New York, January 26, 2004—After authorities denied holding freelance journalist Khawar Mehdi Rizvi for weeks, on Saturday, January 24, Pakistan police formally charged him with sedition, conspiracy, and impersonation, senior police officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP). The maximum penalty for the charges is life imprisonment. Two other individuals were also charged with Rizvi, Allah Noor…
New York, January 21, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the guilty verdict handed down to Koran Tempo in a defamation suit brought by businessman Tomy Winata. In a verdict delivered January 20, the South Jakarta District Court ordered Koran Tempo to pay US$1 million in damages to Tomy (who is referred to by…
Bangkok, January 21, 2004—A court in northern Thailand today declared four soldiers not guilty in the April 2000 attempted slaying of newspaper publisher Amnat Khunyosying. Despite testimony from Amnat (who is referred to by his first name) and others naming the four soldiers, the Chiang Mai Court said there was insufficient evidence in the long-running…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the prolonged detention of freelance journalist Khawar Mehdi Rizvi. We call on your government to confirm which agency is holding Rizvi, to make any charges against him public, or to release him immediately.
New York, January 15, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the brutal murder of Manik Saha, a veteran journalist and press freedom activist, who was targeted and killed today in a bomb attack in the southwestern city of Khulna. Saha, a correspondent with the daily New Age and a contributor to the BBC’s Bengali-language…
New York, January 12, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release of Marc Epstein and Jean-Paul Guilloteau, a reporter and photographer, respectively, from the French news magazine L’Express, from house arrest in Karachi today. CPJ, however, remains gravely concerned about Khawar Mehdi Rizvi, a local journalist working as the French journalists’ guide, who…
New York, December 29, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for a full investigation into the death of Ersa Siregar, a senior reporter for the private Indonesian channel Rajawali Citra Televisi (RCTI), who was shot and killed today during a gun battle between Indonesian military forces and separatist rebels in the war-torn Aceh Province,…
New York, December 29, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the prolonged detention of writer Nguyen Vu Binh and calls for his immediate release. Binh, 35, is scheduled to go on trial on December 31 at the People’s Court in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. A court official told international news agencies that Binh will be…