CPJ dismayed by contempt of court ruling in India
New York, September 24, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the New Delhi High Court’s decision last week to sentence four journalists to four months in prison apiece on contempt of court charges stemming from a series of articles and a political cartoon accusing a former chief justice of official misconduct. The journalists…
Press Freedom in Morocco
Press Freedom in Morocco A CPJ event co-hosted by the Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press Washington, September 21, 2007–U.S. congressmen emphasized the need for an open and free press in Morocco at an event hosted today by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Diplomats from the Moroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian embassies were part of…
Crime reporter shot and wounded
New York, September 20, 2007—Brazilian reporter Amaury Ribeiro Jr. was shot on Wednesday afternoon while investigating a story on organized crime in the outskirts of the capital city of Brasília. The journalist is in stable condition. Ribeiro, an investigative crime reporter for the Brasília-based daily Correio Braziliense, was waiting for a source at a bar…
Police fire on Somalia’s Radio Shabelle
New York, September 18, 2007—CPJ condemns the attack by Somali security forces on the Radio Shabelle compound this morning. Forces opened fire on the building with staff inside, forcing the station off the air.According to local journalists, police fired repeatedly from 10 a.m. to noon at the doors and windows at the compound while staff…
Pakistani journalist alleges government abduction
New York, September 18, 2007— An abducted Pakistani journalist alleged that he was kidnapped by government agents a few days ago and released after questioning. Babar Hussain, a reporter for Dawn TV, was grabbed near his home in Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad, by three men in a two-door cream-colored Pajero—a vehicle favored by government…
Authorities crack down on business news Web site
New York, September 17, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the ongoing Vietnamese government harassment of Peter Leech, the owner and publisher of the popular business news Web site Intellasia. On September 12 Vietnam’s political police unit, known as PA25, and the Culture Ministry ordered the Australia-registered and Hanoi-based news service…
Somalia’s Shabelle radio network raided; 19 staffers detained
New York, September 17, 2007—Members of the Somali Transitional National Government security forces raided the Radio Shabelle office in the capital, Mogadishu, Saturday morning and detained 19 staff members. The security forces accused the journalists of throwing a grenade at a police patrol, reported one of the detained staffers.
Pakistani journalist alleges government abduction
New York, September 18, 2007— An abducted Pakistani journalist alleged that he was kidnapped by government agents a few days ago and released after questioning. Babar Hussain, a reporter for Dawn TV, was grabbed near his home in Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad, by three men in a two-door cream-colored Pajero—a vehicle favored by government…
Somali government detains Mogadishu reporter covering security sweep
New York, September 14, 2007—Police have detained a journalist who was reporting on a security operation undertaken by Somalia’s Ethiopian-backed government in the capital, Mogadishu, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists and local news reports. Mohamed Hussein Jimaale, a correspondent of the Puntland-based news Web site Puntlandpost, was among some 70 people…
Authorities block journalists’ telephone services
New York, September 14, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports that several Burmese journalists have recently had their telephone services cut by government authorities. According to the Burma Media Association and Burmese exile-run news sources, a number of reporters have recently experienced either permanent or recurring cuts of their cell phone…