President ratifies press law that repeals “disrespect” statute; CPJ concerned over certain provisions
New York, May 25, 2001 — Chilean president Ricardo Lagos has signed a new law that repeals several provisions of the country’s infamous State Security Law, including one (Article 6b) that made it a crime against public order to insult high officials. First proposed eight years ago, the new “Law on Freedoms of Opinion and…
CPJ condemns smoke bomb attack on weekly paper
New York, May 25, 2001 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent smoke bomb attack on the Sinhala-language weekly newspaper Ravaya, and urges the government to issue a prompt and full report on the status of the police investigation that is now underway. “Attacks against journalists in Sri Lanka are occurring with…
Jailed editor transferred to solitary confinement
New York, May 24, 2001 — Jailed Iranian editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin was transferred to solitary confinement on May 17, sources in Iran told CPJ. Shamsolvaezin has also been summoned by Tehran’s Press Court for questioning about his alleged ties with opposition figures, several of whom were recently arrested. Shamsolvaezin, the editor of several now-banned Iranian…
NEWSPAPER EXECUTIVE MURDERED
New York, May 24, 2001 — Santiago Oleaga Elejabarrieta, chief financial officer of the regional daily El Diario Vasco, was shot dead this morning in the Basque port city of San Sebastián. The murder was widely attributed to the militant Basque separatist organization ETA. Oleaga, 54, was shot seven times in the head, neck, and…
CPJ Condemns Subversion Charges Against Four Intellectuals
New York, May 23, 2001 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) sent a letter today to Chinese president Jiang Zemin, condemning his government’s decision to bring subversion charges against four Beijing intellectuals who had used the Internet to publish articles and essays on politically controversial topics. Yang Zili, a writer and Web developer, Xu…
Jailed journalist charged with distributing “enemy propaganda”
New York, May 23, 2001 — After a postponement, the trial of a jailed Cuban journalist is now scheduled to begin on Friday, May 25. José Orlando González Bridón, a Cuban journalist and labor activist, has been jailed since December 15, 2000. While the nature of the charges against González Bridón was initially unclear, CPJ…
Public broadcasting chief jailed on criminal defamation charges
New York, May 22, 2001 — The head of Mali’s public broadcasting service is serving 30 days in jail on a criminal defamation charge brought by the local union of judges. On May 16, 2001, a court in Segou, some 80 miles north of the capital, Bamako, convicted Sidiki Konaté, head of the Office of…
Who Shot Riad Ben Fadhel? On anniversary of assassination attempt against Tunisian journalist, CPJ calls for justice
New York, May 22, 2001 — CPJ today called on the Tunisian government to bring to justice the perpetrators of last year’s assassination attempt against Tunisian journalist Riad Ben Fadhel, who was wounded in a drive-by shooting outside his home in the capital, Tunis. Ben Fadhel was shot on May 23, 2000, just days after…
Police defuse bomb outside Communist Party newspaper office
Bogotá, May 21, 2001 — Police bomb disposal experts defused a “cluster” bomb packed into a Chevrolet Luv pick-up truck outside the offices of the Communist Party newspaper Voz in downtown Bogotá today, a police spokesman said. The 550-pound bomb was placed directly outside the Voz offices in Bogotá’s central Teusaquillo district and concealed among…
Inter-American Court of Human Rights may intervene in criminal defamation case
:New York, May 21, 2001 — The Inter-American Court of Human Rights will convene in San José, Costa Rica tomorrow to discuss suspending a Costa Rican court ruling that found a local journalist guilty of criminal defamation. On November 12, 1999, the Penal Court of the First Judicial Circuit in San José convicted Mauricio Herrera…