NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER MURDERED
New York, September 24, 2001—Eduard Markevich, editor and publisher of a local newspaper in the town of Reftinskiy, Sverdlovsk Region, was found dead last Tuesday night, according to press reports. He had been shot in the back. Markevich, 29, edited Novyy Reft, a paper that was often critical of local officials. The journalist’s colleagues told…
Tabloid editor sentenced to three years in prison
New York, September 20, 2001-An Egyptian State Security Court has convicted tabloid editor Mamdouh Mahran of undermining public security, publishing scandalous photos, insulting religion, and causing civil turmoil. On September 16, Mahran, editor of the controversial weekly newspaper Al-Nabaa, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 200 Egyptian pounds (about US$50). The charges…
Government suspends all private newspapers
New York, September 20, 2001—Eritrean authorities have suspended all the country’s privately owned newspapers until further notice, the state radio station announced on Tuesday. Newspapers affected by the suspension order include Meqaleh, Setit, Tiganay, Zemen, Wintana, and Admas. It is unclear what prompted the decision, which surprised both Eritrean and foreign observers.
U.S. PHOTOJOURNALIST AMONG WORLD TRADE CENTER DEAD
New York, September 20, 2001—An American free-lance news photographer is among the 233 confirmed dead in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Several other media workers have been reported injured or missing. As of today, CNN reported, the confirmed death toll in the World Trade Center attacks stands at 233, with…
Controversial radio journalist killed
New York, September 18, 2001—Guatemalan radio journalist Jorge Mynor Alegría Armendáriz was murdered at around 10 p.m. on the evening of September 5, CPJ has confirmed. Alegría was shot at least five times outside his home in Puerto Barrios, a port city located on the Caribbean coast in Izabal Department. His personal effects were untouched,…
On anniversary of journalist’s disappearance, CPJ supports calls for international inquiry
New York, September 18, 2001—One year after the disappearance of Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze, CPJ joins Gongadze’s widow in calling for an international investigation into the unsolved case. “President Kuchma and other cabinet officials have spent an entire year obstructing this inquiry,” said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. “Journalists in Ukraine will not feel safe…
CPJ concerned about South Korean government investigations of local media companies
New York, September 17, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is monitoring events in South Korea with some concern, as the government’s crackdown on alleged financial wrongdoing by the country’s major media companies is likely to have profound implications for local journalism. Despite President Kim Dae-jung’s international reputation as a champion of democracy, capped in…
CPJ Condemns Taliban Restrictions on Foreign Journalists
New York, September 10, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent official harassment of journalists covering the trial of eight foreign aid workers whom the ruling Taliban militia accuses of preaching Christianity. “Reporters serve a crucial role as witnesses,” said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. “If this trial is to have any international…
Army takes legal action against newspaper
New York, September 4, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today expressed its deep concern about the Lebanese army’s recent lawsuit against two journalists working with the leading Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Nahar. On August 31, Al-Nahar was informed that the army had taken legal action against Joseph Nasr, the paper’s editor, and Raffi Madian, an…
Newsweek article criticizing controversial blasphemy laws is censored
New York, September 4, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the decision of Pakistani censors to order the removal of an article from the September 3 edition of Newsweek as a condition of the magazine’s distribution in the country. The censored article, titled “Talking is Dangerous,” highlights the prosecution of Shaikh Mohammed Younus, a…