Brazilian jury convicts suspected drug lord in Lopes murder
New York, May 25, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s conviction of a suspected drug lord in the brutal 2002 slaying of Brazilian investigative reporter Tim Lopes. A jury in Rio de Janeiro also sentenced the defendant, Elias Pereira da Silva, to 28 and a half years in prison, according to press reports.
Media executive severely beaten
New York, May 25, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Sunday’s assault on Dmitry Suryaninov, general director of the Media-Samara holding company, which owns several news outlets in the Samara region of southern Russia. At least two assailants battered Suryaninov with baseball bats near his home in Samara, the regional capital, according to local and…
Journalists detained, charged with seditious libel
New York, May 25, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the criminal charges brought today against two journalists from the private weekly newspaper Trumpet. Managing editor Sydney Pratt and reporter Dennis Jones were arrested yesterday and were being held at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in the capital, Freetown, where the paper is based. Both…
CPJ calls for charges against Bangladeshi journalist to be dropped
New York, May 24, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Bangladesh to drop sedition charges against Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, the editor and publisher of the now-defunct weekly tabloid Blitz. Choudhury will appear in court tomorrow to apply for an extension of his bail, which he received on April 30 after spending…
Journalists protest in Nepal as further media restrictions are reported
New York, May 24, 2005—Hundreds of journalists took to the streets of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, today in a silent protest of reported government moves to amend the media law to impose further restrictions on the press. The Kathmandu-based dailies Kantipur and Kathmandu Post, citing an unnamed source, reported late last week that officials had moved…
Female television presenter murdered, colleague under threat
New York, May 23, 2005—The former presenter for a popular MTV-style music video program was shot and killed in her home in Kabul last week. Shaima Rezayee, 24, hosted the daily music program “Hop” on the private television channel Tolo TV until March. Police told The Associated Press that Rezayee was killed May 18 by…
Romanian journalists and translator released
New York, May 23, 2005—Three Romanian journalists and their translator were released Sunday after nearly two months of captivity in Iraq. The journalists arrived in Romania today. A group identifying itself as the Muadh ibn Jabal Brigade kidnapped reporter Marie Jeanne Ion and cameraman Sorin Dumitru Miscoci, both of Bucharest-based Prima TV, and reporter Ovidiu…
At safety conference, CPJ issues report on deaths of journalists
Doha, Qatar, May 23, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a report today to an ad hoc group investigating journalist safety issues. The group requested the statement from CPJ as part of its yearlong effort to study the causes and effects of the rising death toll of journalists worldwide. Known as the Committee of Inquiry,…
WHO KILLS JOURNALISTS AND WHY? Report by the Committee to Protect Journalists to the Committee of Inquiry
Doha, Qatar, Monday, May 23, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists has analyzed the deaths of journalists across the world for many years, producing two recent reports that highlight alarming trends in the circumstances, locations, and motives. At least 339 journalists were killed on duty between 1995 and 2004, according to CPJ research compiled in January.…
CPJ disturbed by new FSB harassment of journalist Yuri Bagrov
New York, May 23, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the continued harassment of Yuri Bagrov, a North Caucasus correspondent for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). A Federal Security Service (FSB) agent prevented Bagrov from covering an opposition rally on Friday, then followed him back to his office and…