Kathmandu, June 6, 2002—In a press conference today, a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists announced that it had met with Nepalese prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Information Minister Jaya Prakash Gupta to raise concerns about press freedom abuses that have occurred since the government declared a state of emergency in November 2001.…
New York, May 31, 2002—A three-judge appeals panel yesterday sentenced two men to a 13-year prison term for the 1998 murder of Philip True, a Mexico City correspondent for the San Antonio Express-News. The unanimous ruling overturned an August 2001 verdict that had acquitted the two men. The men were found guilty of “intentional homicide,”…
New York, May 29, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the shooting of Zafar Iqbal, a journalist for the Srinagar, Kashmirbased English-language daily Kashmir Images. Iqbal, who was shot by three unidentified assailants this afternoon, was seriously injured and is currently in the hospital in stable condition, according to journalists in Kashmir and Indian news…
New York, May 28, 2002—Reuters photographer Suhaib Jadallah Salem was released by Israeli authorities yesterday after being detained for five days. According to Reuters news reports, no charges were filed. Israeli authorities detained Salem on May 22 at the Abu Holi checkpoint in the Gaza Strip. Reuters reported that Salem was attempting to enter the…
New York, May 24, 2002—A Brazilian judge has censored CartaCapital, a weekly magazine based in the city of São Paulo. The magazine said it will fight the decision. According to press reports in Brazil and court documents, copies of which were obtained by CPJ, Judge Marcelo Oliveira da Silva of the 21st Civil Chamber of…
Bogotá, May 24, 2002–The leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have demanded that a newspaper in northern Colombia pay the equivalent of US$250,000 and publish a four-page communiqué to secure the release of a reporter and another employee who were kidnapped last week, the newspaper’s director said yesterday. Ulilo Acevedo, founder and director of…
New York, May 24, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the ongoing detention of several journalists by Israeli forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At least five journalists remain in Israeli custody after being arrested in recent weeks. On May 22, most recently, Israeli troops detained Reuters photographer Suhaib Jadallah Salem…
New York, May 23, 2002—A homemade bomb exploded yesterday morning at the entrance of Bombo Radyo station in Cagayan de Oro City, on the southern island of Mindanao, in the Philippines. According to local news reports, no one was injured in the attack. The bomb detonated at about 1:00 a.m. on May 22, causing superficial…
New York, May 22, 2002—This morning assailants threw Molotov cocktails into the office windows of Delovoye Obozreniye Respublika, an opposition newspaper based in the city of Almaty in southern Kazakhstan. In a separate incident, two employees of another opposition paper were attacked yesterday. According to international reports and CPJ sources in Kazakhstan, no one was…
New York, May 22, 2002—Geoff Nyarota, editor-in-chief of Zimbabwe’s Daily News and a 2001 CPJ International Press Freedom Award winner, was arrested by police on Monday, May 20, and charged with “publishing falsehoods.” He was released after five hours of questioning. If found guilty, he faces a fine of up to Z$100,000 (US$ 1,876) or…