New York, April 9, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the criminal prosecution of Mikola Markevich and Paval Mazheika, editor-in-chief and reporter, respectively, at the Hrodno-based independent weekly Pahonya. The journalists are accused of libeling President Aleksandr Lukashenko and face up to five years in prison if convicted. The trial, which was set to…
New York, April 9, 2002–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the detention of Li Yanling, wife of Jiang Weiping, imprisoned journalist and recipient of CPJ’s 2001 International Press Freedom Award. On March 18, Li was detained after being called in for questioning by security officials in Dalian, where the couple live, according to CPJ…
Bogotá, April 9, 2002 — The body of Juan Carlos Gómez, an intern at a radio station in northern Colombia, was found floating in the Magdalena River on April 3, CPJ has learned. Authorities said he had been beaten to death. Gómez, 23, began working as an intern at La Voz de Aguachica (The Voice…
New York, April 9, 2002—A journalist was shot today and several others were harassed while covering the ongoing Israeli offensive in the West Bank. Gilles Jaquier, a cameraman with television channel France 2, was wounded by a single gunshot near his shoulder while reporting outside the West Bank city of Nablus, an eyewitness told CPJ.…
New York, April 8, 2002—CPJ is alarmed that the independent television channel A1+ has lost its broadcast frequency and been forced off the air. On April 2, the National Committee on Television and Radio (NCTR), whose members are appointed by the president, awarded the A1+ frequency to the entertainment company Sharm, which has close government…
New York, April 8, 2002—CPJ is gravely concerned about the safety of journalist Demling Lama, who was abducted on April 5 by armed Maoist rebels, according to sources in Nepal. Lama is the correspondent in the Sindhupalchok District for both Radio Nepal and the national Nepali-language daily Himalaya Times. At some time during the morning…
New York, April 5, 2002—The trial of four suspects accused in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl began today at Karachi’s Central Jail, and was closed to the public and the media. Chief prosecutor Raja Qureshi said that “journalists have not been allowed because of security and the sensitivity of…
New York April 4, 2002—CPJ commends the efforts of Pakistani authorities to apprehend and prosecute the killers of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. The trial of four men charged with the journalist’s kidnapping and murder is scheduled to begin tomorrow, April 5. Seven others accused in the case remain at large. “Around the world,…
Who: Terry Anderson, Honorary Co-Chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists, former AP Bureau Chief in Beirut; Chris Cramer, president of CNN International Networks, author of Hostage, a first-hand account of the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege, where he was held hostage; Robert Klamser, Executive Director, Crisis Consulting International, a non-profit organization providing security, crisis management,…
New York, April 3, 2002—Ten independent Eritrean journalists who have been jailed without charge since September began a hunger strike on March 31 to protest their continued detention, according to local and international sources. In a message smuggled from inside the Police Station One detention center in the capital, Asmara, the journalists said they would…