olumnist gunned down
New York, March 28, 2005—In a brazen attack last Thursday, a gunman walked into columnist Marlene Garcia-Esperat’s house in the city of Tacurong, and shot her in front of her family. Garcia-Esperat died instantly from the single bullet wound to her head, police told reporters. The gunman and his accomplice escaped from the scene on…
President flees amid unrest, fraud, censorship
New York, March 25, 2005—At least one Kyrgyz journalist was hospitalized with injuries and another arrested as police tried to break up the escalating unrest that prompted President Askar Akayev to flee the country this week. The demonstrations, which toppled yet another authoritarian regime in Central Asia, came amid widespread anger over fraud-marred parliamentary elections—and…
Foreign Ministry accuses Swedish media of fomenting violence
New York, March 24, 2005—The Russian Foreign Ministry has strongly criticized Swedish authorities and media for independent news reporting on the conflict in Chechnya, claiming the information was fomenting violence, according to local and international press reports. The Russian embassy in Stockholm criticized the independent Swedish news agency TT on Wednesday for publishing an interview…
CPJ condemns use of broad antistate’ charges
New York, March 24, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged at the Chinese government’s repeated prosecution of Internet essayists on “antistate” charges. Political essayist Zhang Lin was formally arrested on suspicion of inciting subversion for his online writings, his wife told CPJ this week. Chinese state media also reported recently that Internet journalist Zheng…
Court reduces financial penalty against independent daily
New York, March 24, 2005—An appeals court yesterday reduced the massive damages levied against the independent Moscow daily Kommersant in what a newspaper lawyer called a “tactical victory” in its ongoing legal battle over its reporting on last summer’s banking crisis. Moscow’s Federal Arbitration Court upheld the finding of liability but reduced the damages to…
President pardons jailed editor
New York, March 23, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s presidential pardon of a Yemeni editor who was jailed for nearly seven months for publishing opinion articles that strongly criticized the government. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh pardoned Abdelkarim al-Khawiani, editor of the opposition weekly Al-Shoura, a spokesman for Yemen’s embassy in Washington, D.C.,…
Pentagon won’t reopen inquiry into Reuters’ abuse allegations
New York, March 22, 2005—The Pentagon will not reopen a military investigation that cleared U.S. troops of allegations that they abused three Reuters employees in Fallujah in January 2004, the news agency said today. Lawrence Di Rita, special assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, said in a letter to Reuters dated March 7 that the…
Editor’s conviction upheld, sentence toughened
New York, March 22, 2005—A Rwandan appeals court today stiffened the sentence against a newspaper editor as it upheld his conviction on charges that he defamed the deputy speaker of parliament in a 2004 article. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the ruling, saying it reflected the ongoing harassment of editors and reporters for Umuseso,…
Court upholds sentence against imprisoned journalist
New York, March 22, 2005—An appeals court in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, today upheld a one-year prison sentence imposed on the editor of an opposition weekly that published opinion pieces harshly critical of the government’s fight against a rebel cleric. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the ruling and called for the editor’s release. Abdelkarim al-Khaiwani,…
After outcry, president pardons imprisoned opposition editor
New York, March 21, 2005—Facing international pressure, President Ilham Aliyev pardoned the imprisoned editor of an opposition newspaper yesterday as part of a decree ordering the release of dozens of political prisoners, according to local and international press reports. Rauf Arifoglu, editor-in-chief of Yeni Musavat, had been jailed for 17 months after his arrest during…