New York, November 18, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about recent attacks on Venezuelan journalists, the latest of which occurred yesterday at the 24-hour news channel Globovisión. On Sunday, November 17, a bomb went off in the parking lot of Globovisión’s offices, which are located in the eastern section of the…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about a recent Chilean court decision upholding the charges of “disrespect” (desacato) against television commentator Eduardo Yáñez, a regular panelist on Chilevisión’s debate show “El Termómetro.”
New York, November 5, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned that New York Post columnist and Red Herring magazine contributing editor Chris Byron’s phone records have been illegally obtained by individuals seeking access to his journalistic sources. In an October 19 article, the New York Post first reported that Byron’s phone records had…
New York, October 30, 2002—Rising crimes against journalists in Colombia prompted the Attorney General’s Office this month to add 12 new prosecutors to a unit dedicated to investigating attacks against the press, according to a statement from the office released on Monday, October 28. The unit, which previously had four prosecutors based in the capital,…
New York, October 25, 2002—The Colombian government announced yesterday that it will require foreign journalists to obtain authorization from the Interior Ministry before entering two state-run security zones. Yesterday’s announcement clarified an earlier decree, released on September 9, requiring all foreigners traveling to the zones to get permission from the government first. It was unclear…
New York, October 1, 2002—Brazilian journalist Domingos Sávio Brandão Lima Júnior was murdered yesterday afternoon. Brandão was the owner, publisher, and a columnist of the daily Folha do Estado, which is based in the city of Cuiabá, in the central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Brandão, 40, was shot at least 5 times by two…
Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express concern about the reported detention without charge of Sami Muhieddine Muhammad al-Haj, a 33-year-old assistant cameraman for the Qatar-based satellite television network Al-Jazeera.
New York, September 27, 2002—An Argentine federal judge has subpoenaed the phone records of Thomas Catan, the Buenos Aires correspondent for the U.K.-based Financial Times. The records could potentially reveal the journalist’s sources. On August 20, 2002, Catan, citing unnamed bankers and diplomats he interviewed, reported that Argentine legislators had solicited bribes from foreign banks…
New York, September 20, 2002—Brazilian police yesterday captured a local drug trafficker who was the leading suspect in the disappearance and murder of prominent journalist Tim Lopes. Elias Pereira da Silva, also known as Elias the Madman, was apprehended in one of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, or shantytowns, after a two-day search. In early August,…