Two Bangladeshi TV stations off-air after fatal fire
New York, February 26, 2007—At least three people were killed and more than 100 people were injured today as a fire tore through a Dhaka office building housing private television stations NTV and RTV and Bengali-language newspaper Amar Desh. The cause of the fire was unclear. The two news channels were off the air this…
CPJ condemns Cuba’s decision to ban three foreign correspondents
New York, February 23, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Cuban government’s decision not to renew visas of three Havana-based foreign correspondents. The government’s decision comes at a crucial period in the country’s history, seven months after Fidel Castro’s ill health prompted the Cuban president to temporarily cede power to his brother Raúl. “We…
Russian journalist on trial for defaming local governor in Internet chat room
New York, February 23, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the criminal defamation prosecution of Dmitry Tashlykov, a reporter for the Kovrov-based weekly Vladimirsky Krai, for remarks made in an Internet chat room. Tashlykov was charged with defaming Vladimir regional Governor Nikolai Vinogradov in an Internet chat room in January 2006. His trial…
Unidentified gunmen in Colombia fire shots outside paper’s offices
New York, February 22, 2007—Unidentified gunmen fired shots outside the offices of the Cali-based bimonthly publication La Razón on Tuesday, injuring three people. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether the incident was an attack against the paper’s director, Édgar Buitrago Rico, who had been threatened with death. At 3: 45 p.m. on Tuesday,…
Egyptian blogger jailed for insulting Islam, Mubarak
New York, February 22, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Egyptian court’s verdict sentencing an Egyptian Internet writer to four years in prison for his online criticisms. The case represents the first time that an Egyptian blogger has stood trial and been sentenced for his work. Abdel Karim Suleiman, who goes by the online…
Independent editor jailed in Russia
New York, February 22, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the fate of Vladimir Chugunov, founder and editor of the independent weekly Chugunka, who has been imprisoned since January 21, according to his family and the independent Moscow daily Novaya Gazeta. Chugunov was summoned to police headquarters in Solnechnogorsk, 40 miles (64…
CPJ relieved that missing Pakistani journalist was released
New York, February 21, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is relieved to learn that Daily Express Peshawar Editor Suhail Qalander, who had been missing along with a friend since January 2, has been returned to safety. The Daily Express is Pakistan’s second largest Urdu-language newspaper. Qalander and Niaz Mohammad, a local businessman, had last been…
Russian police search IWPR office in North Caucasus
New York, February 21, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s official harassment of the Vladikavkaz office of the London-based media training and reporting group, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR). Vladikavkaz police searched the local IWPR premises today, confiscating all computers and office documents, Valery Dzutsev, the institute’s Vladikavkaz coordinator, told CPJ.…
Media group journalists in Benin sentenced to prison
New York, February 21, 2007–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns criminal convictions handed down on Friday in Benin against three journalists and an executive of private Golfe media group over a February 2005 story alleging governmental corruption. A court in the capital Cotonou sentenced Golfe media group President Ismael Soumano, former Golfe FM Director Euloge…
In Somalia, broadcasters warned to censor their coverage
New York, February 20, 2007— Somalia’s UN-backed transitional government on Monday said they would censor three private broadcasters over their coverage of deadly unrest in the capital Mogadishu, according to news reports and local journalists. At least 12 people died and thousands fled the city on Monday after fierce artillery exchanges between Ethiopian-backed government troops…