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,…
Two convicted in Haitian journalist’s murder
New York, December 14, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Wednesday’s conviction of two men for the December 2001 murder of Haitian journalist Brignol Lindor. The court in the western city of Petit-Goâve sentenced to life in prison Jean Rémy Démosthène and Joubert Saint Juste, members of the local political organization “Domi Nan Bwa,” which…
Kurdish parliament approves restrictive press bill
New York, December 13, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about a restrictive new press bill approved on Tuesday by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG’s) parliament. The bill, which awaits approval of the KRG President Masoud Barzani before becoming law, has yet to be made public; however Tuesday’s parliamentary session was broadcast live…
French journalist released in Vietnam
New York, December 13, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from detention on Wednesday of French journalist Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, who was arrested on November 17 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, along with a group of three political activists associated with the pro-democracy Viet Tan Party. Thanh Van, a journalist for…
Lebanese editor’s murder remains unsolved
New York, December 12, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that two years after the Beirut assassination of a prominent Lebanese editor, the perpetrators remain at large. On December 12, 2005, Gebran Tueni, managing director and columnist for the leading daily Al-Nahar, was killed by a bomb that targeted his armored vehicle in East…
Reuters photographer, driver killed in Baghdad
New York, July 12, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the deaths today of a Reuters photographer and driver, who were killed in eastern Baghdad during what witnesses described as a U.S. helicopter attack. Photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and driver and camera assistant Saeed Chmagh, 40, were killed by a U.S. strike that claimed the…
Lebanese editor’s murder remains unsolved
New York, December 12, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that two years after the Beirut assassination of a prominent Lebanese editor, the perpetrators remain at large. On December 12, 2005, Gebran Tueni, managing director and columnist for the leading daily Al-Nahar, was killed by a bomb that targeted his armored vehicle in East…
Reporter killed in central Mexico
New York, December 10, 2007–Mexican reporter Gerardo Israel García Pimentel was assassinated on Saturday as he was entering the hotel where he lived in Uruapan, the second largest city in the central state of Michoacán. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating possible links between García’s death and his work as a journalist.