Election Commissioner dismisses petition against editor Najam Sethi
Islamabad, October 6, 1999 – After a two-hour hearing, the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan dismissed a petition that sought to exclude embattled editor Najam Sethi from political life by having him declared non-Muslim. The petition was filed on June 24 by legislator Syed Zafar Ali Shah, a member of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s ruling…
1999 Press Freedom Awards – Speeches
María Cristina Caballero, Colombia In July of 1997, I covered a terrible massacre in the town of Mapirip‡n. Right wing paramilitaries cut many of the inhabitants into pieces during five days. As I was leaving, a very old man without shoes ran to me and said, “Wait! Wait!” He told me, “All of my sons…
Pakistan: Legislator seeks to bar journalist Najam Sethi from public life
July 19, 1999 His Excellency Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Prime Minister Prime Minister’s Secretariat Islamabad, Pakistan Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by the ongoing persecution of Najam Sethi, founding editor of the English-language weekly newspaper The Friday Times. On July 15, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) summoned Sethi to appear…
Introduction
Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif has once again ratcheted up the pressure on Pakistan’s independent media, detaining three journalists in less than a week. The May 8 arrest of Najam Sethi, the founder and editor of the English-language weekly Friday Times, has attracted international attention.
Contacts
For more information about this report, you may contact: Kavita Menon, Asia program coordinator, in New York (phone: 212-465-1004 x140; e-mail: [email protected])
Introduction
Najam Sethi, founding editor of The Friday Times, was prevented from flying to London on June 23 to accept Amnesty International’s award for “Journalists Under Threat.” Though the government has dropped all sedition-related charges against him, Sethi’s name still appears on the government’s Exit Control List, his passport has been seized by Pakistan’s Intelligence Bureau,…
CPJ Disturbed by the Persecution of Najam Sethi in Pakistan
June 23,1999 His Excellency Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Prime Minister Prime Minister’s Secretariat Islamabad, Pakistan Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by evidence that your government is continuing to persecute Najam Sethi, chief editor of the English-language weekly newspaper The Friday Times. In the last few weeks, various government agencies have blocked…