Dear Sir: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to request an immediate and thorough investigation into the murder of Venezuelan journalist Mauro Marcano, who was killed by unidentified attackers while he was leaving his home on September 1 in the city of Maturín, the capital of eastern Monagas State.
New York, September 16, 2004—A Dominican reporter was ambushed and killed by gunmen this week, moments after a radio broadcast in which he reported on a bloody crime wave that has pitted gang members against police in the southern town of Azua, according to local news reports. Juan Emilio Andújar Matos, host of Radio Azua’s…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the August 31 police attack on Guatemalan journalists covering the eviction of peasants from a ranch in the southern department of Retalhuleu. The police operation ended with several deaths and scores of injuries.
New York, September 2, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the continued imprisonment of more than two dozen Cuban journalists, several of whom have received inadequate medical care or been harassed for protesting their conditions. The Cuban government arrested 29 journalists in March 2003 in a massive crackdown on the independent media. Accused of being…
New York, September 1, 2004—A Mexican columnist who wrote about government corruption and crime was beaten to death yesterday in the city of Matamoros, near the United States border. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether the murder was tied to his reporting. Francisco Arratia Saldierna, 55, wrote a column called “Portavoz” (Spokesman) that…
New York, August 27, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned about reports of intimidation against Nicaraguan journalist Sergio León Corea, who has been writing about drug trafficking and police corruption in Bluefields for the Managua-based daily La Prensa. León Corea, a correspondent in Bluefields on the Caribbean coast, told CPJ that early on…
Washington, D.C., August 24, 2004—A contempt of court ruling against a Time magazine correspondent was dismissed yesterday after he agreed to testify in the CIA leak case. Matthew Cooper agreed to give a deposition after one of his sources, vice presidential aide I. Lewis Libby, waived confidentiality. Cooper was held in contempt this month by…
New York, August 20, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly opposes a bill to regulate journalists in Brazil, a measure Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sent to Congress this month. “This government-sponsored proposal severely restricts the right to freedom of expression,” said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. “Journalism must not be guided by…