Dhaka, March 3, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday’s violent attacks on at least two journalists covering a student demonstration at Dhaka University. The March 2 demonstration turned violent after police broke up a group of students, who had gathered to protest the February 27 knife attack on Dhaka University professor and writer…
New York, March 3, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday’s attack on the offices of Geo television in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Pakistan’s Balochistan Province. On March 2, about 20 rioters broke into the offices of the private Geo television station and set fire to administrative records, newspapers, and other materials, according…
New York, March 2, 2004—Unidentified gunmen shot and killed journalist Khalil Al-Zabin today in the early morning hours while he exited his office in Gaza City. According to local sources, Al-Zabin was the editor of the small-circulation magazine Al-Nashra, which published on an irregular schedule. In addition to his responsibilities as editor, Al-Zabin was a…
New York, March 2, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemns the harassment of Cox Newspapers Moscow correspondent Rebecca Santana and the abduction of her fixer and driver, Ruslan Soltakhanov, following a recent reporting trip to Chechnya. Santana and Soltakhanov—who has been a fixer and driver for other Western journalists working in Chechnya—traveled in…
New York, March 2, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the detention of Abshir Ali Gabre, news editor at the independent Radio Jawhar, who was recently held overnight on the orders of Somali faction leader Mohamed Omar Habeeb, also known as Mohamed Dere. Dere is chairman of the self-appointed Jawhar administration. Gabre was arrested…
New York, March 2, 2004—Unidentified gunmen shot and killed journalist Khalil Al-Zabin today in the early morning hours while he exited his office in Gaza City. According to local sources, Al-Zabin was the editor of the small-circulation magazine Al-Nashra, which published on an irregular schedule. In addition to his responsibilities as editor, Al-Zabin was a…
New York, March 1, 2004—Three journalists were injured over the weekend while covering violent street clashes in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, in the wake of a four-day antigovernment protest. The protesters were demanding a referendum to recall President Hugo Chávez Frías. On Friday, February 27, Venezuelan National Guard troops fired rubber bullets and threw tear gas…
New York, February 26, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the imprisonment of Judes Zossé, director of the private daily L’Hirondelle (The Swallow) in the Central African Republic (CAR). Yesterday, police officers arrested Zossé, who had turned himself in after police had detained his brother, Didier Zossé. Didier Zossé, who is…
New York, February 26, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the imprisonment of Judes Zossé, director of the private daily L’Hirondelle (The Swallow) in the Central African Republic (CAR). Yesterday, police officers arrested Zossé, who had turned himself in after police had detained his brother, Didier Zossé. Didier Zossé, who is…
New York, February 24, 2004—Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday pledged to reform Egypt’s laws, eliminating prison sentences for published material. Galal Aref, head of the Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate, told CPJ today that the Egyptian president called him yesterday and told him that journalists would no longer face the possibility of imprisonment for what they publish.…