DRC minister reopens 22 stations
New York, December 21, 2007— CPJ welcomed the DRC’s decision yesterday to lift an October ban on 22 of 38 radio and television stations. The new minister of communication and media, Emile Bongeli, signed a decree authorizing the 22 radio and television stations to return to the air, including Canal Kin Television, Molière TV, and…
Niger will take French journalists to court
New York, December 21, 2007—Two French journalists detained since Monday in the capital, Niamey, will now be tried in court, an official announced today. Journalist Thomas Dandois and cameraman Pierre Creisson of Franco-German TV network Arte Television were arrested south of Niamey after police allegedly discovered footage and photos of rebel Tuareg leaders, government spokesman…
Two arrested in 2001 Philippines murder
New York, December 21, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Philippine authorities to vigorously prosecute two suspects who have been arrested in connection with the 2001 shooting death of Philippine radio reporter Rolando Ureta. According to the National Union of Journalists, Philippines (NUJP), and local media reports, Jessie Ticar surrendered to police on…
Two men convicted in Costa Rica murder
New York, December 20, 2007—Two men were sentenced yesterday to 35 years in prison for the murder of Costa Rican journalist Parmenio Medina, a popular radio host who was shot dead outside his home in July 2001. The Committee to Protect Journalists hails the conviction as a step forward in the fight against impunity. A…
Iraq: Journalist gunned down at home
New York, December 18, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the murder over the weekend of an Iraqi journalist who reported for an online news site. In the early morning of December 15, Ali Shafeya al-Moussawi, a correspondent for the video-based news Web site Alive in Baghdad, was found shot to death in…
French journalist kidnapped in Puntland
New York, December 18, 2007—CPJ is concerned for the safety of award-winning French journalist Gwen LeGouil, who was kidnapped just outside the port town of Bossasso on Sunday by five unknown gunmen in Somalia’s semi-autonomous northeastern region of Puntland. LeGouil is being held hostage in a mountainous area with no access to medicine or clean…
FSB bars journalist from re-entering Russia
New York, December 18, 2007—Authorities at the Moscow Domodedovo airport barred Natalya Morar, a Moldovan citizen and an investigative reporter for the Moscow-based independent newsweekly The New Times, from re-entering Russia when she returned from her business trip to Israel on Sunday. Referring to a secret Federal Security Service (FSB) order, passport control officers said…
KRG President Barzani opposes new press billIRAQ: KRG President Barzani opposes new press bill
New York, December 17, 2007—The president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said today that he will reject a restrictive new press bill that was approved by the regional parliament on December 11. President Masoud Barzani told a delegation from the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate (KJS) on Monday that he would not sign the bill once…
Comoros Islands: Journalist goes into hiding
New York, December 17, 2007—The manager of the former local branch of the national Comoros Islands broadcaster Radio Télévision des Comores went into hiding on December 1, fearing for his safety. Journalist Kamal Ali Yahoudha told CPJ in a phone interview that he fled from his house in Mutsamudu, the capital of the separatist island…
Independent Belarus newspaper faces closure
New York, December 17, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply worried about a defamation lawsuit by a Belarusian senior government official against the independent weekly Novy Chas in the capital, Minsk. A ruling against the paper would bankrupt Novy Chas and force it to shut down, according to local CPJ sources. In late October,…