In the Philippines, new anti-terror law threatens journalists
New York, July 18, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists expresses its grave concern about new anti-terrorism legislation recently enacted in the Philippines. A top justice ministry official has said that in certain circumstances it would allow the government to wiretap journalists. While the Human Security Act (HSA) specifically prohibits the surveillance and interception of communications…
Missing radio journalist found 17 months after vanishing
New York, July 16, 2007—A Paraguayan radio reporter resurfaced last week in the Brazilian city of São Paulo, almost a year and a half after he went missing in northern Paraguay. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the news that Enrique Galeano was found alive, and it called on Paraguayan and Brazilian authorities to fully…
In Ethiopia, High Court sentences six journalists to prison, four to life
New York, July 16, 2007—Ethiopia’s High Court today handed down harsh criminal penalties, including life prison sentences, against six journalists and three publishers on anti-state charges in connection with critical coverage of the government during the deadly unrest in the aftermath of disputed parliamentary elections in 2005, according to local journalists.
Warnings issued for U.S. reporters working along Mexican border
New York, July 13, 2007—A San Antonio Express-News reporter has been temporarily reassigned from his posting in the border city of Laredo after a U.S. law enforcement source warned that an unspecified American journalist is on the hit list of a Mexican criminal group, the newspaper’s editor said today. The Association of Foreign Correspondents in…
Government cracks down on coverage of rebel attacks
New York, July 13, 2007—Coverage critical of the government’s handling of deadly attacks by an armed group of nomadic Tuareg rebels in northern Niger has led authorities in the uranium-rich West African nation to close a private newspaper and warn others to censor their reporting, according to news reports and local journalists. The bimonthly Aïr…
17 journalists investigated for publishing intelligence documents
New York, August 7, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about a criminal investigation the German government has launched against 17 journalists. They are accused of publishing information from classified documents related to CIA rendition flights and suspected misconduct by the German secret services in Baghdad during the 2003 U.S. invasion, according to The…
In Nepal, e-mail claims journalist killed during abduction
New York, July 11, 2007—A freelance reporter remained missing in Nepal today, nearly a week after he was abducted from his home in the western district of Kanchanpur, according to international and local news reports. On Monday, a group calling itself the National Republican Army Nepal (NRAN) claimed in an e-mail that it had killed…
In Russia, legislation on ‘extremism’ poses new press freedom threat
New York, July 11, 2007—The upper house of the Russian parliament today approved a package of amendments that would expand the definition of extremism to include public discussion of such activity, and give law enforcement officials broad authority to suspend media outlets that do not comply with the new restrictions. The package, proposed by deputies…
In bid to flee homeland, an Eritrean broadcaster dies
New York, July 10, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the loss of respected Eritrean broadcaster Paulos Kidane who, CPJ sources said, died after attempting to join the dozens of journalists fleeing the government’s absolute control of the country’s media since a massive crackdown on the now-defunct private press.
Troops raid prominent Somali broadcaster four times
New York, July 9, 2007—A prominent broadcaster covering public reaction to a large-scale government security crackdown in the commercial district of the capital, Mogadishu, was raided four times over the weekend by Somali government troops, according to news reports and the National Union of Somali Journalists. In four separate raids since Friday, troops searched the…