New York, January 23, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed that the Infrastructure Ministry is investigating private television stations Globovisión and Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) to determine whether they violated media broadcast regulations. The ministry could fine the stations or suspend or revoke their licenses. CPJ believes that the stations are being targeted…
New York, January 21, 2003—Four days after the High Court in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, ordered his release, journalist and press freedom activist Saleem Samad was freed on Saturday, January 18. Police had arrested Samad on November 29, 2002, for his work with a documentary crew that was preparing a report on Bangladesh for the “Unreported…
New York, January 14, 2003—The High Court in the capital, Dhaka, ruled today that the government’s detention of journalist and press freedom activist Saleem Samad is illegal and ordered his release. On December 23, 2002, the court had ordered his release on bail in connection with a sedition case. But on December 24, the day…
New York, January 13, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release from prison today of Iftikhar Gilani, New Delhi bureau chief for the Jammu-based newspaper Kashmir Times. Authorities had accused Gilani of possessing classified documents “prejudicial to the safety and security of the country,” a charge they finally admitted was unsubstantiated. “Iftikhar Gilani’s…
New York, January 10, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) mourns the death of our colleague Vikram Singh Bisht, who died yesterday from internal injuries after falling from his wheelchair. On December 13, 2001, a suicide squad shot Bisht, a cameraman for the New Delhibased news agency Asian News International, while he was covering an…
New York, January 8, 2003—Journalist and human rights activist Shahriar Kabir, who had been detained for one month on suspicion of conducting “anti-state activities,” was released yesterday. However, another journalist, Saleem Samad, who was also accused of conducting “anti-state activities,” remains in custody despite a High Court order to release him on bail. Samad was…
Manila, January 7, 2003—Philippine media organizations renewed protests against the stalled investigation into the murder of journalist Edgar Damalerio by calling for the immediate arrest of the chief suspect. National police authorities and representatives from the office of Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo promised a group of journalists in the capital, Manila, today that action would…
New York, January 6, 2003—The Gaza correspondent for the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera, who was apprehended early this morning by Palestinian security forces, was released this evening. According to sources at Al-Jazeera, Saifeddin Shahin was detained this morning at his Gaza office several hours after Al-Jazeera’s Sunday night news bulletin from Doha, Qatar, aired. During…
New York, January 2, 2003—A total of 19 journalists were killed worldwide for their work in 2002, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This number marks a sharp decrease from 2001 when 37 journalists were killed, eight of them while covering the war in Afghanistan. Of the 19 journalists killed in 2002, most…