Radio journalist slain in northeastern state of Alagoas
New York, July 14, 2004—Radio owner and host Jorge Lourenço dos Santos was killed on Sunday, July 11, in Alagoas State in northeastern Brazil. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is investigating whether the slaying was related to his work as a journalist. Dos Santos was killed at about 7:30 p.m. outside his home in…
Court cites press, humanitarian concerns in “combatant” ruling
New York, June 29, 2004—In a case with ramifications for journalists working in conflict areas, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that Yaser Esam Hamdi, an American citizen detained by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001, must be allowed to challenge his detention in a court of law. The government argued Hamdi was fighting with…
Two imprisoned journalists granted medical parole
New York, June 24, 2004—Authorities granted medical parole to imprisoned journalists Manuel Vázquez Portal and Carmelo Díaz Fernández within the last week. The two men, who suffer from several health conditions, were among the 29 journalists imprisoned in Cuba since March 2003. Vázquez Portal, a writer with the independent news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro,…
CPJ condemns journalist’s murder
Dear Mr. Elorduy Walther: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide, condemns the murder of Mexican journalist Francisco Javier Ortiz Franco, who was killed yesterday in the border city of Tijuana, in Baja California state.