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,…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed about legislation currently before the Argentine Senate. The bill proposes adding three articles to the Penal Code that would criminalize operating a radio station without a license, putting at risk the thousands of stations currently broadcasting without permission.
New York, September 17, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) sent a letter today to Juan Carlos Maqueda, provisional president of the Argentine Senate, expressing concern about legislation that the Senate is scheduled to debate tomorrow. The bill proposes adding three articles to the Penal Code that would criminalize operating a radio station without a…
Bogotá, September 17, 2002—Edgar Buitrago Rico, founder and director of the monthly Revista Valle 2000, today fled the city of Cali in fear of his life after receiving repeated death threats since May. In response, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today sent a letter to Colombian interior minister Fernando Londoño Hoyos urging him to…
Nova York, 13 de setembro de 2002 — O Comitê de Proteção aos Jornalistas vê com preocupacão a situação do jornalista Lúcio Flávio Pinto, que responde a diversas ações criminais por suas reportagens sobre o Estado do Pará. Lúcio Flávio é um respeitado jornalista independente de Belém do Pará. Ele escreve a coluna “Carta da…