DETAINED BRITISH JOURNALIST FACES TRIAL IN AFGHANISTAN
New York, October 4, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by the Taliban’s announcement today that British journalist Yvonne Ridley will face trial for entering Afghanistan without authorization. “She will be tried because she broke the laws of our land and entered the country without permission,” Mullah Abdur Rahman Zahid, the Taliban’s…
CPJ DISTURBED BY TALIBAN ACCUSATIONS AGAINST DETAINED JOURNALIST
New York, October 3, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by comments reportedly made by a senior official in Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia, accusing British journalist Yvonne Ridley of “ill intentions” and suggesting the reporter may be working as a “special forces” agent.
CPJ Demands Release of British Journalist and Colleagues Held in Afghanistan
New York, October 1, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia’s recent arrest of Yvonne Ridley, a reporter for London’s Sunday Express newspaper, and two male guides. Soldiers arrested the group on September 28 near the eastern city of Jalalabad and detained Ridley on suspicion of spying, according to news reports.
CPJ Condemns Taliban Restrictions on Foreign Journalists
New York, September 10, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent official harassment of journalists covering the trial of eight foreign aid workers whom the ruling Taliban militia accuses of preaching Christianity. “Reporters serve a crucial role as witnesses,” said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. “If this trial is to have any international…
CPJ Condemns Taliban’s Expulsion of BBC Reporter
New York, March 14, 2001 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is dismayed by the ruling Taliban militia’s decision to expel BBC correspondent Kate Clark from Afghanistan. Authorities ordered Clark to leave the country within 36 hours in response to BBC reports about the militia’s destruction of ancient Buddhist statues in Bamiyan, some 100…
Attacks on the Press 1999: Africa Analysis
By Claudia McElroyAll over Africa, conflict continued to be the single biggest threat to journalists and to press freedom itself. Both civil and cross-border wars were effectively used as an excuse by governments (and rebel forces) to harass, intimidate, and censor the press–often in the name of “national security”–and in some cases to kill journalists…
Attacks on the Press 1999: Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia continues to maintain a hostile attitude toward journalists and journalism. There are no independent local media, because of the Taliban’s famous intolerance and because resources are scarce in this war-ravaged country. Although several news agencies–including the BBC, The Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse–maintain bureaus in Kabul, visas to foreign correspondents are…