNet, on Friday morning at his home in…
Supreme Court convicts journalist in criminal defamation case
APRIL 18, 2007 Posted May 16, 2007 Gustavo Escanlar Patrone, Canal 10 LEGAL ACTION The Uruguayan Supreme Court of Justice ratified a three-month suspended prison sentence against Escanlar, host of the television program “Bendita TV,” in a criminal defamation suit.
MEXICO: Grenade explodes outside daily in northern Sonora state
APRIL 17, 2007 Posted April 27, 2007 Cambio de Sonora ATTACKED Unidentified assailants in a moving vehicle tossed a grenade into a garden outside the offices of the Hermosillo-based daily Cambio de Sonora, causing minor damages to the building’s facade, according to press report and CPJ interviews.
Abducted crime reporter still missing
New York, April 17, 2007—A Mexican crime reporter who was abducted on Monday by armed men in Agua Prieta, a city on the Arizona border, is missing. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether the incident was related to his journalistic work. Saúl Noé Martínez Ortega, 36, who covers crime for the newspaper Interdiario…
MEXICO: Border journalist flees the country after violent attack
APRIL 14, 2007 Posted June 26, 2007 Claudio Tiznado, Géneros THREATENED, ATTACKED Tiznado, an investigative reporter for the Hermosillo-based bimonthly publication Géneros, fled Mexico after two unidentified individuals beat him and warned him to stop writing.
CPJ welcomes Calderón’s signature on landmark defamation law
New York, April 13, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa’s signature on legislation that effectively eliminates criminal defamation, libel, and slander at the federal level, making Mexico the second country in Latin America to repeal defamation as a criminal offense. “We praise President Calderón for signing this important piece of…
In Mexico, two men arrested in connection with journalist’s murder
New York, April 11, 2007—Mexican authorities detained two men in connection with last week’s murder of veteran broadcast journalist Amado Ramírez Dillanes in Acapulco. Leonel Bustos Muñoz and Genaro Vásquez Durán were arrested Tuesday in Acapulco, 198 miles (320 kilometers) from Mexico City. According to an official statement, when federal police stopped Bustos and Vásquez…
CPJ urges Mexican president to stop attacks against the press after execution of journalist Amado Ramírez Dillanes
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express alarm after the execution-style killing of veteran journalist Amado Ramírez Dillanes in Acapulco, in what has become a pattern of deadly attacks against the press that continue at an alarming rate. We are deeply concerned about the state of press freedom in Mexico, and call for swift and decisive federal action to stop this tide of violence.
CPJ welcomes release of freelance journalist Josh Wolf
New York, April 3, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s news that freelance journalist Josh Wolf, the longest imprisoned journalist in U.S. history, was released from a federal prison in California. “We’re very relieved by news that Josh Wolf was finally released from federal prison, and we are looking forward to speaking with him,”…