In Iraq, charges dropped against detained media workers
New York, August 7, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Monday’s decision by a criminal court in Baghdad to dismiss the charge of incitement to terror against 11 current and former employees of the independent Iraqi production company Wasan Media. A source at Wasan Media familiar with the case told CPJ that the judge threw…
In DRC, journalist jailed for not airing politician’s interview
New York, August 7, 2007—Intelligence agents in central DRC have jailed a reporter for failing to air an interview with a local politician, according to news reports and local journalists. Manda Mutombo of Radiotélévision Nationale Congolaise was arrested Friday by Congo’s National Intelligence Agency in the diamond-rich city of Kananga, 674 miles (1,085 km) southeast…
Journalist shot and wounded after corruption reports
August 6, 2007—Mexican journalist Alberto Fernández Portilla was shot and wounded early Sunday morning as he arrived at his home in Salina Cruz, a Pacific port city in the southern state of Oaxaca. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Mexican authorities to investigate the attack. Fernández told CPJ that the shooting occurred around 1:50…
Suspect confesses to Oakland editor’s murder
New York, August 6, 2007—CPJ welcomes the swift apprehension of the man who killed Oakland editor Chauncey Bailey. Following a police raid on Friday, a 19-year-old handyman at a local bakery confessed to the murder. Bailey was gunned down in broad daylight as he walked to work on the morning of August 2.
Iranian journalist sentenced to death in closed trial
New York, August 6, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the death sentence handed down in mid-July by a revolutionary court against Adnan Hassanpour, a journalist and former editor for the now-defunct Kurdish-Persian weekly Aso in Iran’s northwestern province of Kurdistan. Iranian Kurdish environmental activist Abdulvahed Butimar was also convicted and sentenced to death. Hassanpour…
Morocco: Government confiscates newsweeklies, charges publisher
New York, August 6, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Moroccan government’s seizure of the editions of two independent newsweeklies over the weekend. Authorities alleged that the magazines disrespected King Mohammed VI and violated public morality. On Saturday, Moroccan police seized copies of the Arabic-language weekly Nichane from newsstands and other locations around…
In Comoros, government targets critical TV station
New York, August 3, 2007—Journalists in Africa’s Comoros islands say they were prevented from traveling to the separatist island of Anjouan to cover Independence Day celebrations Friday. Local reporters say travel agencies refused to sell them airline tickets. Editor Ibrahim Ali Saïd Félix and cameraman Ismael Kassim of Djabal Télévision, a private station based on…
U.S. editor gunned down in Oakland
New York, August 2, 2007—U.S. journalist Chauncey Bailey was shot to death this morning on a street in downtown Oakland. The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm and called on local authorities today to conduct a prompt and vigorous investigation into his murder. Around 7:30 a.m., an unidentified assailant dressed in black clothes approached Bailey,…
In Venezuela, court’s decision allows RCTV to remain on cable
New York, August 2, 2007—Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice issued a stay Wednesday allowing RCTV International and dozens of regional stations to remain on cable temporarily, a ruling that came just hours before a deadline set by the government that could have removed their signals from paid subscription television. The constitutional chamber of the…
Four more Ethiopian journalists sentenced; pardon anticipated
New York, August 2, 2007—Ethiopia’s High Court handed down heavy prison sentences to four journalists jailed in connection with their coverage of deadly post-election unrest in 2005, after the journalists waived their defense and pleaded guilty in anticipation of a pardon, according to local sources. All of them worked for now-defunct Amharic-language weeklies. Editors Dawit…