New York, April 1, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to insist that Beijing ensure freedom for the press to report in the run up to and during August’s Olympic Games. The IOC’s coordinating committee is in Beijing for a final three days of meetings before the Games…
RUSSIA: New York, April 1, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Thursday’s attack on Arseny Makhlov, founder of the independent weekly Dvornik, in the western city of Svetlogorsk, Kaliningrad region. An unidentified assailant stabbed Makhlov twice in the back at around 7 p.m. as he was leaving a local restaurant, the journalist told CPJ. The…
New York, March 31, 2008—Police in the Senegalese capital of Dakar assaulted a reporter who was covering a violent anti-government protest on Sunday, according to local journalists and news reports. They later raided the reporter’s station and confiscated footage. Walf TV reporter Ousmane Mangane told CPJ that riot police used Tasers on him as he…
New York, March 27, 2008—The Zimbabwean government is using journalist accreditation laws to prevent most major international media outlets and some local journalists from covering the country’s elections on Saturday. According to local journalists and the South Africa National Editor’s Forum, only a handful of foreign correspondents are accredited, while major media groups such as…
BELARUS: New York, March 27, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a sudden crackdown by Belarusian authorities against independent journalists in the last few days. Today, the Belarusian Security Service (known as the KGB) raided the offices of independent broadcasters and the apartments of more than a dozen journalists, the Belarusian Association of…
Leading independent editor sentenced to six months in jail New York, March 26, 2008―The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the six-month jail term handed down today to a leading Egyptian editor and urges the appeals court to overturn the conviction. The Boulak Abul Ela Court of Misdemeanor, on the outskirts of Cairo, sentenced Ibrahim Eissa,…
New York, March 24, 2008―The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by an upcoming court ruling in Cairo that might send a leading Egyptian editor to prison. The ruling is expected on March 26. Ibrahim Eissa, editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Dustour and one of Egypt’s top critics of President Hosni Mubarak’s 27-year rule, was charged…
New York, March 21, 2008–The Chadian government effectively forced the country’s only permanent foreign correspondent to leave the country on Thursday after withdrawing her work permit without explanation, according to news reports. Sonia Rolley, a journalist reporting for several France-based media outlets, including Radio France Internationale (RFI), Agence France-Presse (AFP), French daily Libération and international…
New York, March 21, 2008—The founder and editor of the private bimonthly newspaper Umuco went into hiding Tuesday, a day before a police raid on his residence in Kigali. A police statement said Bonaventure Bizumuremyi faces prosecution on defamation charges for “insulting the president.” Police spokesman Willy Higiro made an announcement over Radio Rwanda on…
Two television journalists covering the North Caucasus murdered New York, March 21, 2008—Two journalists who covered the volatile North Caucasus have been murdered in Russia in the last 24 hours, the first such killings in nearly a year. While the motives are still unclear, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a vigorous and transparent…