In expulsion case, Pakistani assertions ring hollow
New York, January 16, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists rejects claims made by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that CPJ’s alert on the expulsion of U.S. journalist Nicholas Schmidle was “misleading and factually incorrect.” The ministry’s remarks were made in a prepared opening statement to a press briefing in Islamabad today and repeated in response…
Appeals court upholds verdict in Fatullayev case
New York, January 16, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Azerbaijani appellate court’s decision today to uphold the 2007 conviction of Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the independent Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language daily Gündalik Azarbaycan. Fatullayev was convicted in October 2007 on charges of terrorism, incitement of ethnic hatred, and tax evasion,…
CAR journalist imprisoned over corruption editorial
New York, January 15, 2008—A court in the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui, today sent the director of a private newspaper to prison to await trial on criminal charges in connection with an editorial about a political scandal. Faustin Bambou of the biweekly Les Collines de l’Oubangui was transferred to Bangui’s main Ngaraba prison after…
Arrests made in Kabul hotel suicide bombing
New York, January 15, 2008—Afghan authorities swiftly arrested four suspects following the attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul yesterday, according to The Associated Press. The suicide blast took the lives of at least six people, including that of Norwegian journalist Carsten Thomassen, 38, a journalist from the Oslo daily newspaper Dagbladet.
Security forces arrest two Somaliweyn Radio staff
New York, January 14, 2008—National security agents for the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia arrested two journalists for the independent, Mogadishu-based Somaliweyn Radio on Sunday. According to Somaliweyn Radio sources, security agents seized reporter Bashir Mohammed Abdulkadir at the station and took him to National Security Agency headquarters for questioning. Local journalists said the arrests…
Journalist faces death in Afghanistan
New York, January 14, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned by the detention and upcoming trial of Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh province, northern Afghanistan. The 23-year-old journalism student and brother of prominent journalist Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi will be tried in a religious Islamic court on charges of blasphemy, according to Rahimullah…
Authorities crack down on freelancers after a protest rally in Minsk
New York, January 14, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the detention of one freelance journalist and the interrogation of three others in Minsk, and it calls on Belarusian authorities to halt persecution of the independent press. Arseny Pakhomov, a freelance photographer working for the independent weekly Nasha Niva, was arrested and sentenced…
Two arraigned in 2001 Philippines killing
New York, January 11, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists applauds the arraignment yesterday of two suspects in the 2001 killing of Philippine radio reporter Rolando Ureta. In a December 21 alert, CPJ called on the government to “vigorously prosecute” the case of the two suspects, Amador Raz and Jessie Ticar, who were arrested separately on…
CPJ mourns the loss of Niger radio director
CPJ mourns the loss of Niger radio director New York, January 9, 2008—CPJ mourns the untimely death of the director of Niger’s first independent radio station, Radio R & M (Radio and Music), based in the capital, Niamey, after his car drove over a landmine yesterday on the city’s outskirts. Abdou Mahamane, commonly known as…