German student journalists jailed on the eve of G8 summit
New York, July 14, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the arrests on Sunday of Eike Korfhage and Henning Wallerius, photography students at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, and reporters for their campus radio station Hertz 87.9. Korfhage and Wallerius had traveled to St. Petersburg to report on protests surrounding the Group of…
Israeli forces strike Al-Manar TV facilities
New York, July 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Israel to explain its attacks on Al-Manar TV, the satellite news channel affiliated with the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Al-Manar managing director, Ali-Al-Haji, told CPJ that Israeli aircraft fired two missiles today at the station’s headquarters in the southern Beirut suburb of Haret…
China: CPJ condemns two-year prison sentence of journalist Li Yuanlong
New York, July 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the two-year prison sentence handed today to Bijie Ribao newspaper reporter Li Yuanlong for articles he wrote for overseas Web sites. Li was convicted of “inciting subversion of state authority” in a court in southern China’s Guizhou province, according to international news reports.
Pakistan: CPJ calls on authorities for information about missing journalist
New York, July 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the Pakistani province of Sindh to clarify immediately whether they are holding journalist Mehruddin Mari, who has been missing since July 2. CPJ has confirmed that Mari, a correspondent for the Sindhi-language newspaper The Daily Kawish, was taken by police, according to…
As G8 summit nears, CPJ urges examination of Russia’s press record
New York, July 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations to raise concerns about Russia’s press freedom record when they gather in St. Petersburg on Saturday. CPJ is particularly alarmed by Russia’s record of impunity in the murders of a dozen journalists since 2000. In a June…
Appeals court upholds jail term for Turkish-Armenian journalist
New York, July 12, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ruling yesterday by Turkey’s High Court of Appeals to uphold the six-month suspended prison sentence of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. Dink, managing editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, had appealed a conviction last October under Article 301 of the penal code, which…
In Mexico, reporter missing since Saturday
New York, July 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the fate of Mexican journalist Rafael Ortiz Martínez, who has been missing since Saturday morning. CPJ is investigating whether the disappearance is related to his work. Ortiz, a reporter for the Monclova-based daily Zócalo and host of the morning news program “Radio Zócalo”…
Chinese filmmaker, blogger Wu Hao released
New York, July 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s release of blogger and documentary filmmaker Wu Hao, who was detained without charge for more than four months. Authorities had denied him access to a lawyer and withheld information on his whereabouts and the allegations against him. “We’re relieved that Wu Hao has been…
Critical journalist held on spurious drug charge, colleagues say
New York, July 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the detention of a critical journalist in Azerbaijan on what local press freedom activists and opposition journalists call trumped up drug charges. Sakit Zakhidov, a prominent reporter and satirist for the Baku-based daily opposition newspaper Azadlyg, has been held since June 23. Azadlyg…
CPJ condemns murder of freelance journalist
New York, July 10, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Bapuwa Mwamba, a Congolese journalist who worked for several local publications in the capital, Kinshasa. Mwamba was shot by unidentified gunmen who burst into his home July 8. CPJ is investigating whether the murder was linked to Mwamba’s journalistic work.