Police summon editor of country’s largest newspaper
New York, March 16, 2005—Police delivered a letter today to Narayan Wagle, editor of Kantipur, Nepal’s largest daily, ordering him to present himself at the criminal investigation branch of the Kathmandu police office tomorrow morning. Wagle told CPJ that he has been asked for “clarification” of news published earlier in the week. “The harassment of…
Authorities intensify persecution of independent newspaper
New York, March 16, 2005—Russian authorities in Chechnya and the Volga River city of Nizhny Novgorod are escalating their campaign of harassment and intimidation against Pravo-Zashchita (Rights Defense), a monthly newspaper that covers human rights abuses in Chechnya, according to local press reports. The newspaper is published by the nongovernmental organization Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS)…
Supreme Court upholds acquittal in Kholodov murder case
New York, March 16, 2005—In a major setback in the decade-long quest to bring the killers of slain Russian journalist Dimitry Kholodov to justice, the Military Collegium of Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld a June 2004 acquittal of six military officers accused of murdering Kholodov. Kholodov, a reporter for the Moscow-based independent newspaper Moskovsky…
Two journalists arrested after writing about president’s fear of ghosts
New York, March 15, 2005—Two well-respected journalists were arrested today by police at their homes in the commercial capital of Blantyre, in southern Malawi, after reporting that the president feared ghosts may haunt the presidential palace. They are currently being detained at police headquarters in the capital, Lilongwe. According to international news reports and local…
Provincial editor shot, seriously injured
New York, March 15, 2005—Unidentified gunmen today shot and seriously injured a newspaper editor at his office in Dharan, 540 kilometers (335 miles) east of the capital, Kathmandu. Khagendra Shrestha, who edits the local Dharan Today newspaper, was shot twice in the head, according to local and international news reports. Shrestha was brought to B.P.…
Three journalists receive death threats
New York, March 14, 2005—Three journalists in the southeastern city of Chittagong received letters containing death threats from a group identifying itself as the student wing of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami Party. Journalists Sumi Khan, Samaresh Baidya, and Jubayer Siddiqui each received similar letters within three days of one another, Baidya told CPJ. “Threats against journalists…
Cameraman killed
New York, March 14, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating today’s murder of an Iraqi cameraman in Mosul who was working for a Kurdish television station. According to several international press reports, gunmen shot and killed Hussam Hilal Sarsam, listed in some reports Hussam Habib. The reports stated that the journalist was kidnapped before…
CPJ mourns death of Tunisian cyber-dissident Zouhair Yahyaoui
New York, March 14, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalist mourns the death of cyber-dissident Zouhair Yahyaoui, who died of a heart attack on Sunday, March 13. Yahyaoui, founder of the Internet forum TUNeZINE, spent 18 months in prison in retaliation for his criticism of Tunisian President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. He was released in November…
Supreme Court upholds repressive media law in Daily News case
New York, March 14, 2005—Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court today upheld a widely criticized law requiring all independent journalists and media organizations to register with a government commission, but ruled that the Media and Information Commission (MIC) must reconsider a 2003 decision to deny registration to the banned Daily News and its sister paper, the Daily News…
Cameraman killed
New York, March 14, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating today’s murder of an Iraqi cameraman in Mosul who was working for a Kurdish television station. According to several international press reports, gunmen shot and killed Hussam Hilal Sarsam, listed in some reports Hussam Habib. The reports stated that the journalist was kidnapped before…