Attacks on the Press 2005: Panama
PANAMA Panama took steps to improve press freedom, lifting broad deterrents against criticism of public officials and repealing laws that gave authorities vast censorship powers. The National Assembly approved a bill with wide-ranging reforms in May, and it was signed by President Martín Torrijos two months later. Panamanian journalists said the changes were encouraging given…
Attacks on the Press 2005: Peru
PERU Attacks and threats against the press, particularly in Peru’s interior, continued a disturbing upward trend that began in 2004. After lessening in frequency and severity after President Alberto Fujimori fled office in 2000, assaults on journalists were reported regularly in 2005. The Lima-based press freedom organization Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, considered the authoritative local…
Attacks on the Press 2005: United States
UNITED STATES An investigation into the leak of a CIA officer’s identity erupted, with one reporter compelled to testify about his confidential source, another jailed for 85 days before she testified, and a high-level White House aide indicted on federal charges of perjury, false statements, and obstruction of justice. Confidentiality of sources was under attack…
Attacks on the Press 2005: Venezuela
VENEZUELA CPJ traced a decline in physical attacks against journalists in 2005, as five years of violent political upheaval finally subsided. President Hugo Chávez Frías further consolidated his control following a tumultuous recall vote the previous year that saw journalists assaulted and harassed by government supporters, opposition activists, and security forces. In 2005, the frequency…
Radio reporter missing in Paraguay
New York, February 15, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists voiced concern today about the fate of Paraguayan radio journalist Enrique Galeano, who has been missing since February 4. CPJ is investigating whether his disappearance is related to his journalistic work. Galeano, who hosts a morning news and music show on Radio Azotey, disappeared in Yby…
Colombian reporter threatened, forced to flee
New York, February 9, 2006—A Colombian reporter was forced to flee the province of Caquetá after receiving death threats following her published interview with a guerrilla leader, the journalist said this week. Olga Cecilia Vega’s forced departure from the city of Florencia is the third case in 2006 in which a provincial Colombian journalist fled…
A threat and a shooting raise concerns in provincial capital
New York, February 8, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is very concerned that two weekend incidents in the Colombian city of Montería, capital of Córdoba province, will reinforce self-censorship in a region where journalists already work in fear. An investigative newspaper reporter fled the city on Sunday after receiving death threats, while a radio host…
Action follows newspaper attack; Mexico to name special prosecutor for crimes against press
New York, February 8, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists applauds a Mexican official’s announcement today that the government will name a special prosecutor to investigate crimes against journalists. The move comes two days after gunmen stormed a newspaper office in the U.S.-Mexico border town of Nuevo Laredo, seriously wounding one reporter.
Four Miami reporters harassed
FEBRUARY 7, 2006 Mario Vallejo, Univisión Channel 23 ATTACKED, HARASSED Osvaldo Duarte, Univisión Channel Alberto Tavares, Telemundo Channel 51 Lázaro Abreu, Telemundo Channel 51 HARASSED A guard at an immigration jail in Nassau attacked Vallejo, and police detained Abreu, Duarte, and Tavares as the four Miami-based journalists were covering the story of seven Cubans rescued…
Reporter seriously wounded; border city plagued by violenceGunmen storm Mexican newspaper
New York, February 7, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Monday’s vicious attack against the offices of the newspaper El Mañana in Nuevo Laredo, a city on the U.S.-Mexican border that is plagued by drug-related violence. Unidentified assailants fired assault rifles and tossed a grenade at the newspaper’s offices, causing considerable damage and seriously wounding…