Venezuelan photographer gunned down near anti-crime protest
New York, April 6, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing on Wednesday of Venezuelan photographer Jorge Aguirre, who was shot as he approached an anti-crime demonstration. CPJ calls on Venezuelan authorities to conduct a prompt investigation and bring the killer to justice.
UK court rules IDF shooting of filmmaker in Gaza was murder
New York, April 5, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today renewed its call for Israel to properly investigate the killing of a British cameraman in the Gaza Strip after a London court found that his shooting by an Israeli officer was murder. James Miller, an award-winning filmmaker, was filming a documentary about Palestinian children caught…
CPJ delivers message to Gambian ambassador on detained journalists
New York, April 6, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed grave concerns about the prolonged, unexplained detention of two Gambian journalists in a letter to that country’s ambassador to the United Nations, Crispin Grey-Johnson. CPJ representatives hand delivered the message to the Gambian mission to the United Nations, and urged Grey-Johnson to convey the…
In Bulgaria, bomb explodes at home of investigative journalist
New York, April 6, 2006—An early morning explosion today rocked the Sofia apartment of Vasil Ivanov, a Nova Television investigative reporter who recently uncovered abuse of inmates in Sofia Central Prison, local and international press reports said. No injuries were reported, but the bomb caused extensive damage.
Iraq: Detained CBS cameraman acquitted of charges
New York, April 5, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the decision today by an Iraqi criminal court to acquit a CBS cameraman held in U.S. custody in Iraq for one year without due process. A three-judge panel from Iraq’s Central Criminal Court dismissed charges against Abdul Ameer Younis Hussein, an Iraqi cameraman working for…
Government blocks reporting on hunger
New York, April 5, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Niger’s attempt to censor coverage of hunger and malnutrition in parts of the West African state. The government withdrew accreditation last week from a BBC television crew after it reported on hunger in the central region of Maradi and has forbidden officials to…
Video’s accusation raises alarm in Colombia
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that a little-known group is seeking to link Colombian journalist Hollman Morris to a leftist guerrilla group. The claim, which Morris dismissed, is contained in a recently circulated video and could endanger the reporter’s life. Two weeks ago, Morris told CPJ, he received a…
Bangladesh: CPJ urges court to dismiss sedition charges against journalist
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bangladeshi authorities to dismiss sedition charges against journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury whose trial begins April 5 in Dhaka’s Additional Metropolitan Session Court. Sedition carries the death penalty. Choudhury, editor of the Bangladesh tabloid weekly Blitz, was originally charged with passport violations after he…
Burma: Two journalists arrested and summarily tried for filming
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest and summary trial of two journalists accused of filming the countryside from a public bus outside Burma’s controversial new capital. Ko Thar Cho, a photojournalist, and Ko Kyaw Thwin, a columnist at the Burmese-language magazine Dhamah Yate, were arrested on March 27 while…
China: Reporter detained after alleging local corruption
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the continuing detention of Hunan-based newspaper reporter Yang Xiaoqing who wrote about corruption in the sale of a state-owned company. Yang’s wife, Gong Jie, told CPJ that he was under threat for months before his arrest in January, and had gone into hiding…