Journalist stabbed by unknown assailant
NEW YORK, September 4, 2007 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the recent violent attack against journalist Joel Abilay, a radio reporter for Radio GMA (RGMA) in Cadiz City of the province of Negros Occidental. According to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and local media reports, Abilay was stabbed…
In China, a jailed Internet writer is mistreated, denied access to family
New York, August 31, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports that imprisoned writer and activist Guo Qizhen has been mistreated in custody, may not be receiving adequate medical attention, and has been denied access to his family. In an interview with CPJ, Guo’s wife, Zhao Changqing, said that she has been…
Sri Lankan journalist, still in jeopardy, says government never offered protection
New York, August 31, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists remains concerned about the safety of Sri Lankan journalist Iqbal Athas, who has come under threat after writing an August 12 article about alleged government misconduct in the procurement of MiG-27 fighter jets from Ukraine. Athas said that he has been harassed and followed by unknown…
Russian police seize computers from Novaya Gazeta bureau
New York, August 31, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that police in the Volga River city of Nizhny Novgorod raided the local bureau of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta on Thursday, seizing all of the office’s computers. “This raid on Novaya Gazeta is yet another installment in the unending saga of…
In Niger, government bans live broadcasts on Tuareg rebellion
New York, August 30, 2007—Niger’s state-run High Council on Communications has banned the broadcast of live debates on an armed rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in the north of the uranium-rich West African nation, according to local journalists. Attacks by Tuareg fighters have killed at least 45 soldiers since February, according to Reuters. The ruling on…
In a benchmark verdict, Russian court convicts 5 in reporter’s murder
New York, August 30, 2007—A court in Russia’s west-central republic of Tatarstan has convicted five members of a criminal gang in the 2000 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Igor Domnikov, the newspaper reported today. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed this important development, but urged authorities to vigorously prosecute the masterminds of the crime.
Burmese authorities move to restrict news coverage of protests
New York, August 29, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the Burmese government’s restriction of news coverage of recent nationwide protests over an August 15 government decision to end fuel price subsidies. According to the Burma Media Association (BMA), plainclothes police and pro-government groups brandishing crude weapons have threatened, harassed, and physically…
In Russia, four formally charged in Politkovskaya murder as new suspect emerges
New York, August 29, 2007—Four of the 10 suspects detained in the 2006 murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya have been formally charged, a defense lawyer told the independent radio station Ekho Moskvy. A warrant has been issued for the detention of an 11th suspect in the case, a spokeswoman for the Moscow City Court told…
Cameroonian publisher sentenced to jail in absentia
New York, August 28 2007— A court in Cameroon’s northwestern town of Kumbo sentenced in absentia, on August 13, the publisher of a small English-language newspaper to a year in prison, according to the national secretary of the Cameroon Journalists’ Trade Union. The sentence was related to alleged press offenses by the newspaper, which published…
Yemeni editor abducted, severely beaten
New York, August 27, 2007–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the abduction and brutal beating of a Yemeni editor by gunmen in Sana’a today. The local journalists CPJ spoke with suspected the gunmen are part of the government’s security forces. A silver Toyota SUV carrying six gunmen wearing civilian clothing descended upon Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani,…