New York, March 28, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for a prompt and thorough investigation into two gunfire attacks this month against the facilities of the daily newspaper La Nación in Costa Rica’s capital, San José. Three unidentified assailants fired several shots at the newspaper building from a moving vehicle about 4 a.m.…
MARCH 23, 2005 Posted: April 12, 2005 Maurício Melato Barth, Info-Bairros ATTACKED, THREATENED Two unidentified assailants shot Maurício Melato Barth, owner and editor of the bimonthly newspaper Info-Bairros, twice in the legs at the editor’s home in the southern city of Itapema at about 8 p.m.
MARCH 17, 2005 Posted: March 30, 2005 Marielos Monzón, Radio Universidad Gabriel Mazzarovich, Radio Universidad THREATENED, HARASSED Monzón, a radio journalist based in Guatemala City, received several threatening phone calls. Mazzarovich, Monzón’s Uruguayan-born producer, was falsely reported dead to Uruguayan media.
New York, March 16, 2005—More than 100 prominent writers, editors, and reporters throughout Latin America joined the Committee to Protect Journalists today in calling on Cuban President Fidel Castro to immediately release 23 jailed journalists, saying the two-year-long imprisonments violate “the most basic norms of international law” and represent “an affront to human dignity.” The…
MARCH 15, 2005 Posted: March 22, 2005 Leonel Lacerda, RBS TV Éverton Machado, RBS TV ATTACKED, HARASSED Four unidentified men harassed reporter Lacerda and cameraman Machado while they were covering a farmers’ protest against the state government near the town of Sarandi, in southern Rio Grande do Sul state. The men also burned the journalists’…
When U.S.-led forces waged an offensive in Fallujah in November and a state of emergency was declared, the Iraqi interim government’s Higher Media Commission directed the media to “set aside space in your news coverage to make the position of the Iraqi government, which expresses the aspirations of most Iraqis, clear.” Those that didn’t comply…
by Ann CooperWith its myriad dangers and devastating death toll, Iraq remained the worst place to practice journalism throughout 2004, and one of the most dangerous media assignments in recent history. Twenty-three journalists and 16 media support workers were killed on the job in Iraq during the year. An insurgent kidnapping campaign also posed severe…
Overviewby Julia Crawford With the rule of law weak in many African countries, journalists regularly battle threats and harassment, not only from governments but also from rogue elements, such as militias. Repressive legislation is used in many countries to silence journalists who write about sensitive topics such as corruption, mismanagement, and human rights abuses. If…
Overview by Carlos Lauría Journalists throughout the Americas came under increased attack in 2004 for reporting on political corruption, drug trafficking, and organized crime. Although democratic rights have been expanding in the region, press freedom has not always improved as a result.