Togo suspends radio station, bans analyst over soccer coverage
New York, January 12, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a government decision on Tuesday to suspend a private radio station for 15 days and ban a foreign journalist from the domestic airwaves indefinitely in response to critical coverage of the Togolese soccer association (FTF). Radio Victoire in the capital, Lomé, remained off the air…
Court extends journalists’ pretrial detention
New York, January 12, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores a Baku court’s decision to extend by two months the pretrial detention of two journalists accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Editor-in-Chief Samir Sadagatoglu and reporter Rafiq Tagi of the independent newspaper Senet were arrested on November 15, after publishing an article that alleged Islam’s…
DRC newspaper suspended, director jailed for defamation
New York, January 11, 2007—The director of a newspaper in the capital, Kinshasa, was jailed today for an 11-month term and his publication suspended for six weeks on a criminal defamation charge, according to the local press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED) and local journalists. Rigobert Kwakala Kash, who also edits the private twice-weekly…
Nigerian SSS raids another newspaper, arrests a top official
New York, January 11, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Nigerian government’s apparent crackdown on critical reporting, as security service agents reporting directly to the president engaged in the second newspaper raid in as many days. State Security Service (SSS) officials were holding Dan Akpovwa, publisher of the private weekly Abuja Inquirer, incommunicado late…
CPJ alarmed by censorship during Bangladesh political crisis
New York, January 11, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by orders from the Bangladeshi Information Ministry that private broadcast outlets suspend news programs and print outlets halt critical news coverage during a state of emergency announced this evening. “It’s essential that at this very sensitive moment Bangladeshi citizens have unfettered access to information,”…
In Bolivia, 11 journalists attacked while covering protests
New York, January 10, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns attacks by protesters and police against at least 11 Bolivian reporters, photographers, and camera operators covering Monday’s violent demonstrators in the central city of Cochabamba. Thousands of demonstrators-including members of the ruling leftist party Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), labor unions, and indigenous groups-took to the…
Nigeria’s SSS grills journalists over story critical of ruling party
New York, January 10, 2007—An article raising critical questions about Nigeria’s ruling party led state security agents to raid the offices of an Abuja daily, seize documents, and detain the story’s author, a newspaper executive told the Committee to Protect Journalists today. State Security Service (SSS) officials were still holding reporter Danladi Ndayebo, a reporter…
Iranian journalist languishes in jail without charge
New York, January 9, 2007-The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports that an Iranian journalist has been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison for more than 40 days without charge. Ali Farahbakhsh, a former economics and foreign affairs reporter for the banned reformist dailies Yas-e No and Shargh, was detained by security officers…
CPJ welcomes release of abducted AFP reporter
New York, January 8, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release in Gaza Sunday night of Agence France-Presse photographer Jaime Razuri, who had been held by kidnappers since January 1. Razuri, 50, was dropped off at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ compound in Gaza City by Palestinian security forces, according to AFP. Razuri was unharmed…