Government intensifies crackdown on freedom of expression
New York, December 9, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of journalist Hang Sakhorn on a charge of criminal libel, part of a growing government crackdown on freedom of expression in Cambodia. Sakhorn, editor of the occasional newspaper Ponleu Samaki, was arrested December 2 over an article published in September that accused state…
CPJ welcomes Supreme Court decision to move murder trial venue
New York, December 9, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the Philippine Supreme Court’s ruling ordering the transfer of venue in the murder trial of columnist Marlene Esperat-Garcia from the city of Tacurong on the southern island of Mindanao to the central city of Cebu. The High Court’s November 23 decision, which was made public…
VIETNAM
DECEMBER 8, 2005 Posted January 4, 2006 Do Nam Hai, freelance HARASSED Police in Ho Chi Minh City interrogated Hai overnight about his efforts to make 11 copies of his book, Let’s Have a Referendum, which was published in the U.S. in September. Hai, commonly known by his pen name Phuong Nam, was detained at…
CPJ calls on Karzai to free journalist Ali Mohaqiq Nasab
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a growing number of threats being made against the imprisoned editor of the monthly Haqooq-i-Zan (Women’s Rights), Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, by government bodies and representatives who intend to pursue the death penalty in his case.
Journalists threatened by Islamic militants
New York, December 8, 2005 —The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by death threats from a banned Islamic group against journalists in four towns and cities in Bangladesh. Local media and CPJ sources said Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which is suspected of having killed up to 20 people in bombings in the last nine days,…
PAKISTAN
DECEMBER 5, 2005 Posted: December 5, 2005 Hayat Ullah Khan, Ausaf ABDUCTED Khan was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in the North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan, where authorities said a top Al-Qaeda leader was killed on December 1, 2005. Five men with AK-47 assault rifles forced Khan’s car off the road, his brother Mohammad Ehsan,…
CPJ urges government to find kidnapped journalist quickly
New York, December 5, 2005 —The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Pakistani authorities to act with the utmost speed to find journalist Hayat Ullah Khan, who was kidnapped today by unidentified gunmen in the North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan, where authorities say a top Al-Qaeda leader was killed last week. Five men…
Philippine journalist gunned down in Cebu market
New York, December 2, 2005—An unidentified gunman killed radio and newspaper journalist George Benaojan in the central city of Cebu on Thursday night before fleeing in a taxi. Benaojan, 27, died at a local hospital around midnight, according to international news reports. Benaojan was talking to a man in a market when the gunman approached…
BANGLADESH
DECEMBER 1, 2005 POSTED: December 2, 2005 Nazrul Islam Badami, The New Nation Belal Hossain, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Aminul Islam, Ajker Janata ATTACKED Three journalists were among at least 29 people injured in a bombing near a court building north of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, international news organizations reported. At least one person was killed…
PHILIPPINES
DECEMBER 1, 2005 Posted: December 7, 2005 George Benaojan, DYBB and Bantay Balita KILLED—UNCONFIRMED An unidentified gunman killed radio and newspaper journalist Benaojan in the central city of Cebu before fleeing in a taxi. Benaojan, 27, died at a local hospital shortly afterward, according to international news reports.