In Somalia, broadcasters return to the air a day after being shut down
New York, January 16, 2007—Four private broadcasters returned to the air today, a day after being shut down by Somalia’s U.N.-backed transitional government, according to local journalists and the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). HornAfrik radio and television, Radio Shabelle, Radio IQK (Holy Quran Radio), and Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television resumed broadcasting after a closed-door…
In China, reporter beaten to death at illegal mine
New York, January 16, 2007—Unidentified men at an illegal coal mine in Huiyuan County, Shanxi Province, severely beat reporter Lan Chengzhang on January 9, leading to his death the following day, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating to determine whether Lan’s death was connected to his journalism, and it called…
Thailand’s military junta censors CNN Thaksin interview
New York, January 16, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Thai government’s efforts to block broadcast news coverage of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, including the censoring this week of a CNN interview with the ousted leader. Officials with the military-appointed interim government instructed local cable provider UBC to block the interview, which first…
CPJ, IPYS cite ‘lack of transparency’ in Venezuelan broadcast case
Caracas, Venezuela, January 12, 2007—A joint delegation of the Committee to Protect Journalists and Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS) said today it is alarmed about the lack of transparency in President Hugo Chávez Frias’ decision not to renew the broadcast concession of the privately owned television station RCTV.
Gunmen kill journalist in Mosul
New York, January 12, 2007—Unidentified gunmen killed a journalist today in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Khudr Younis al-Obaidi, a reporter for Al-Diwan newspaper, was shot by several men in a car as he walked along a street, The Associated Press reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating the circumstances of al-Obaidi’s death.…
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,”…