Alerts
2005
Journalist released from prison after court ruling
Editor’s note: The original text of this alert has been corrected to accurately characterize Minbar i Halq. New York, October 12, 2005—The Supreme Court on Tuesday partially overturned the July 28 conviction of independent journalist Jumaboy Tolibov and ordered his immediate release, according to local press reports. Tolibov’s six-month imprisonment was seen as retaliation for…
Journalist convicted on charge of insulting Turkish identity’
New York, October 12, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the conviction of a Turkish-Armenian journalist on a charge of “insulting and weakening Turkish identity through the media” An Istanbul court on Friday sentenced Hrant Dink, 52, editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, to a six-month suspended term. Dink and his lawyer, Fethiye Cetin,…
Editor goes on trial for blasphemy
New York, October 11, 2005—The editor of a monthly magazine about women’s rights went on trial today in Kabul’s provincial court on blasphemy charges for publishing articles purported to offend Islam. The prosecutor asked the court to “severely punish” Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, editor of the monthly Haqooq-i-Zan (Women’s Rights), as “a lesson for him and…
Reporters attacked while covering political dispute in Chinese village
New York, October 11, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a series of violent attacks on journalists trying to cover the ongoing tensions between local authorities and residents in the village of Taishi in the southern Guangdong province. On Friday, two journalists, South China Morning Post reporter Leu Siew Ying and Radio France…
CPJ condemns Nepal’s repressive media law
New York, October 11, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the restrictive media law implemented on October 9 by Nepal’s King Gyanendra. Local journalists report that the ordinance codifies severe restrictions on the press that were announced when the king sacked the multi-party government and claimed absolute authority on February 1. “These extremely repressive amendments…
In Thailand, media activist testifies about climate of fear’
Bangkok, Thailand, October 11, 2005—In her closing testimony today, media activist Supinya Klangnarong said a criminal defamation case brought against her by the telecommunications giant Shin Corp. has given rise to a “climate of fear” among journalists and activists in Thailand. But the presiding judge refused to include that portion of her testimony in the…
Critical journalist badly beaten by unidentified assailants
New York, October 11, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists voiced alarm today at the savage beating of publication director Dimas Dzikodo, whose weekly Le Forum de la Semaine is strongly critical of Togolese authorities. Unidentified attackers knocked Dzilan from his motorcycle on Sunday in the capital Lomé and beat him, local sources told CPJ. They…
Journalist arrested; facing extradition to UN war crimes tribunal
New York, October 7, 2005—A Croatian journalist was arrested Thursday and faces extradition to the Hague-based United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) after being accused of identifying a protected witness and failing to appear at a hearing on a contempt of court charge. Croatian police in the southern city of Split…
Journalist beaten and warned to halt investigation
New York, October 7, 2005 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned an attack on a Ukrainian television reporter by an unidentified assailant who warned her to stop investigating the political party headed by former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko. Reporter Natalya Vlasova of 34 Kanal, a television station in the eastern industrial city of…
Imprisoned journalist dies in jail after transfer to hospital is refused
New York, October 5, 2005 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today held the Nepalese authorities responsible for the death of an imprisoned reporter who died after being denied proper medical treatment. Maheshwar Pahari, 30, who worked for the weekly Rastriya Swabhiman, died of tuberculosis on Tuesday, according to local journalist groups. Pahari died in…