Attacks on the Press 2001: Asia Analysis
Journalists across Asia faced extraordinary pressures in 2001. Risks included reporting on war and insurgency, covering crime and corruption, or simply expressing a dissenting view in an authoritarian state. CPJ’s two most striking indices of press freedom are the annual toll of journalists killed around the world and our list of journalists imprisoned at the…
Attacks on the Press 2001: India
India’s free press is perhaps the strongest pillar of its democracy, but Indian journalists continued to face numerous challenges in 2001, including physical threats, legal harassment, and more subtle pressures applied by the central government. In the disputed territory of Kashmir, where fighting between local separatists, foreign fighters, and Indian security forces has long forced…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Journalists in Prison
There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.
Covering the New War
New York City, October 17, 2001–Two weeks after the September 11 attacks, the number of foreign journalists in Pakistan swelled to an estimated 700. The country’s location alongside Afghanistan, the first target of Washington’s “new war,” made Pakistan a natural destination for journalists. Pakistan An initially lax visa policy–allowing citizens of most Western countries and…
CPJ mourns deaths of four journalists in plane crash
New York, October 3, 2001—CPJ mourns the tragic deaths of our colleagues Anju Sharma of the Hindustan Times; Sanjiv Sinha of the Indian Express; Ranjan Jha of the television news channel Aaj Tak; and Gopal Bisht, cameraman for Aaj Tak. All four journalists were killed on September 30 when their chartered plane crashed during a…
Editor charged with “promoting disharmony”
Dear Chief Minister Chamling: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by last week’s arrest of Rajesh Bhattarai, editor and publisher of the Nepali-language daily Aajo Bholi. Although Bhattarai has been granted interim bail on medical grounds, he must appear by August 31 before a judge in Sikkim’s capital, Gangtok, to face a criminal charge.
Vineet Narain contempt trial postponed
New York, August 10, 2001—Yesterday’s scheduled contempt of court case against journalist Vineet Narain has been postponed due to violence in Jammu and Kashmir State, the trial venue. It is not known when the next hearing will be held. Narain is the founding editor of the New Delhibased investigative journal Kalchakra. He faces contempt charges…
Vineet Narain’s contempt trial starts tomorrow
New York, August 8, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the safety of journalist Vineet Narain, whose contempt of court trial has been abruptly moved up to August 9. It was originally scheduled for September 3. Narain is the founding editor of the New Delhibased investigative journal Kalchakra. He faces contempt…
CPJ and Human Rights Watch protest editor’s contempt prosecution
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch are writing jointly to protest the prosecution of Vineet Narain, founding editor of the New Delhi-based investigative journal Kalchakra. Narain faces contempt of court charges in Jammu and Kashmir State, where he says his life would be in serious danger. We urge you to order an immediate inquiry into possible political motivations behind Narain’s prosecution, and to provide him with appropriate protection if he is required to appear in court in Jammu.
CPJ urges punishment of officers responsible for beating journalists in Kashmir
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is dismayed by last week’s brutal attack against journalists in Kashmir by members of India’s Border Security Force (BSF). We are encouraged by the apparently swift and thorough BSF investigation, and hope that it will yield concrete results.