New York, February 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the closure of a newspaper in the Russian city of Volgograd for publishing a cartoon of leading figures of Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Daily Gorodskiye Vesti (City News), which is partly owned by the Volgograd city administration, ran a cartoon on February 9 depicting…
New York, February 16, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Mexican press reports of a plot by Mexican businessmen and state officials to imprison and assault journalist and human rights activist Lydia Cacho Ribeiro. Tapes of telephone conversations between several people, two of whom are said by the media to be the governor…
New York, February 16, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest of seven Iranian journalists over a satirical article and is deeply concerned by an unconfirmed report that one of them has died in jail. Elham Afroutan and six other journalists of the weekly newspaper Tammadon-e Hormozgan were detained in the southern city of…
New York, February 16, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists is troubled by an official decision to remove two prominent editors as a condition to allow the reopening of the China Youth Daily weekly supplement Bing Dian (Freezing Point). Editors Li Datong and Lu Yuegang told international reporters that Bing Dian, which was shuttered in…
New York, February 16, 2006—A bomb threat halted the trial today of two Chechens charged with killing Forbes-Russia Editor Paul Klebnikov. The hearing, which is closed to the public, will resume February 20, local media reported. Bailiffs cleared the Moscow City Court after the threat which police are investigating. The trial of Kazbek Dukuzov and…
New York, February 15, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists voiced concern today about the fate of Paraguayan radio journalist Enrique Galeano, who has been missing since February 4. CPJ is investigating whether his disappearance is related to his journalistic work. Galeano, who hosts a morning news and music show on Radio Azotey, disappeared in Yby…
New York, February 15, 2006—The weekly Le Journal Hebdomadaire has accused Moroccan authorities of orchestrating protests against it for publishing a photograph of a French newspaper showing a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. The Casablanca-based newspaper said in a statement that for two days this week protesters have demonstrated against it and that two state-run…
New York, February 15, 2006—A new judge in the trial of Chechens charged with killing Forbes-Russia Editor Paul Klebnikov rejected a defense appeal today to open the hearing to the public. A spokesman for the Klebnikov family told The Associated Press that the judge at the Moscow City Court ruled the decision to close the…
New York, February 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the arrest of three journalists in Yemen and two in Algeria for publishing controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Their newspapers have all been ordered closed. Mohammed Al-Asadi, editor-in-chief of the Yemen Observer, has been detained by the office of the print and…
Editor’s note: On February 6, CPJ erroneously reported that journalist Ibrahim Manzo had been sentenced to two months in prison in Niger. No verdict has been given yet in the case against Manzo, and he remains in preventive detention in the capital, Niamey. New York, February 14, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the…