VENEZUELA: New York, February 12, 2008—A group of Venezuelan legislators urged the Attorney General’s Office yesterday to investigate private television station Globovisión, alleging the broadcaster is damaging the image of President Hugo Chávez Frías. Led by Deputy Juan Carlos Dugarte, from the official Movimiento Quinta República party, a group of lawmakers and government supporters gave…
New York, February 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of an Iraqi reporter whose body was discovered today in Baghdad after he disappeared on Sunday. Police discovered the body of Hisham Mijawet Hamdan, 27, a board member of the Young Journalists Association, today and took him to Al-Tib al-Adli morgue in Baghdad,…
New York, February 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Yemeni security forces have laid siege to the home of a newspaper editor following an attack by gunmen on his home and newspaper’s offices in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. Bashraheel Bashraheel, the foreign news editor at the independent daily Al-Ayyam, told CPJ…
New York, February 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Dr. Chishti Mujahid, a columnist for the weekly magazine Akbar-e-Jehan, who was shot and killed in a targeted attack outside his home in Quetta on Saturday. Mujahid, an eye doctor who had written a column for more than 20 years, was shot…
Egyptian court upholds Al-Jazeera conviction; strikes down prison sentence Cairo, February 11, 2008—An appeals court in Cairo today upheld the conviction of an Al-Jazeera journalist charged with harming Egypt’s reputation for her work on a documentary about torture, but struck down her prison term. In a crowded courtroom in north Cairo, Judge Hazem Wageeh read…
IRAQ: New York, February 11, 2008—CBS News is reporting that two unidentified journalists working for the network are missing in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Their statement said that “all efforts are under way to find them.” Until the network learns more details, the statement said, “CBS News requests that others do not speculate…
Egyptian court upholds Al-Jazeera conviction; strikes down prison sentence Cairo, February 11, 2008—An appeals court in Cairo today upheld the conviction of an Al-Jazeera journalist charged with harming Egypt’s reputation for her work on a documentary about torture, but struck down her prison term. In a crowded courtroom in north Cairo, Judge Hazem Wageeh read…
New York, February 11, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of imprisoned journalist Yu Huafeng on Friday after his sentence was reduced, but remains concerned about conditions for critical reporters in China. Yu’s appeal lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang, confirmed the release in an e-mail to CPJ. The deputy editor-in-chief and general manager of…
New York, February 7, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to remove independent broadcaster Aaj TV from air for more than 12 hours. Satellite transmissions of Aaj were shut down Wednesday after a prominent critic of the Musharraf government, Nusrat Javed, appeared on a late-night political talk show, according to…
New York, February 6, 2008—A Mexican crime reporter was forced to flee the northern state of Chihuahua after receiving a death threat from an alleged criminal organization. The threat has prompted the daily Norte de Ciudad Juárez to curb its coverage on crime, Editor Alfredo Quijano told CPJ. On January 25, reporter Carlos Huerta Muñoz,…