Journalist abducted and TV tower attacked
New York, May 18, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the safety of reporter Som Sharma, who was abducted from his residence in the eastern district of Ilam late last week. The abduction is one of several serious attacks on the press in recent days by both Maoist rebels and the government.…
Journalist gets 18 months detention on defamation charge
New York, May 17, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the criminal defamation conviction of Brazilian sports commentator Jorge Kajuru, who will soon begin serving 18 months of overnight detention. Kajuru, whose real name is Jorge Reis da Costa, has been ordered to stay at a prison dormitory in Goiânia, capital of central Goiás state,…
Imprisoned journalist Jiang Weiping in ill health
New York, May 17, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled by the recent deterioration in the health care and prison conditions provided to Jiang Weiping, an investigative journalist now serving his fifth year in jail. Prison authorities have barred Jiang from making phone calls during recent months and have denied him permission to read…
Two journalists and their driver killed
New York, May 17, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating the circumstances surrounding the murder of two Iraqi journalists on Sunday on a road in Latifiyah, a town about 25 miles south of Baghdad. Agence France-Press identified the journalists as Ahmed Adam and Najem Abed Khudair, who worked for the private Iraqi newspaper Al-Mada.…
The Independent forced to stop publishing
New York, May 16, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the biweekly newspaper The Independent, which lost its printing press in an unsolved arson in April 2004, has been forced to stopped publishing entirely after its printing arrangement with the private Daily Observer was abruptly terminated. The Independent has not published since…
Amid unrest, Uzbek authorities continue obstructing journalists
New York, May 16, 2005—Uzbek authorities maintained a virtual blockade today on news coverage of civil unrest in the northeastern city of Andijan, expelling journalists from the town and obstructing foreign television news broadcasts. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the moves and called on President Islam Karimov to end the obstruction and harassment of…
Al-Jazeera crew detained while covering judges’ meeting in Cairo
New York, May 13, 2005—Authorities in Cairo today detained six Al-Jazeera employees and two freelance technicians covering a national gathering of judges, a station editor told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Hussein Abdel Ghani, Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief in Cairo, said four Al-Jazeera staffers and the two technicians were preparing for a live transmission outside the…
Officials block news outlets amid massive protests
New York, May 13, 2005—Uzbek authorities shuttered several foreign and domestic media outlets today during massive anti-government protests in the northeastern city of Andijan, leaving citizens without access to independent news about the unrest, according to local and international press reports. Authorities blocked access to the foreign television channels CNN, BBC, and Moscow-based NTV at…
Judge orders book seizure
New York, May 12, 2005 – The Committee to Protect Journalists protests the recent decision of a Brazilian district judge to seize all copies of a nonfiction book by journalist and author Fernando Morais. On May 4, Judge Jeová Sardinha de Morais, of the 7th Civil District of Goiânia, the capital of the central state…
CPJ calls on U.S., Iraqi authorities to explain journalist detentions
New York, May 12, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed deep concern about the detentions of at least eight Iraqi journalists by U.S. and Iraqi military forces. CPJ called on U.S. and Iraqi officials to publicly explain the basis for the journalists’ continued detention. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Boylan told CPJ that…