Two other journalists freed after weeks in prison
New York, April 11, 2006–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about newspaper publisher Patrice Booto, who has been in jail in the capital, Kinshasa, since November 2, 2005. Booto recently told a representative of Journaliste en Danger (JED), a Kinshasa-based press freedom organization, that he was suffering from several health problems and had…
Third journalist from leading newspaper arrested
New York, April 12, 2006—A third journalist from The Independent, a leading Gambian newspaper, was arrested at his home this afternoon, according to his colleagues. Reporter Lamin Fatty’s arrest follows that of Editor Musa Saidykhan and General Manager Madi Ceesay, who have been detained without charge since March 28. Fatty was the author of a…
Pakistan: CPJ calls on Pakistani and U.S. authorities to reveal all information about missing journalist
New York, April 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on U.S. and Pakistani authorities to reveal all information they have on abducted Pakistani journalist Hayatullah Khan after his brother claimed he was being held by the United States. Khan was seized by unidentified gunmen in the lawless North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan…
Russian reporters death prompts questions among family, colleagues
New York, April 11, 2006—Family and colleagues of Russian journalist Vagif Kochetkov, a 31-year-old who died in January from injuries suffered in an attack the month before, are raising questions about the motive for the assault and local prosecutors’ conclusion that it stemmed from a robbery, according to local press reports. Kochetkov, who died on…
Iraq: Reuters inquiry finds U.S. shooting death of journalist “unlawful”
New York, April 10, 2006—Reuters news agency said today that an inquiry it commissioned into the shooting of one of its journalists by U.S. troops in Iraq found that the killing was “unlawful” and a violation of U.S. military rules of engagement. The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern at the findings. Reuters said the…
Nepal: Security forces target journalists covering crackdown
New York, April 10, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the use of force against journalists covering pro-democracy demonstrations across Nepal in which at least three people have died. Police in Kathmandu today beat four journalists affiliated with the independent news group Kantipur in what news editor Guna Raj Luitel said was retribution for critical…
Editor beaten in Kyiv
New York, April 10, 2006—Unidentified men beat Vladimir Katsman, the editor-in-chief of the Stolichniye Novosti (Capital News) publishing house, as he returned home in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 8, local and international press reported. “I definitely believe the attack was linked to my work,” Katsman told the online newspaper Gazeta Po-Kyivsky from his…
Acquitted after year-long detention, CBS cameraman released
New York, April 7, 2006—An Iraqi cameraman held for more than a year by U.S. forces in Iraq without due process was released on Thursday, CBS News has confirmed. Abdul Ameer Younis Hussein, who was working for CBS, was freed a day after an Iraqi criminal court, citing a lack of evidence, acquitted him of…
Saudi journalist detained for writings
New York, April 7, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the ongoing detention of a Saudi journalist who has been held for five days in retaliation for his writings about religious extremism. Rabah al-Quwai’, who writes for the Saudi dailies Okaz and Shams and contributes to the Saudi-run Web sites Dar al-Nadwa…
CPJ concerned by reports of mistreatment of jailed journalists
New York, April 6, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports that one jailed independent Cuban journalist has been beaten, a second has been denied medical treatment in prison, and a third has been threatened with detention for her writing. On March 28, independent journalist Normando Hernández González was thrown down a flight…