New York, June 20, 2002—In a letter sent today to Mario Dupuy, Haiti’s Secretary of State for Communications, the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concerns about the government’s plan to develop a legally enforceable code of ethics for the press. In the letter, CPJ asked for more details about the proposed legislation and suggested opening…
New York, June 20, 2002—Police in Niger have again arrested Abdoulaye Tiemogo, publisher and editor-in-chief of the satirical weekly Canard Dechaine, on charges of defaming Niger Prime Minister Hama Amadou. This is the third time in eight months that Tiemogo has been arrested for his work. According to local journalists contacted by the Committee to…
New York, June 20, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the 28-month prison sentence handed down today in the trial of Zouhair Yahyaoui, editor of the online publication Tunezine. A Tunis court found Yahyaoui guilty of intentionally publishing false information, a violation of Article 306 of the country’s Penal Code. The charge was in…
New York, June 19, 2002—Belarusian journalists Mikola Markevich and Paval Mazheika, both of the independent weekly newspaper Pahonya, will give their final statements on Friday, June 21, in their ongoing criminal libel case. If convicted, the prosecution has requested prison terms of two-and-a-half years for editor-in-chief Markevich and two years for reporter Mazheika, said Belarusian…
New York, June 19, 2002—The Zimbabwean government has announced restrictive new licensing fees for journalists and media organizations. The announcement comes after the March passage of the contentious Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, under which Andrew Meldrum, a U.S. citizen and the Zimbabwe correspondent for the London-based Guardian, is currently being tried…
Manila, June 18, 2002—The family of slain Filipino broadcast journalist Edgar Damalerio said they are facing harassment and obstruction as they search for justice in the May 13 murder. They have traveled with a key witness to the crime to Manila from their home in the southern Philippines to present affidavits to senior police officials…
New York, June 18, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the recent attack on German Galkin, deputy editor of the local newspaper Vecherny Chelyabinsk in the Ural city of Chelyabinsk. Two unknown assailants assaulted Galkin outside of his apartment on the evening of Friday, June 14, according to Russian news reports. The journalist…
New York, June 18, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the continued imprisonment of Basile Agboh, publication director of the independent Lomébased weekly Le Scorpion. Agboh has been in prison for two weeks. Agboh was arrested on June 5 along with Maurice Atchinou, editor-in-chief of Le Scorpion, who was released the following day. Their arrests…
Port-au-Prince, June 13, 2002—After a three-day fact-finding mission, a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found that journalists in Haiti face a troubling atmosphere of intimidation and fear. Haitian journalists have told CPJ of violent attacks and threats that largely remain unpunished. Some have felt obliged to censor themselves, go into hiding,…
New York, June 11, 2002—A Brazilian judge has granted an injunction banning the country’s media from publishing any information regarding proceedings against another judge. This is the second case of prior censorship in Brazil within two weeks. On May 23, Judge Zélia Maria Antunes Alves, of the São Paulo State Court of Justice, granted an…