Russian journalists released from jail after being arrested at rally
New York, May 2, 2005—A Belarusian court granted early release Saturday to two Russian journalists arrested last week while covering an opposition demonstration in the capital, Minsk, that marked the anniversary of the April 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The journalists were freed along with 12 Russians who participated in the rally, according to local and…
Journalist ordered not to receive UNESCO press freedom award
New York, May 2, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned Chinese authorities’ refusal to allow journalist Cheng Yizhong to receive a United Nations press freedom award on Tuesday. Cheng, who was imprisoned for five months in 2004 after his aggressive investigative journalism angered local officials, was ordered not to attend a ceremony honoring him…
CPJ condemns 10-year sentence of journalist
New York, May 2, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists today denounced the unfair trial and harsh sentencing of journalist Shi Tao, who was convicted of “illegally providing state secrets to foreigners” in a closed trial in the Intermediate People’s Court of Changsha in central China’s Hunan Province. Shi was sentenced on Saturday to 10 years…
Baghdad shooting highlights checkpoint shortcomings
New York, May 2, 2005—A March 4 shooting in Baghdad in which U.S. forces killed Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari and wounded Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena and agent Andrea Carpani might have been avoided if the military had used basic warning measures such as signs and speed bumps to alert civilians to the presence of…
CPJ condemns murder of veteran Tamil journalist
New York, April 29, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the brutal killing of leading Tamil journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram, who was abducted yesterday and found dead this morning near the capital, Colombo, from gunshot wounds to the head. Four unidentified men forced Sivaram into a jeep at 10:30 last night as he left a restaurant…
Two Russian journalists jailed after opposition rally
New York, April 27, 2005—A court in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, handed brief jail sentences today to two Russian journalists arrested while covering an opposition rally, according to local and international press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was alarmed by the action and called for the release of the two reporters. The…
American photographer detained
New York, April 27, 2005— Sudanese security forces in Darfur, Sudan, detained an American freelance photographer yesterday as he photographed a refugee camp. Hartford-based Brad Clift is under house arrest at a United States Agency for International Development office building after being detained in Nyala in the Darfur region of Sudan, the daily Hartford Courant…
CPJ Statment on Iraq Shooting
New York, April 26, 2005–The Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement today in response to press reports that a U.S.-led inquiry has cleared U.S. troops of wrongdoing in a March 4 shooting in which Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari was killed and Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena wounded. Italian officials have disputed the findings,…
Internet writer tried on anti-state charges
New York, April 26, 2005 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of Zheng Yichun, who was tried today in Yingkou Intermediate Court on charges of inciting subversion. Zheng, a prolific Internet writer and poet, has been imprisoned since December 3 after writing articles critical of the Communist Party and Chinese…
CPJ condemns publisher’s arrest
New York, April 26, 2005 —The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s arrest of Dwarika Uprety, publisher of the weekly Roadmap. Plainclothes security officers detained Uprety while he was walking to work this morning in the Putalisadak district of Kathmandu, according to the Kantipur news Web site. The editor of Roadmap, Kamal Koirala, said in…