Government shuts down newspaper for one month
AUGUST 24, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Makkal Osai CENSORED The government ordered the month-long closure of Makkal Osai, a Tamil-language newspaper, for publishing a picture of Jesus holding a cigarette and what appears to be a can of beer. The Internal Security Ministry suspended the paper’s publication permit after the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC),…
Canadian journalist wounded by roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan
New York, August 23, 2007—A Canadian journalist traveling with a military convoy in southern Afghanistan was injured Wednesday when the armored vehicle in which he was riding hit a roadside bomb in Kandahar province, a Taliban stronghold. Two Canadian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were killed by the explosion. Radio-Canada cameraman Charles Dubois sustained a…
CPJ concerned by restrictions on media coverage of Bangladesh crisis
New York, August 23, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by reports of the assault, detention, and harassment of local journalists by security forces attempting to enforce the indefinite curfew imposed yesterday on the capital, Dhaka, and five other cities in response to growing unrest across the country. CPJ is also deeply concerned about…
Taliban fighters raid radio station
AUGUST 17, 2007 Posted August 20, 2007 Yawali Ghag radio station ATTACKED At around 2 a.m., a group of about 12 Taliban fighters attacked the office of the Yawali Ghag community radio station in Wardak province, just west of Kabul, according to local journalists. The fighters assaulted the station’s guard, bound him, and briefly held…
CPJ calls for release of imprisoned Chinese writer in failing health
Dear President Hu: The Committee to Protect for Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the deteriorating health of writer Zhang Jianhong and calls for his immediate and unconditional release on humanitarian grounds. Zhang has been diagnosed with a rare nerve disorder that could lead to permanent paralysis if left untreated. His numerous appeals to judicial authorities in Zhejiang province seeking release on medical parole have been ignored, according to both his wife and lawyer.
Arson attack follows anonymous threat against Cambodian journalist
NEW YORK, August 15, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Cambodian government to launch an independent investigation into the recent arson attack on the home of Phan Phat, a journalist with the local Khmer language newspaper Chbas Kar. According to local press freedom groups and news reports, Phat’s wooden house was set…
In China, reporter jailed for allegedly fabricating news
New York, August 14, 2007 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is disappointed by the severe criminal penalties handed down by a Chinese court in the case of Zi Beijia, a Beijing TV reporter accused of fabricating a story about contaminated buns. On August 12, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court found Zi guilty…
Leading Indian newsweekly attacked by hardliners
New York, August 14, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attack today on the Mumbai office of the Indian weekly Outlook by a group of men who identified themselves as members of the Shiv Sena, a Hindu nationalist party. The assailants were apparently angered by the political journal’s depiction of their founder, Bal Thackeray,…
Taliban fighters raid radio station
AUGUST 12, 2007 Posted August 17, 2007 Yawali Ghag radio station ATTACKED At around 2 a.m., a group of about 12 Taliban fighters attacked the office of the Yawali Ghag community radio station in Wardak province, just west of Kabul, according to local journalists. The fighters assaulted the station’s guard, bound him, and briefly held…