Leading independent editor sentenced to six months in jail New York, March 26, 2008―The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the six-month jail term handed down today to a leading Egyptian editor and urges the appeals court to overturn the conviction. The Boulak Abul Ela Court of Misdemeanor, on the outskirts of Cairo, sentenced Ibrahim Eissa,…
New York, March 24, 2008―The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by an upcoming court ruling in Cairo that might send a leading Egyptian editor to prison. The ruling is expected on March 26. Ibrahim Eissa, editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Dustour and one of Egypt’s top critics of President Hosni Mubarak’s 27-year rule, was charged…
New York, March 21, 2008–The Chadian government effectively forced the country’s only permanent foreign correspondent to leave the country on Thursday after withdrawing her work permit without explanation, according to news reports. Sonia Rolley, a journalist reporting for several France-based media outlets, including Radio France Internationale (RFI), Agence France-Presse (AFP), French daily Libération and international…
New York, March 21, 2008—The founder and editor of the private bimonthly newspaper Umuco went into hiding Tuesday, a day before a police raid on his residence in Kigali. A police statement said Bonaventure Bizumuremyi faces prosecution on defamation charges for “insulting the president.” Police spokesman Willy Higiro made an announcement over Radio Rwanda on…
Two television journalists covering the North Caucasus murdered New York, March 21, 2008—Two journalists who covered the volatile North Caucasus have been murdered in Russia in the last 24 hours, the first such killings in nearly a year. While the motives are still unclear, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a vigorous and transparent…
“Anyone who claims this has refuted Islam and should be tried in order to take it back. If not, he should be killed as an apostate from the religion of Islam,” Sheikh Barrak was quoted by Reuters as saying in his March 14 religious edict. “We are extremely worried about the safety of our colleagues…
ARGENTINA: New York, March 19, 2008—Argentine television journalist Juan Carlos Zambrano was shot to death this morning in the northern province of Jujuy. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating possible links between Zambrano’s death and his work. Two unidentified men approached Zambrano, host of the daily news and the weekly opinion program “Con la…
New York, March 19, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Iranian government’s ban on nine lifestyle and cinema magazines because of their content about foreign film stars and their promotion of “superstitions.” This latest wave of shuttering publications, spearheaded by the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry, occurred on Sunday. The Press Supervisory Board, part…
New York, March 19, 2008—The Chinese government has expanded its obstruction of foreign media covering the violence in Tibet into the neighboring provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, and Sichuan, as well as the capital, Beijing, according to international news reports that quoted a foreign correspondents group. The Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) told reporters they…
New York, Mach 18, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by three-month prison sentences handed down to five Jordanian journalists in two separate defamation cases in a week. Editor Taher al-Adwan and reporter Sahar Qassam of the Arabic daily Al-Arab al-Youm, former Ad-Dustour editor Osama Sharif, and Ad-Dustour reporter Fayez Louzi were sentenced…