CPJ concerned about ongoing restrictions on journalists
New York, October 9, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the Palestinian National Authority’s recent restrictions on journalists operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. CPJ has learned that Palestinian authorities today barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip in an apparent effort to thwart negative coverage following yesterday’s bloody…
FARC rebels harass journalists
Bogotá, October 5, 2001—Leftist guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) harassed seven journalists on September 28 while the reporters were on their way to cover a protest march sponsored by Liberal Party presidential candidate Horacio Serpa. Eight FARC fighters erected a roadblock and stopped the journalists around noon outside the southern village…
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…