New York, November 2, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the nine-year prison sentence handed down to journalist Jiang Weiping by the Dalian Intermediate Court in Liaoning Province. The sentence was confirmed by CPJ sources, but has not yet been publicly announced. In a secret trial held on September 5, CPJ International Press Freedom…
Tuesday, October 30, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the Pakistani government is delaying the visa applications of Indian journalists, as well as journalists of Indian origin holding citizenship from Western countries. Some of these journalists have told CPJ that visa applications submitted in mid-September are still awaiting approval. Officials at Pakistan’s…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is extremely concerned by your government’s apparent refusal to process visa applications from journalists of Indian descent. Indian journalists, as well as journalists of Indian origin holding citizenship from Western countries, have told CPJ that visa applications submitted in mid-September are still awaiting approval. Officials at Pakistan’s High Commission in London have informed journalists of Indian origin that the Information Ministry office in Islamabad must clear their applications before they can be approved. Meanwhile, non-Indian journalists typically receive visas within days, if not hours, of submitting their applications.
New York City, October 23, 2001—CPJ has confirmed that on Monday, October 15, police beat four journalists as they covered an anti-American demonstration in front of the House of Representatives in Jakarta. The Jakarta Post identified the journalists as Medo Malianza, a camerman for Metro TV, a private, national all-news channel; Agung Nugroho, a cameraman…
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…
New York, October 16, 2001—CPJ is deeply concerned by the prolonged detention of French journalist Michel Peyrard and his guides, Pakistani nationals Mukkaram Khan and Mohammad Irfan. Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban regime has accused all three of spying, a charge that carries the death penalty. Peyrard is a reporter for the weekly magazine Paris Match. Khan,…
New York, October 16, 2001—CPJ welcomes the release of Aziz Zemouri, French reporter for the weekly Figaro Magazine, whom Taliban officials detained and subsequently handed over to Pakistani authorities after he crossed into Afghanistan last week. Zemouri was turned over to Pakistan’s border security forces at Ghulam Khan by Taliban authorities in North Waziristan Agency…