Switzerland / Europe & Central Asia

Central Africa Republic President François Bozizé’s government imprisoned two prominent publication directors and harassed many other journalists as initial optimism that he would enact reforms gave way to the reality of civil strife and a bleak economy. Bozizé took power in this mineral-rich but chronically unstable nation after toppling former President Ange-Félix Patassé in a…

CPJ Update June 21, 2004 News from the Committee to Protect Journalists Return to front page | See previous Updates

CPJ Update June 21, 2004 News from the Committee to Protect Journalists Return to front page | See previous Updates

Although the number of journalists in prison in Africa at the end of 2003 was lower than the previous year, African journalists still faced a multitude of difficulties, including government harassment and physical assaults. Many countries in Africa retain harsh press laws. In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, some…

Guide for reporting in hazardous situations.

This Colombian warlord cultivates journalists. He also murders them. For Carlos Castaño, it’s all about image.

Over more than a decade in power, Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has squeezed the life out of the country’s press. After years of harassment and intimidation, most journalists have learned to censor themselves on sensitive political issues.

1999 April 28, 1999 Taoufik Ben Brik, La Croix HARASSED Ben Brik, a correspondent for the Paris-based daily La Croix, was prevented by Tunisian authorities from leaving the country for a planned trip to Switzerland after police at Tunis-Carthage Airport confiscated his passport, claiming that the document was missing a page and therefore Ben Brik could…

China Chen Fang BOOK BANNING Aug. 21, 1997 The Communist Party’s propaganda department, the Culture Ministry, and the Press and Publications Administration banned Chen Fang’s 1997 book, Wrath of Heaven: A Mayor’s Severe Crime, for posing a threat to Chinese leadership with its coverage of government corruption. Though a novel, the book describes the infamous…

CHINA Chen Fang BOOK BANNING Aug. 21, 1997 The Communist Party’s propaganda department, the Culture Ministry, and the Press and Publications Administration banned Chen Fang’s 1997 book, Wrath of Heaven: A Mayor’s Severe Crime, for posing a threat to Chinese leadership with its coverage of government corruption. Though a novel, the book describes the infamous…