Court suspends opposition paper for insulting the president
New York, December 22, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists voiced outrage at the censorship of the Kazakh opposition newspaper Zhuma-Taims which has reported on vote rigging and corruption in the government of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The Economic Court in Almaty suspended the paper’s print-run in a December 20 ruling, according to the Kazakh International Bureau…
CPJ welcomes court order to release convicted editor
New York, December 21, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes an appeals court’s ruling today ordering the release of magazine editor Ali Mohaqiq Nasab in the capital, Kabul. The court reduced his sentence from two years to six months, and suspended the remaining three months. Nasab will be released from prison within days, according to…
Ethiopians face antistate charges; VOA staffers among those named
New York, December 21, 2005—Twenty-one Ethiopian journalists and the president of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association were charged today with involvement in an alleged attempt to overthrow the government, according to CPJ sources. Among those charged were five journalists of Ethiopian descent who work in Washington, D.C., for the Voice of America’s Amharic-language service,…
Tamil journalists attacked as unrest escalates
New York, December 21, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about recent attacks on ethnic Tamil journalists amid a spike in violence that threatens a ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels. On Monday, security forces assaulted three Tamil journalists reporting on a student demonstration…
Journalist detained and charged with defamation
New York, December 20, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly protests the detention on Friday of Mexican journalist and human rights activist Lydia Cacho Ribeiro. She was released on bail on Saturday and faces criminal defamation charges. Cacho, a columnist for the Mexico City-based weekly magazines Día Siete and Tentaciones, was arrested around noon while…
Bomb damages office of popular daily newspaper
New York, December 19, 2005—An explosion on Sunday evening damaged the Tirana headquarters of Shekulli, Albania’s most popular independent daily, but staff members escaped injury, according to international press reports. Editor-in-Chief Robert Rakipllari said 15 staff members were working when the bomb exploded outside the newspaper building, The Associated Press reported. No one immediately claimed…
CPJ condemns government ban of critical radio station
New York, December 19, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the local Southeast Maluku government’s order to shut down Radio Gelora Tavlul, a popular station in eastern Indonesia known for its criticism of the local government. Authorities accompanied by police entered the radio station in the remote city of Tual, capital of the Southeast Maluku…
Voice of the People director arrested; three others freed
New York, December 19, 2005—Three staff members of the independent news production company Voice of the People (VOP) were released this morning after three days in jail, but VOP Director John Masuku was detained and could be charged with broadcasting without a license, local sources told the Committee to Protect Journalists. The broadcast charge carries…
Police bar journalists from site of editor’s murder on 1st anniversary
Statement prepared by the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York on December 15, 2005, to be read by Tidiane Sy on behalf of CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper, Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford, and the CPJ board of directors.
CPJ urges Annan to widen murder probe to attacks on 3 journalists
New York, December 16, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists today urged United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to work to broaden a U.N. investigation into the murder of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri to include bomb attacks on three Lebanese journalists. The United Nations Security Council authorized Annan on Thursday to make recommendations for expanding the…