DETAINED BRITISH JOURNALIST FACES TRIAL IN AFGHANISTAN
New York, October 4, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by the Taliban’s announcement today that British journalist Yvonne Ridley will face trial for entering Afghanistan without authorization. “She will be tried because she broke the laws of our land and entered the country without permission,” Mullah Abdur Rahman Zahid, the Taliban’s…
Supreme Court issues disastrous decision in case against newsmagazine
New York, October 4, 2001—In a major step backward for press freedom in Argentina, the Supreme Court last week upheld a lower court ruling against the weekly newsmagazine NOTICIAS. According to the judgment, NOTICIAS violated former president Carlos Saúl Menem’s right to privacy by reporting on his extramarital relationship with Martha Meza, a former schoolteacher…
CPJ dismayed by U.S. pressure against Arab satellite news channel
New York, October 4, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by reports that U.S. officials pressured Qatar in an attempt to influence the news coverage of the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite channel. Following a meeting yesterday in Washington, D.C., with U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell, Qatari ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani…
CPJ DISTURBED BY TALIBAN ACCUSATIONS AGAINST DETAINED JOURNALIST
New York, October 3, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by comments reportedly made by a senior official in Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia, accusing British journalist Yvonne Ridley of “ill intentions” and suggesting the reporter may be working as a “special forces” agent.
Journalists arrested, paper censured over Bin Laden article
New York, October 3, 2001—Patrick Adjamonsi, Titus Folly, and Nicole Lindagba, publisher, editor-in-chief, and secretary, respectively, of the independent daily L’Aurore, were detained by police over a September 27 article by Adjamonsi alleging that Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network had links in Benin. Adjamonsi’s piece also alleged that U.S. intelligence services were investigating Benin in…
Jailed journalist asks United Nations for justice
New York, October 2, 2001—After trying unsuccessfully for three years to secure his release from prison, Gao Qinrong, a reporter for the official Xinhua News Agency, has asked the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) to intercede with the Chinese government on his behalf. Gao has been imprisoned since 1998 on trumped-up charges…
Inter-American Court of Human Rights grants relief to local paper
New York, October 3, 2001—In an unprecedented decision, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued provisional measures granting a Costa Rican newspaper relief in a freedom of expression case. On September 7, the court, which is based in San José, Costa Rica, issued “provisional measures” ordering Costa Rican authorities to stay certain sections of a…
CPJ mourns deaths of four journalists in plane crash
New York, October 3, 2001—CPJ mourns the tragic deaths of our colleagues Anju Sharma of the Hindustan Times; Sanjiv Sinha of the Indian Express; Ranjan Jha of the television news channel Aaj Tak; and Gopal Bisht, cameraman for Aaj Tak. All four journalists were killed on September 30 when their chartered plane crashed during a…
Government cracks down on coverage of America’s new conflict
New York, October 2, 2001—The day after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., the Chinese government notified all media, including Internet portals, that they should refrain from publishing anti-American reports, according to international news reports. A few days later, on September 16, the Central Propaganda Department issued another directive ordering all domestic…
CPJ Demands Release of British Journalist and Colleagues Held in Afghanistan
New York, October 1, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia’s recent arrest of Yvonne Ridley, a reporter for London’s Sunday Express newspaper, and two male guides. Soldiers arrested the group on September 28 near the eastern city of Jalalabad and detained Ridley on suspicion of spying, according to news reports.