New York, April 3, 2002— The trial of Abdullah Keskin, a Turkish publisher charged with “separatist propaganda” in connection with a U.S. journalist’s book about the Kurdish issue, opened today in a State Security Court in Istanbul. The charges against Keskin came after his publishing house, Avesta, printed a Turkish edition of After Such Knowledge,…
New York, April 2, 2002—CPJ calls for an independent, international inquiry into the July 2000 disappearance of Belarusian cameraman Dmitry Zavadsky. Although two former members of the elite Almaz special forces unit were recently convicted of kidnapping Zavadsky, local sources view them as scapegoats. CPJ is disturbed that state prosecutors failed to investigate allegations that…
New York, April 2, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today reiterated its alarm at mounting press restrictions and attacks on reporters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In a letter sent today to Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, CPJ protested the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declaration that the West Bank towns of Bethlehem and Qalqiliya…
New York, April 2, 2002—The body of 26-year-old Sergei Kalinovsky, editor-in-chief of the daily Moskovsky Komsomolets—Smolensk, was found yesterday by a lake outside the city of Smolensk in central Russia. Kalinovsky, who reported on local politics and crime for the Smolensk edition of the Moscow daily Moskovsky Komsomolets and the local SCS television station, disappeared…
New York, April 2, 2002—CPJ welcomes the recent decision of a U.S. district judge to quash a subpoena served on Dolia Estévez, the Washington, D.C., correspondent for the Mexican daily El Financiero. Estévez had been ordered to hand over material related to a 1999 news article about the Hank family of Mexico, which has been…
New York, April 1, 2002—CPJ is alarmed by the mounting press freedom crisis in the West Bank as Israeli forces widen their military offensive. In the last few days, at least two journalists have been wounded by gunfire and Israel has tried to bar all reporters from the embattled city of Ramallah. “Barring journalists from…
Turkish Republic State Security Court of the City of Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Charges Presidency of the State Security Court Accused: Abdullah Keskin, son of Ramazan and Selime, born 1969, in Nusaybin District, Mardin Province, registered in Yenituran district and residing in Istanbul, Beyoglu district, Mesrutiyet Street, number 1230/10
New York, April 1, 2002—CPJ welcomes the release yesterday of Zimbabwean journalist Peta Thornycroft after more than 72 hours in custody on suspicion of violating Zimbabwe’s harsh press laws. Local sources told CPJ that High Court judge Mohammed Adam ordered police to free Thornycroft, the Zimbabwe correspondent for South Africa’s Mail and Guardian and Britain’s…
New York, March 29, 2002—Newspaper columnist Fernando Garavito recently fled Colombia after a series of events that made him fear for his life, CPJ has learned. Garavito, who writes a Sunday column for the Bogotá-based newspaper El Espectador, left Colombia for the United States on March 21 and has no plans to return. In a…
New York, March 29, 2002—Cuban independent journalist and CPJ International Press Freedom awardee Jesús Joel Díaz Hernández has left Cuba for the United States, where he has been granted political asylum. Díaz Hernández arrived in the United States on March 21 and has settled in Fort Worth, Texas. Díaz Hernández, formerly the executive director of…