Successor of Internews Russia suspends activity after police search
New York, April 23, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is very concerned about the effective closure of the Educated Media Foundation in Moscow last week. The foundation, the successor to Internews Russia, has been shut down since last Wednesday, when economic police searched its premises for 11 hours, seized all financial records, and shut down…
In Senegal, ruling party official said to threaten radio staff
New York, April 20, 2007—Critical comments made during a radio call-in program Wednesday led a ruling party politician and his supporters to threaten staffers at a private radio station in the town of Mbacké, 105 miles (168 kilometers) east of the capital Dakar, according to local journalists and media reports. The politician denied making any…
In Sri Lanka, editor of Tamil magazine is killed in his home
New York, April 20, 2007—Subash Chandraboas, editor of the Tamil-language monthly magazine Nilam, was shot and killed in his home near Vavuniya on Monday. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether the killing was related to his work. The Free Media Movement (FMM), a media-rights organization that first reported the death, said it was…
In Azerbaijan, embattled editor jailed for libel and insult
New York, April 20, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s imprisonment in Baku of Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the independent Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language daily Gündalik Azarbaycan. The Yasamal District Court convicted Fatullayev on charges of libeling and insulting Azerbaijanis in an Internet posting that was attributed to the editor. But…
In Rwanda, publication of a letter draws a prison term
New York, April 20, 2007–A court in the capital, Kigali, today sentenced Agnès Nkusi-Uwimana, director of the bi-monthly journal Umurabyo, to a year in prison on charges linked to the publication of a reader’s letter critical of the government, according to local journalists and press freedom group Journaliste en Danger. Nkusi-Uwimana has been jailed since…
Cuban journalist sentenced to prison on ‘dangerousness’ charge
New York, April 19, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the four-year prison sentence handed down on Friday to Cuban independent journalist Oscar Sánchez Madan after a one-day trial on a charge of “social dangerousness.” Cuban authorities arrested Sánchez Madan, reporter for the Miami-based news Web site CubaNet, on Friday morning at his home in…
Despite order, DRC radio station still closed
New York, April 19, 2007—Local authorities have yet to allow a community radio station in central DRC to return to the air despite an order by state regulators that it be allowed to resume broadcasting, according to the press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED) and local journalists. Radio ODL was shuttered by police on…
Philippine journalist killed, another wounded in separate shootings
New York, April 19, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Philippine government to ensure prompt and thorough investigations into two separate shootings this week, one of which took the life of radio reporter Carmelo Palacios. Police have assigned the cases to a special task force that investigates attacks on journalists. “We’re glad that…
In Kazakhstan, reporter disappears after writing critical articles
New York, April 18, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply worried about the fate of investigative reporter Oralgaisha Omarshanova who has been missing since March 30. Colleagues believe Omarshanova’s disappearance is related to her journalism for the Astana-based independent weekly Zakon i Pravosudiye (Law and Justice), whose anti-corruption department she directed, local press reports…
Egyptian blogger ordered detained for 15 days
New York, April 18, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest in Cairo of a blogger who has exposed torture in Egyptian police stations and prisons. Authorities detained Abdel Moneim Mahmoud on Sunday on charges that he belongs to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and that he defamed the government with his reporting.