New York, May 2, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the recent arrests and criminal prosecutions for defamation of three journalists with the independent Kurdish weekly Hawlati in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region. On Tuesday, a criminal court in the city of Sulaymaniyah sentenced Twana Osman, editor-in-chief of Hawlati, and Asos Hardi, the paper’s…
New York, May 2, 2006—The trial of journalist Yang Xiaoqing has been set for May 10 in the county court of Longhui, in south central China’s Hunan province, the same county where Yang’s reporting exposed alleged graft among local officials, his wife and lawyer told CPJ today. “It is ludicrous to think that Yang Xiaoqing…
New York, May 2, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s attack on the Tamil-language daily Uthayan. Editor N. Vithayatharan confirmed to CPJ that five masked gunmen killed two employees and wounded at least two others, one seriously, when they sprayed the paper’s office with automatic weapons fire in Jaffna. CPJ calls on the government…
New York, May 2, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the detention of an opposition newspaper editor for criticizing the president of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan. Viktor Shmakov, editor-in-chief of Provintsialniye Vesti (Provincial News), was arrested April 28 by Federal Security Service (FSB) agents in Ufa, the capital of the semi-autonomous republic,…
New York, October 5, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Sudanese security forces have held Abu Obeida Abdallah, a reporter for the pro-government daily Al-Ra’y Al-Aam, incommunicado and without charge since Friday. “No evidence has been disclosed to suggest Abu Obeida Abdallah has committed a crime,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said.…
New York, May 1, 2006—The publisher of Cameroon’s English-language tabloid The Chronicle was beaten unconscious by the bodyguard and the driver of an opposition leader, local journalists told the Committee to Protect Journalists today. Eric Motomu, who also edits the paper, told CPJ he was attacked on Friday at a rally in the opposition stronghold…
New York, May 1, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed at the arrest on Friday of Tchanguis Vatankah, founder of an independent radio station and president of the Chadian Union of Private Radios. Police took Vatankah from his home in the capital, N’Djamena, but did not show any arrest warrant, according to Evariste Toldé,…
New York, May 1, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the criminal charges brought against two Danish reporters accused of leaking state secrets by publishing intelligence reports that questioned the existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Danish journalists say it is the first time that reporters have been indicted in their country…
New York, April 28, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the approval of two measures by the Mexico City Legislative Assembly—one decriminalizing defamation, libel and slander, and the other enabling journalists to withhold the identity of confidential sources. “We’re gratified that the Mexico City assembly has adopted these measures, which represent important milestones in the…
New York, April 28, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Yemeni journalists continue to be assaulted and harassed, while authorities have shown no sign that they are bringing the perpetrators to justice. Jamal Amer, editor of the weekly newspaper Al-Wasat, has been subjected to ongoing intimidation and harassment. On April 10, a…