Alerts
2005
Two more journalists detained as police raid newspapers and local journalists’ association
New York, November 28, 2005— Ethiopian authorities have arrested another two journalists bringing the number detained since political unrest erupted four weeks ago to at least 12. Sources told the Committee to Protect Journalists that Serkalem Fassil, publisher of the Amharic-language weeklies Menilik, Asqual and Satanaw, and her husband Iskinder Nega who is also a…
CPJ condemns raid on Radio Sagarmatha
New York, November 28, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a police raid on Radio Sagarmatha moments before the independent station was to relay a rare BBC interview with the head of Nepal’s Maoist rebels. Police stormed the community FM station in the capital Kathmandu on Sunday evening, shut it down, confiscated equipment, and…
TV anchor taken off air for critical news reporting
New York, November 28, 2005—Moscow-based Ren-TV has taken news anchor Olga Romanova off the air after she criticized the privately owned station for censoring her news coverage. Romanova said three security guards prevented her from entering the TV station on November 24 to host her evening news program “24,” according to local and international news…
Bush, Blair should set record straight on leaked Al-Jazeera threat
New York, November 23, 2005—U.S. President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair should clarify reports by a British newspaper that Bush had raised the idea of bombing the headquarters and other offices of the Qatar-based satellite television network Al-Jazeera during an April 2004 meeting with Blair in Washington. The London-based tabloid the Daily…
Trial of Klebnikov murder suspects to be held in secretCPJ urges open proceeding
New York, November 22, 2005—Two Chechen men charged in the July 2004 slaying of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov in Moscow will be tried in secret at the direction of the Russian prosecutor general, according to local and international press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists urged prosecutors to reconsider the decision and hold the…
Journalist freed without charge after four years in jail
New York, November 21, 2005— The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaac, who had been jailed without charge since a government crackdown closed the entire independent press in September 2001. Isaac has dual Eritrean and Swedish citizenship. Fourteen journalists remain in Eritrea’s secret jails or otherwise deprived of their…
Journalist jailed for defamation
New York, November 21, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged that a journalist accused of defaming a government official has been placed in “preventive detention.” Salifou Soumaila Abdoulkarim, director of the private weekly Le Visionnaire, was arrested November 12 after State Treasurer Siddo Elhadj filed a defamation suit, local sources said. “It is outrageous…
Two Philippine journalists shot and killed in three days
New York, November 21, 2005—Unknown assailants shot and killed two journalists in separate incidents over a three-day period. Newspaper reporter Robert Ramos died Sunday night after being shot twice in the head outside a market in Cabuyao, Laguna province, 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of the capital, Manila. Radio announcer Ricardo “Ding” Uy, known for…
Thai prime minister intensifies threats against television commentator
Bangkok, November 18, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed grave concern today about the Thai government’s escalating harassment of journalist and television commentator Sondhi Limthongkul. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra filed a defamation lawsuit against Sondhi on Thursday, the third such suit against the journalist, this one seeking 1 billion baht (US$25 million) in damages.
Bangladeshi reporter found strangled to death
New York, November 17, 2005—A reporter for the Dhaka-based daily Samakal was found strangled to death in his bureau office today, according to news reports. Journalists in the town of Faridpur, 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of the Bangladeshi capital, have launched protests demanding that authorities find and prosecute the killer of Gautam Das. The…