Alerts
2005
European Court faults investigation in case of murdered journalist
New York, March 31, 2005—The European Court for Human Rights ruled today that Turkish authorities did not conduct an effective investigation into the July 1996 murder of journalist Kutlu Adali in Cyprus and ordered the government to pay 20,000 euros (US $26,000) in damages to his wife. Ilkay Adali sought damages in 1997 from the…
Romanian journalists and translator appear on videotape
New York, March 31, 2005—Three missing Romanian journalists appeared in a videotape that was broadcast yesterday on the Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera. According to press reports, the unnamed militant group holding the journalists has not made any public demands. On the tape, the captives are shown seated on the ground, with two masked men on…
CPJ condemns crackdown on media coverage
New York, March 30, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns ongoing attempts by Niger authorities to repress independent media coverage of protests against a new tax on basic foodstuffs, including water and flour. Police in the capital, Niamey, shuttered the offices of the privately run Radio Alternative this morning. No reason was given for the…
Venezuelan information minister responds to CPJ
New York, March 30, 2005—Journalists in Venezuela have no reason to fear physical retaliation for their work, a senior government official said in a letter to the Committee to Protect Journalists, but he continued to suggest that some members of the press are spreading U.S. propaganda. Andrés Izarra, the minister of information and communication, publicly…
Three Romanian journalists abducted in Baghdad
New York, March 29, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the reported abduction of three Romanian journalists in Baghdad Monday night, bringing to at least 30 the number of reporters, camera operators and photographers kidnapped in Iraq in the past year.
Two shooting incidents reported at La Nación in less than a month
New York, March 28, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for a prompt and thorough investigation into two gunfire attacks this month against the facilities of the daily newspaper La Nación in Costa Rica’s capital, San José. Three unidentified assailants fired several shots at the newspaper building from a moving vehicle about 4 a.m.…
olumnist gunned down
New York, March 28, 2005—In a brazen attack last Thursday, a gunman walked into columnist Marlene Garcia-Esperat’s house in the city of Tacurong, and shot her in front of her family. Garcia-Esperat died instantly from the single bullet wound to her head, police told reporters. The gunman and his accomplice escaped from the scene on…
President flees amid unrest, fraud, censorship
New York, March 25, 2005—At least one Kyrgyz journalist was hospitalized with injuries and another arrested as police tried to break up the escalating unrest that prompted President Askar Akayev to flee the country this week. The demonstrations, which toppled yet another authoritarian regime in Central Asia, came amid widespread anger over fraud-marred parliamentary elections—and…
Foreign Ministry accuses Swedish media of fomenting violence
New York, March 24, 2005—The Russian Foreign Ministry has strongly criticized Swedish authorities and media for independent news reporting on the conflict in Chechnya, claiming the information was fomenting violence, according to local and international press reports. The Russian embassy in Stockholm criticized the independent Swedish news agency TT on Wednesday for publishing an interview…