Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to condemn the continued imprisonment of independent journalists in Cuba, in clear violation of international law. CPJ is also deeply troubled by reports that these unjustly jailed prisoners are being denied medical care and other basic services. We urge Your Excellency to order the immediate release of the following three Cuban journalists:
New York — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) presented its International Press Freedom Awards for the year 2000 to four journalists–from Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malaysia, and Iran–for their courage and independence in reporting the news. These honorees endured jail, had their lives threatened and, in one case, survived a car-bomb attack,…
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned about the lack of progress in the reform of Panama’s “gag laws.” Two recent cases in which Panamanian journalists were sentenced to prison for allegedly defaming public officials highlight the urgency of abolishing these unjust statutes without delay.
July 21, 2000–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has written to Panama President Mireya Moscoso to express concern about the lack of progress in the reform of Panama’s “gag laws.” Although Moscoso has stated publicly that such laws have “no possible justification” in Panamanian society, the laws remain on the books and have been used…
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its concern over the criminal defamation charges being brought against the weekly La Razón for reporting on alleged irregularities in bidding on government contracts and at state auctions. We strongly object to the weekly’s being prohibited from publishing information related to this case. We view this harassment through legal channels as a violation of international law. We urge Your Excellency to use the power of your office to see to it that La Razón’s right to inform the public is respected.
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest the outrageous fine of 290,000 soles (US$84,000) that the National Elections Board recently imposed on the television station Canal N after it inadvertently broadcast results of the most recent election polls. Article 191 of Peru’s Organic Law of Elections prohibits the publication of poll results less than 15 days before the election.
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in COLOMBIA New York, July 11, 2000 — On June 20, guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the armed movement known by its Colombian acronym FARC, confiscated and burned copies of the Bogotá-based daily El Tiempo.
Dear Mr. Gómez, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its sorrow over the July 4 assassination of Marisol Revelo Barón, a journalist based in Tumaco in the southwestern department of Nariño. We urge you to see to it that the perpetrators of this crime are brought to justice swiftly.
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in PANAMA New York, July 6, 2000 — Panama Attorney General José Antonio Sossa will decide this evening if he will order the arrest of journalist Carlos Singares who is charged with showing “disrespect” for a public official for his story on Sossa’s alleged visits to…
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gratified that Mexican journalists have generally been able to cover the current election campaign without government interference. However, we would like to express our concern about a number of recent incidents.