New York, January 31, 2002—In a letter sent today to U.S. defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, CPJ requested information about the circumstances behind the U.S. bombing of the Kabul office of the Al-Jazeera satellite television channel in mid-November. During the early morning hours of November 13, 2001, U.S. aircraft dropped two 500-pound bombs on the…
New York, January 4, 2002—After a record-breaking detention of more than five months, free-lance writer Vanessa Leggett this morning walked out of the Texas jail where she was held for refusing to turn over research materials about a high-profile murder case to federal prosecutors. Leggett, 33, is currently writing a book about the 1997 murder…
New York, January 3, 2002–A total of 37 journalists were killed worldwide as a direct result of their work in 2001, a sharp increase from 2000 when 24 were killed, according to CPJ research. At least 25 were murdered, almost all with impunity. The dramatic rise is mainly due to the war in Afghanistan, where…
Nueva York, 3 de enero de 2002 — Un total de 37 periodistas fueron asesinados en todo el mundo como resultado directo de su labor en el 2001, un brusco incremento en relación con el año 2000, cuando 24 fueron asesinados, según las investigaciones del Comité para la Protección de los Periodistas (CPJ, por sus…
Bogotá, November 20, 2001—Four journalists have fled their homes in the southern Colombian department of Nariño after receiving death threats from a right-wing paramilitary faction that accused them of collaborating with rival leftist guerrillas. The letter, signed by the Southern Liberators Front of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), accused three reporters and a…
New York, November 15, 2001—Argentine journalist and press freedom advocate Horacio Verbitsky this morning petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington, D.C., to suspend an Argentine court decision upholding former president Carlos Saúl Menem’s right to privacy. The Supreme Court of Argentina ruled that the newsmagazine NOTICIAS violated Menem’s privacy by reporting…
New York, July 11, 2001—In a tragic week for the Colombian press, three local broadcast journalists have been murdered in the violence-plagued country since July 4. CPJ is investigating all three deaths to determine whether the journalists were killed because of their work. “In the interests of press freedom and simple justice, CPJ will investigate…
New York, November 9, 2001—In a letter sent today to Guatemalan attorney general Adolfo González Rodas, CPJ expressed deep concern about the lack of progress in the investigation of the 1999 killing of Larry Lee, Guatemala correspondent for the financial wire service BridgeNews. While the motive for Lee’s killing is unknown, it is quite clear…