China: Wave of legal action leaves writers and activists behind bars
New York, October 17, 2006—A court in northern China’s Hebei province today sentenced Guo Qizhen to four years in prison on charges of “inciting subversion” for writing essays on U.S.-based Web sites that criticized the Communist Party leadership. Guo is one of a number of critics and human rights activists to be jailed recently. “More…
European court rejects Kholodov case
New York, October 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disappointed that the legal battle to win justice in the case of murdered Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov has come to an end with the decision of the European Court of Human Rights not to pursue the case. Kholodov was killed 12 years ago today. The…
Italian photojournalist, abducted in Afghanistan, still missing
New York, October 16, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the reported abduction of freelance Italian photojournalist Gabriele Torsello on Thursday. The independent Afghan news agency Pajhwok said Torsello was seized by five gunmen on the highway from Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, to neighboring Kandahar province. Pajhwok said the information…
British inquest rules ITN reporter unlawfully killed by U.S. troops
New York, October 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the finding of a British inquest that ITN journalist Terry Lloyd was unlawfully killed by U.S. troops in southern Iraq three years ago. CPJ called on the U.S. military to reopen its own investigation into the shooting. A coroner in Oxford ruled today…
CPJ fears silencing of critical Web site on Chechnya
New York, October 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the closure today of a Russian nongovernmental organization which publishes an online newspaper regarded as one of the few reliable sources of news on Chechnya. The closure comes just six days after the murder in Moscow of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a fierce critic of…
Gunmen murder 11 at TV station in deadliest single attack on Iraqi press
New York, October 12, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed outrage at the cold-blooded execution by masked gunmen of 11 employees of a fledgling satellite TV channel in Baghdad today. Gunmen in at least five vehicles drove up to Al-Shaabiya television in the eastern district of Zayouna around 7 a.m., Reuters reported. They burst into…
Journalist released after nearly five months in detention
New York, October 12, 2006—Gambian authorities released a journalist on Monday after detaining him for nearly five months without charge, according to news reports and local sources. The journalist was arrested in a crackdown on a U.S.-hosted opposition Web site. Malick Mboob, a former copy editor for the pro-government Daily Observer, had been detained at…
One journalist still charged in sedition case
New York, October 12, 2006—An Abuja court on Tuesday dropped sedition charges against Mike Gbenga Aruleba, a presenter at African Independent Television (AIT), but retained similar charges against Rotimi Durojaiye of the Daily Independent newspaper in connection with a story questioning the age and cost of the presidential jet, according to news reports and local…
Two kidnappings reported in Iraq
New York, October 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the kidnappings of an Iraqi journalist on Monday and another last month, both in Baghdad. The new reports come amid a recent rise in kidnappings of journalists, CPJ research shows. According to CPJ sources, unidentified gunmen kidnapped Ali Kareem, editor-in-chief of the…
Journalist held without charge for 3 weeks by Iraqi forces
New York, October 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today demanded that Iraqi authorities release Al-Hayat correspondent Kalshan al-Bayati, who was detained in Tikrit three weeks ago. Al-Bayati has been held without charge since she went to the security forces headquarters in Tikrit on September 18 to retrieve a personal computer confiscated during a raid…