In Afghanistan, new demands for abducted journalist after driver was killed
NEW YORK, March 16, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a report that kidnappers of La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo have killed his Afghan driver and made additional demands for his release. According to the Pajhwok Afghan News agency, the country’s largest independent wire service, Mastrogiacomo’s driver Sayed Agha was killed for “spying…
Exiled Burmese journalist arrives in United States
New York, March 16, 2007—Fleeing death threats, Burmese journalist Maung Maung Kyaw Win, 58, and his family arrived this week in the United States with assistance from the Committee to Protect Journalists and other colleagues. “Even though I am really happy to be here, the media is still being held hostage and the military junta…
Pakistani police raid Geo TV; president later apologizes
New York, March 16, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Pakistani government to appoint an independent judicial commission to investigate and report on today’s outrageous assault by uniformed police on the offices of Geo TV and the Daily Jang in Islamabad. Riot police used tear gas and batons as they swept through the…
On 4th anniversary of Iraq conflict, press marks deadliest toll
New York, March 15, 2007—Four years after the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, Iraq remains the deadliest country in the world for the press as local journalists continue to suffer disproportionately from the violence, research by the Committee to Protect Journalists shows. A total of 97 journalists and 37 media support staffers have been…
In Senegal, journalists given suspended prison term and heavy fine
New York, March 15, 2007— A court in the capital Dakar has sentenced two journalists to suspended prison terms and heavy damages on criminal defamation charges related to a June 2006 story on a consumer complaint against a car dealership, according to local journalists and news reports. Director Jean Meïssa Diop and reporter Faydy Dramé…
In Afghanistan, journalist pleads for Italian authorities to meet his kidnappers’ demands
New York, March 15, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists called for the immediate release of abducted La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo, as his recorded appeals to authorities to meet the kidnappers’ demands were released today. The Pajhwok Afghan News agency in Kabul, the country’s largest independent wire service, received an audio tape of Mastrogiacomo saying…
In Somalia, reporter held incommunicado since Friday
New York, March 14, 2007—A reporter for a leading broadcaster in the capital Mogadishu, has been jailed incommunicado since Friday by Somalia’s Ethiopian-backed transitional government while reporting on a story, local journalists told CPJ. Hassan Sade Dhaqane of private HornAfrik radio, the country’s first independent broadcaster, was arrested by three security agents while reporting on…
In Moscow, Klebnikov murder trial delayed as defendant goes missing
New York, March 14, 2007—The Moscow City Court postponed the start of the second jury trial of two men in the July 2004 slaying of Forbes Russia Editor Paul Klebnikov after one of the defendants went missing, according to local and international press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities to locate defendant…
Local authorities close critical newspaper
New York, March 14, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the closure of independent weekly Dzerzhinets in the central Ukrainian city of Dneprodzerzhynsk and the harassment of its editor-in-chief. Dzerzhinets was closed on January 30, after the Zavodskoi civil district court convicted the paper of defamation and incitement of religious and national hatred.…
CPJ renews calls for release of BBC correspondent in Gaza
New York, March 13, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists today renewed its call for the release of abducted BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston amid reports that the Hamas-led Palestinian government had identified his abductors and expected him to be freed soon. During a meeting in Gaza City, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya told BBC representatives…