DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: New York, August 8, 2008—Unidentified individuals shot and killed Dominican journalist Normando García Thursday evening in the city of Santiago, 102 miles (163 kilometers) north of the capital, Santo Domingo. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether García’s murder is linked to his journalistic work. At around 6:40 p.m., García, a cameraman…
Hong Kong, August 8, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Dhondup Gonsar, an American citizen of Tibetan ethnicity who works for the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia (RFA), has not yet received press accreditation from Olympic organizers that would allow him to enter China to cover the Olympic Games, which begin…
New York, August 7, 2008—Motorcycle-riding gunmen killed radio commentator Martin Roxas today in the second brutal shooting of a broadcaster in the Philippines this week, according to local and international news reports. Two men shot Roxas in the back as he drove his motorcycle from DYVR station in Roxas City, on the country’s central Panay…
New York, August 7, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the decision of regional authorities in Dagestan to open a criminal case against Nadira Isayeva, editor-in-chief of an independent weekly, after the newspaper quoted a former guerilla leader in an article. According to news Web site Lenta, regional prosecutors in Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala,…
New York, August 7, 2008–The editor-in-chief of independent news Web site Ingushetiya has fled Russia and is seeking asylum in Europe, daily The Moscow Times reported today. Ingushetiya’s lawyer, Kaloy Akhilgov, told CPJ that Roza Malsagova left Russia two weeks ago being harassed, threatened, and beaten by Ingush authorities. She also faces criminal prosecution. Earlier…
THAILAND: New York, August 6, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thailand’s government to launch an independent investigation into the recent shooting death of Athiwat Chaiyanurat, a reporter with the Thai-language daily newspaper Matichon and a stringer for the army-owned Channel 7 television station. A local press freedom group said he had been threatened…
Hong Kong, August 6, 2008—Reporters covering the aftermath of Monday’s attack on a border police outpost in Kashgar have been detained, beaten, and harassed, according to international news reports. Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported today that police in Kashgar dragged Masami Kawakita, a photographer from the Chunichi Shimbun newspaper’s Tokyo headquarters, and Shinji Katsuta, a…
New York, August 5, 2008—Gunmen shot and critically wounded radio journalist Dennis Cuesta in the southern Philippines late Monday, according to news reports. Police told international reporters the shooting may be related to Cuesta’s aggressive broadcasts on crime and social issues. Two gunmen traveling by motorcycle fired several shots at Cuesta, a program director and…