CPJ alarmed by suspension of BBC FM broadcasts
New York, January 20, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm today at Tajikistan’s suspension of the BBC’s FM radio broadcasts. The British broadcaster said it filed a complaint with the Tajik authorities on January 19 protesting the suspension since January 10 of FM programming in the capital Dushanbe and the northern city of Khujand.…
CPJ welcomes calls by leading Muslims for Carroll’s release
New York, January 19, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes calls by prominent Muslims around the world for the release of U.S. reporter Jill Carroll who faces death at the hands of her Iraqi kidnappers. A brief video aired on Tuesday showing the 28-year-old freelancer in captivity has prompted an outpouring of appeals for her…
China: Journalists imprisoned after reporting on land disputes
New York, January 19, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the long jail sentences given to two journalists who reported on rural unrest in China’s southeast province of Zhejiang. Zhu Wanxiang and Wu Zhengyou were convicted of illegal publishing, fraud, and extortion after covering land disputes, and sentenced on January 17. “We are deeply concerned…
China: Journalist tried on charges of spreading false information
New York, January 19, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the prosecution of Chinese journalist Li Changqing, who went on trial today on charges of “deliberately fabricating and spreading false and alarmist information,” defense lawyer Mo Shaoping said. The charges stemmed from a report on an outbreak of dengue fever on banned news Web site…
CPJ condemns government crackdown in Nepal
New York, January 19, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention Thursday in Kathmandu of Shyam Shrestha, editor of the monthly news magazine Mulyankan, in a wave of arrests of opposition activists ahead of a planned pro-democracy rally. The Nepalese authorities arrested scores of activists, cut phone services and ordered a daylight curfew…
Opposition newspapers blocked from printing
New York, January 19, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that Kazakhstan’s biggest printing company, which is run by a relative of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has refused to print seven Almaty-based opposition newspapers. Local press freedom groups said that the company, Dauir, told the editors of the weeklies Svoboda Slova, Epokha, Apta.kz, Soz,…
Moroccan press faces aggressive judicial harassment
New York, January 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a recent series of criminal cases against the Moroccan press, including criminal prosecutions of newspaper editors and the imposition of excessive fines on independent publications. Three journalists face possible imprisonment as a direct result of news or opinions published in their weeklies. Abdelaziz…
In Ivory Coast, youth militia seize state broadcaster
New York, January 18, 2006—Hundreds of members of the radical pro-government Young Patriots militia seized control of the state television and radio broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) today, broadcasting calls for protests against the French and U.N. presence in the country, according to local sources. They were also said to ransack a community radio station…
CPJ protests continued censorhip of Voice of the People
New York, January 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today that Voice of the People (VOP), an independent Zimbabwean news production company, remains inactive after police confiscated its equipment and files in a December raid. Authorities have continued to hold VOP material for more than a month. VOP Director John Masuku appeared in…
CPJ seeks halt to Cambodia’s media crackdown
New York, January 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the politicized prosecution of Cambodian journalists and calls on Prime Minister Hun Sen to drop all criminal defamation charges against Mom Sonando, Kem Sokha, and Pa Guon Tieng. The prime minister ordered the men released on bail Tuesday to coincide with a visit by U.S.…