Alerts

New York, October 15, 2008–Nguyen Viet Chien, a reporter for the Vietnamese daily newspaper Thanh Nien who broke major stories on high-level government corruption in 2006, was sentenced today to two years in prison after being found guilty of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state,” according to news reports.

New York, October 14, 2008–Kalima, an independent Tunisian online news site, was hacked into and shut down on October 8, according to the Web site’s staff.

New York, October 14, 2008–Mexican editor and publisher Miguel Angel Villagómez Valle was executed hours after being kidnapped on Thursday in the state of Michoacán. His body was found on Friday in neighboring Guerrero state. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating possible links between Villagómez’s death and his work as a journalist.

New York, October 14, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the welfare of Russian lawyer Karinna Moskalenko, who represents the family of slain Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Moskalenko was the target of an apparent poisoning in Strasbourg, France, days before she was due to appear in a Moscow court for pretrial…

New York, October 14, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about a criminal lawsuit that has been filed against the editor of The Citizen newspaper in Southern Sudan and calls on authorities to drop the case immediately.

New York, October 10, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Iraqi reporter Dyar Abas Ahmed, who was shot by unidentified gunmen in Kirkuk today, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.

New York, October 10, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s politicized imprisonment of independent journalist Salidzhon Abdurakhmanov and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

New York, October 9, 2008–An Uzbek court should reject the politicized prosecution of independent journalist Salidzhon Abdurakhmanov and acquit him on fabricated drug possession charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Prosecutors are seeking a 17-year prison term for Abdurakhmanov, defense lawyer Rustam Tulyaganov told CPJ today. Nukus District Court Judge Kadyrbay Dzhamolov, who…

New York, October 9, 2008–‎Two U.S. journalists missing since October 1 are being held in Syria in connection with visa issues, several news organizations reported today. The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today that Holli Chmela, 27, and Taylor Luck, 23, were‎ arrested when they entered Syria without visas, news reports said.

New York, October 8, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned for the safety of two American journalists on vacation in Lebanon who have not been heard from since October 1. Holli Chmela, 27, who had just finished an internship at The Jordan Times, and Taylor Luck, 23, a staff writer at the paper, had…