New York, March 29, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority’s (CPA) closure of an Iraqi weekly newspaper for allegedly inciting violence against coalition forces. On March 28, dozens of U.S. troops sealed the offices of the Baghdad weekly Al-Hawza, which is affiliated with radical Shiite cleric…
New York, March 26, 2004—An Iraqi translator working for the U.S.-based newsweekly Time died today after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds in Baghdad two days ago. Omar Kamal, who also worked as a fixer for the magazine, was shot and critically wounded driving his car on route to an assignment, said Time news director Howard Chua-Eoan.…
New York, March 26, 2004—An Iraqi cameraman freelancing for the U.S.-based television station ABC was killed today in the city of Fallujah, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of the capital, Baghdad. The Washington Post reported that 15 Iraqis were killed today in Fallujah following a firefight that occurred “as U.S. Marines conducted house-to-house searches”…
Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by the deaths of two journalists working for the United Arab Emirates-based news channel Al-Arabiyya in Baghdad last week. These deaths are especially troubling because they occurred just days before the military presented a detailed report on the August death of Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana that contained recommendations for creating safer conditions for journalists working in Iraq.
New York, March 19, 2004—Ali al-Khatib, a reporter for the United Arab Emiratesbased satellite news channel Al-Arabiyya who was wounded yesterday when U.S. troops fired on a car carrying four station employees, has died. Al-Arabiyya news director Saleh Negm told CPJ that al-Khatib died in a hospital from a bullet wound to his head. Another…
New York, March 18, 2004—U.S. troops in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, today shot and killed a journalist from the United Arab Emiratesbased satellite news channel Al-Arabiyya and seriously wounded another. Cameraman Ali Abdel-Aziz was fatally shot at a checkpoint in Baghdad. The AP reported that Al-Arabiyya correspondent Ali al-Khatib was also wounded. In a separate incident…
By Ted KoppelThis is not a good day. As I write, pop star Michael Jackson has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct with a minor. His residence cum theme park, “Neverland,” has been invaded by police, sheriff’s deputies, and a team of forensic specialists. I am not empathizing with Michael Jackson, although this…
By Ann CooperIn real-time images, the war in Iraq splashed across television screens worldwide in March, with thousands of journalists covering the U.S.-led war against Saddam Hussein and his regime. The conflict and its aftermath had a far-reaching impact on the press and its ability to report the news, with the reverberations felt in some…
While violence and repression against the press continued unabated and even increased in some countries, public trust in journalists and the press suffered in much of the Americas, jeopardizing support for reforms of archaic press laws and opening the door for governments to take a more confrontational approach with the media.