Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy is not yet out of the woods. On July 29, the Supreme Court postponed deciding whether to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Roy for publishing a highly critical essay about the social and environmental costs of Gujarat’s Sardar Sarovar dam, part of an ambitious irrigation and hydroelectric project along…
On August 2, 1999, Gambian security officials released three journalists of The Independentnewspaper from detention at National Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banul. Baba Galleh Jallow, Yorrow Jallow, and Lamin Daffeh were told to report at NIA headquarters again on August 3 with all the necessary documents pertaining to the registration of the newspaper. The…
July 28, 1999 –On July 28, two days after the Minister of Government and Justice withdrew her proposed amendment to a 1978 gag law in the face of national and international criticism, the Panamanian Cabinet approved an only slightly different amendment to the law. As a July 30 editorial of the Panama City-based daily La…
El 28 de julio, dos días después de que el Ministerio de Gobierno y Justicia retirara un proyecto para modificar una ley mordaza de 1978 ante protestas a nivel nacional e internacional, el Gabinete panameño aprobó un proyecto casi igual. Como dice un editorial del periódico La Prensa,de la ciudad de Panamá, el nuevo proyecto…
Istanbul, Turkey, July 23, 1999–The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a report today documenting Turkey’s continuing use of criminal prosecutions to silence journalists who report on sensitive topics, such as the Kurdish question and the role of Islam in politics. At a press conference in Istanbul, a CPJ delegation expressed its concern…
Sanaa’, Yemen, July 15, 1999 — In a meeting today with press freedom advocate Terry Anderson, Yemen’s prime minister said harassment and threats against journalists are “abhorrent to our laws and ideals” and should be condemned. He promised to investigate any cases that are reported to him. Anderson, vice chairman of the New York-based Committee…
May 7, 1999 His Excellency Mohammad Khatemi President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Palestine Avenue Azerbaijan Intersection Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its grave concern about the reported arrest of Azeri journalist Qanimat Zahidov in northern Iran. Zahidov, editor in chief for…
May 5, 1999 His Excellency Selcuk Oztek Minister of Justice Adalet Bakanligi 06659 Ankara, Turkey Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply dismayed by yesterday’s verdict in the retrial of 11 police officers accused in the January 1996 murder of Metin Goktepe, a journalist with the leftist daily Evrensel. The Afyon court’s decision…
July 8, 1999 — CPJ is concerned about the safety of Jesús Barraza, editor of the weekly Pulsoin San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora State, Mexico. As mentioned in CPJ’s May 13 and June 14 letters to President Ernesto Zedillo, Barraza has received several death in recent months because of his reporting on the local narcotics…
July 8, 1999 — El CPJ está profundamente preocupado por la seguridad física de Jesús Barraza, director del semanario Pulso en la población de San Luis Río Colorado, estado de Sonora, México. Tal como dijimos en las cartas al presidente Ernesto Zedillo del 13 de mayo y 14 de junio, Barraza ha recibido varias amenazas…