Click here for the complete text of the report. New York, Feb. 14, 2000—When the democratically elected leader of Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was deposed last October by a military coup, few independent journalists regretted his sudden departure. Now, in a special report released today, the Committee to Protect Journalists details the brutal tactics…
New York, Feb. 7, 2000–Twenty-seven prominent U.S., European, and Israeli journalists called on Prime Minister Ehud Barak today to end Israeli government restrictions on the free movement of Palestinian journalist Taher Shriteh, a veteran Gaza-based reporter for The New York Times, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun. The appeal is being…
New York, Feb. 11, 2000 — Serbian deputy prime minister Vojislav Seselj, the leader of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party, accused journalists of being pro-Western “traitors,” and blamed them for the murder of defense minister Pavel Bulatovic, according to Agence France-Presse. Addressing independent reporters at a press conference in Belgrade on February 10, Seselj told…
New York, Feb. 9, 2000— Speculation surrounding the disappearance of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) correspondent Andrei Babitsky continued Wednesday, despite a new videotape suggesting that the journalist is alive and anxious to return home. RFE/RL purchased the videotape on Tuesday night from an unidentified man in Moscow, and aired it on Russian television today.…
New York, February 8, 2000 – The Committee to Protect Journalists continued its campaign to win freedom for jailed Cuban journalist Jesús Joel Díaz Hernández by delivering 312 signed advocacy cards calling for his release to the Cuba Interests Section in Washington this weekend. The cards were sent by courier on February 4, and signed…
New York, February 3, 2000 — Radio Free Europe /Radio Liberty (REF/RL) reported today that Andrei Babitsky, the Russian journalist detained by Russian military authorities in Chechnya since January 15, has been exchanged for three Russian prisoners of war held by Chechen rebels. The announcement was made by Russian presidential spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky. This action…
New York, February 2, 2000 —Andrei Babitsky, the Russian journalist who was reported missing while covering the Chechnya conflict, is being held by Russian military authorities in a Russian-controlled area of Chechnya. Babitsky, a veteran correspondant with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has not been heard from since he called his wife Lyudmila Babitsky from Grozny…
New York, January 31, 2000 – CPJ is gravely concerned for the safety of Guillermo Cortés, director of “Hora Cero,” a nightly television news program broadcast on Canal A in Bogotá. Cortés was kidnapped on January 22 and has not been heard from since. Local journalists informed CPJ that six armed men kidnapped Cortés, known…
New York, January 27, 2000 —The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a nonpartisan organization dedicated to safeguarding press freedom around the world, is gravely concerned with the recent disappearance of Russian journalist and 10-year veteran Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent, Andrei Babitsky. Babitsky, 36, well known for his critical reporting on Moscow’s military campaign in…
Secretary-General Kofi Annan United Nations New York, NY 10017 BY FAX: (212) 963 4879 Dear Mr. Secretary-General, On the occasion of the United Nations Security Council’s special focus on Africa this month, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) would like to alert you to its concerns over press freedom in Africa, particularly in the three…