In Pakistan, a media group cries foul over government advertising
CPJ’s Bob Dietz discusses the situation in Pakistan. (mp3). New York, March 27, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about a deteriorating media environment in Pakistan that includes both business retaliation and outright attacks on media companies.
In Uzbekistan, Deutsche Welle reporter faces criminal charges
New York, March 27, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the filing of criminal charges against Natalya Bushuyeva, Tashkent-based correspondent for the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. On Friday, the prosecutor’s office in the Uzbek capital charged Bushuyeva with tax evasion as well as concealing her income and working as a reporter without accreditation, according…
In Bangladesh, reporter jailed for reporting on local mismanagement
New York, March 26, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists called for the immediate release of Daily Star reporter E.A.M. Asaduzzaman Tipu, who was jailed in the northern Bangladesh district of Nilphamari on Wednesday. The correspondent suffered a severe asthma attack two days after being arrested for his reporting on official mismanagement, the Dhaka-based daily reported.…
Somali government shuts down Al-Jazeera bureau
New York, March 23, 2007— The bureau of satellite television Al-Jazeera in the capital Mogadishu was indefinitely shuttered on Thursday following an order from intelligence officials of Somalia’s Ethiopian-backed transitional government, according to news reports. The bureau of the Qatar-based broadcaster was “effectively closed” today after the station received a letter from the transitional government’s…
Zimbabwean government threatens foreign correspondents
New York, March 23, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a government press release issued on Thursday threatening foreign correspondents with unspecified government reprisal in the capital Harare over alleged biased reporting. Prominent correspondents Jan Raath of the The Times of London and Peta Thornycroft of Britain’s Daily Telegraph and US-based broadcaster…
CPJ calls for further investigation into death of Bangladeshi reporter
New York, March 23, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bangladeshi authorities to thoroughly investigate the death of Jamal Uddin, an independent reporter in the southeastern district of Rangamati. Jamal Uddin, 25, went missing on March 5, and his body was found the next day in the outskirts of his hometown Kathaltala, according to…
CPJ renews call for release of Afghan journalist Ajmal Naskhbandi
New York, March 22, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists remains concerned about kidnapped Afghan freelance journalist Ajmal Naskhbandi, who was acting as La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo’s translator when they were abducted by the Taliban on March 5. The two men and their driver Sayed Agha—who was beheaded while the group was held—were seized by…
In Sri Lanka, Tamil journalist released after four-month detention
New York, March 22, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s release of Tamil journalist Parameswaree Maunasámi, who petitioned the Supreme Court that she was being illegally detained after being held for four months without charge. Maunasámi, a reporter for the Sinhala-language weekly Mawbima, was arrested November 24 at her home in the capital Colombo,…
In Somalia, government troops arrest journalist and driver, seize truck
New York, March 21, 2007— Somali government troops today arrested a reporter and a driver of a leading independent broadcaster in the capital Mogadishu as they arrived to cover an official press conference at the city’s airport, according to local journalists and the National Union of Somali Journalists. Shabelle Radio reporter Mohammed Bashir and driver…
Belarusian jailed on spurious charge; ’uncensored swearing’ alleged
New York, March 21, 2007—A judge in the western city of Grodno has sentenced Igor Bantsyr, a reporter for the independent Polish-language magazine Magazyn Polski na Uchodzstwie, to 10 days in prison for “uncensored swearing” in public. Judge Natalya Kozel of the Leninsky district court convicted Bantsyr on Monday after hearing testimony from two police…