VENEZUELA
JULY 27, 2005 Posted: August 8, 2005 El Universal LEGAL ACTION The Attorney General’s Office opened a criminal investigation against the Caracas-based daily El Universal after it published an editorial that criticized the prosecutor’s office and the judiciary. The probe was launched under desacato (contempt) provisions, which criminalize expressions deemed offensive to public officials and…
CUBA
AUGUST 6, 2005 Posted: August 26, 2005 Albert Santiago Du Bouchet Hernández IMPRISONED Du Bouchet Hernández was arrested on August 6, tried three days later, and handed a one-year jail term without the knowledge of his family who found out about his detention only after he smuggled a note out of prison. He was the…
Venezuelan prosecutor ‘offended’ by editorial, launches probe
Dear Mr. Rodríguez: The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom around the world, is deeply concerned about the investigation your office has opened against the Caracas-based daily El Universal after it published an editorial that criticized your office and the judiciary.
Steiger, Brokaw visit Miller in prison, present message from CPJ
Alexandria, Va., July 28, 2005—A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists met with jailed New York Times reporter Judith Miller in the Alexandria Detention Center tonight to deliver a message of support and call for an immediate end to her imprisonment. Paul Steiger, CPJ chairman and Wall Street Journal managing editor, headed the delegation,…
BRAZIL
JULY 28, 2005 Posted August 30, 2005 Ancelmo Gois, O Globo LEGAL ACTION Gois, a well-known columnist with the Rio de Janeiro daily O Globo, faced prosecution after his column revealed a dispute between two local judges.In a February 27, 2004 column titled “Clash of Titans,” Gois wrote that Judge Francisco José de Asevedo had…
CUBA
JULY 22, 2005 Posted: July 28, 2005 Oscar Mario González, Grupo de Trabajo Decoro IMPRISONED González, a journalist with the independent news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro, was arrested around 9 a.m., about a block from his house, as he was going to buy bread, according to colleague Ana Leonor Díaz.
Independent journalist detained in Havana
New York, July 26, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of independent Cuban journalist Oscar Mario González, who has been held in police custody since Friday. González, a journalist with the independent news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro, was arrested around 9 a.m. on July 22, about a block from his house, as…
Newspaper employees dragged from offices
New York, July 19, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the violent removal of 31 employees from the offices of the Oaxaca-based daily Noticias. The employees had been confined to their offices for the last several weeks, due to a blockade erected by a striking, pro-government union. Around 8 p.m. Monday night, dozens…