Philipines: CPJ calls for probe of killing of journalist
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an immediate and full investigation into the shooting death today of part-time newspaper editor and columnist Orlando Tapios Mendoza. Philippine media reports and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said Mendoza was shot several times by unidentified men as he was returning…
Thailand: Police ban edition of political journal after articles on king
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a ban on an edition of Thai-language political quarterly Fah Diew Kan. On March 30, national police chief Gen. Kowit Wattana sent a notice to the journal’s editor Thanapol Eawsakul informing him of a decision to ban further distribution of the publication’s October-December 2005 edition.…
Journalist released after year in jail for anti-constitutional activity
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release by an Uzbek court of journalist Sobirdjon Yakubov who spent one year in jail on subversion charges. A court in the capital Tashkent freed Yakubov, a reporter for the state-run weekly newspaper Hurriyat (Liberty), on Monday for lack of evidence against him, the…
CPJ urges Haiti’s Préval to make Dominique case a priority
New York, April 3, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists remembers Jean-Léopold Dominique, owner and director of Radio Haïti-Inter and one of the country’s most renowned journalists, who was gunned down six years ago today in a still-unpunished assassination. CPJ called on Haiti’s president-elect, René Préval, to make the murder investigation a priority of his administration…
Journalist arrested in case stemming from Chechnya coverage
New York, April 3, 2006—Moscow police have arrested journalist Boris Stomakhin after he failed to appear for a June 2004 trial on criminal charges of inciting inter-ethnic hatred in news reports about the war in Chechnya. Stomakhin edits the independent Moscow monthly newspaper Radikalnaya Politika (Radical Politics) and contributes to the pro-independence Chechnya news Web…
U.S. journalist returns home after interrogations in Dagestan
New York, April 3, 2006—Freelance journalist Kelly McEvers left Russia today after authorities in the southern republic of Dagestan interrogated her in four prolonged sessions, confiscated her possessions, and restricted her movements last week. McEvers flew from Dagestan to Moscow on Sunday evening and departed the Russian capital on a flight to Washington, D.C., this…
Treatment of jailed Tunisian writer draws deep concern
New York, March 31, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by the mistreatment and harassment of imprisoned Tunisian writer and human rights lawyer Muhamed Abbou. Abbou was so weak that he could not stand up during a brief visit with family members on Thursday, his wife, Samia, said in an interview with CPJ.…
Hong Kong complaint targets Yahoo for role in jailed journalist case
New York, March 31, 2006—A Hong Kong legislator and a representative for the family of jailed Chinese journalist Shi Tao filed a privacy complaint Thursday against U.S. Internet giant Yahoo for its role in the imprisonment, according to news reports. The family is also considering legal action against the company in Hong Kong or the…
Thai newspaper menaced by pro-government protestors
Bangkok, March 31, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harassment and intimidation by pro-government protestors of the Thai-language daily newspaper Kom Chad Luek. As many as 3,000 pro-government protestors staged demonstrations beginning Tuesday in front of the newspaper’s offices, demanding that the newspaper’s editors apologize for an article that made what they considered to…
Russian authorities in Dagestan detain, question U.S. journalist
New York, March 31, 2006—Authorities in the southern republic of Dagestan have interrogated U.S. journalist Kelly McEvers in four prolonged sessions this week, confiscated her possessions, and instructed her not to leave the region, she told the Committee to Protect Journalists in a telephone interview today. Police officers first detained McEvers at 4 p.m. Wednesday…