Doha, Qatar, May 23, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a report today to an ad hoc group investigating journalist safety issues. The group requested the statement from CPJ as part of its yearlong effort to study the causes and effects of the rising death toll of journalists worldwide. Known as the Committee of Inquiry,…
Doha, Qatar, Monday, May 23, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists has analyzed the deaths of journalists across the world for many years, producing two recent reports that highlight alarming trends in the circumstances, locations, and motives. At least 339 journalists were killed on duty between 1995 and 2004, according to CPJ research compiled in January.…
New York, May 23, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the continued harassment of Yuri Bagrov, a North Caucasus correspondent for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). A Federal Security Service (FSB) agent prevented Bagrov from covering an opposition rally on Friday, then followed him back to his office and…
Doha, Qatar, May 23, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists today released an Arabic language version of its journalist security handbook, “On Assignment: A Guide to Reporting in Dangerous Situations.” Frank Smyth, CPJ’s journalist security coordinator and author of the handbook, officially launched the new edition at a press conference here. The new edition updates the…
New York, May 20, 2005 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention and expulsion of several foreign journalists who traveled to Cuba to cover an unprecedented gathering today of opposition activists and international observers. Italian journalist Francesco Battistini, who arrived in Cuba last night on assignment for the Milan-based daily Corriere della Sera,…
New York, May 19, 2005—Zimbabwean security forces yesterday detained a freelance journalist filming police as they cleared Harare’s central business district of street vendors, according to a lawyer for the press freedom group MISA-Zimbabwe. The journalist, Frank Chikowore, was being held without charge today. “It’s outrageous that Zimbabwean authorities would lock up someone who was…
New York, May 18, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by a series of chilling death threats made this week against three well-known Colombian journalists in the capital, Bogotá. Daniel Coronell, news director of “Noticias Uno” (News One) on the television station Canal Uno; Carlos Lozano, news director with the weekly Voz (Voice);…
New York, May 18, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the closing yesterday of Radiotélévision Kasaï (RTDK), a community radio station in the central diamond mining town of Mbuji-Mayi where at least three people were killed in violent anti-government protests. The local governor accused the radio station of inciting violence, but RTDK…
New York, May 18, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the safety of reporter Som Sharma, who was abducted from his residence in the eastern district of Ilam late last week. The abduction is one of several serious attacks on the press in recent days by both Maoist rebels and the government.…
New York, May 17, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the criminal defamation conviction of Brazilian sports commentator Jorge Kajuru, who will soon begin serving 18 months of overnight detention. Kajuru, whose real name is Jorge Reis da Costa, has been ordered to stay at a prison dormitory in Goiânia, capital of central Goiás state,…