Jailed reporter freed
New York, February 11, 2005—A reporter with the Congolese private daily La Référence Plus jailed on defamation charges has been freed, CPJ has learned. A Kinshasa court granted José Wakadila a provisional release on February 8. He was freed that day after paying bail equivalent to US$200, according to local press freedom group Journaliste en…
Journalists demand inquiry into alleged abuses by security agency
New York, February 10, 2005—Five independent Croatian journalists filed a petition on Monday requesting that the government investigate allegations that the Counter-Intelligence Agency (POA) tried to discredit them after they reported on sensitive war crimes issues, according to local and international press reports. The journalists called for an inquiry after the February 4 edition of…
Journalist in hiding after being attacked
New York, February 10, 2005-The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the recent attack on Mexican journalist Jorge Cardona Villegas, who covers crime in the northern state of Nuevo León. Since the attack, he has gone into hiding. At around 5:50 a.m. on Monday, February 7, Cardona’s house and his car were hit by several rounds…
CPJ protests censorship and threats to private radio stations
New York, February 10, 2005—CPJ is outraged at today’s closure of the private station Radio Lumière, as well as attempts by Togolese authorities to intimidate private broadcasters that have protested the military’s appointment of the late President Gnassingbé Eyadema’s son as leader. Earlier in the week, officials cut FM transmissions of Radio France Internationale (RFI),…
In Port-au-Prince, radio host wounded in drive-by shooting
New York, February 9, 2005—A Haitian radio reporter was wounded in the arm in a drive-by shooting in front of the station’s studios in the capital, Port-au-Prince, on Friday. Raoul Saint-Louis, a reporter with the private station Radio Megastar, has since moved from his home in fear for his life, The Associated Press reported. “We…
Authorities issue warning to newspaper over Chechnya interview
New York, February 9, 2005—Federal authorities in Moscow have issued an official warning to the independent Moscow daily Kommersant for publishing a February 7 interview with Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, according to local and international press reports. The Federal Service for Oversight of Compliance with Media Laws issued the warning Tuesday under the Media…
BBC producer killed outside Mogadishu hotel
New York, February 9, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply saddened by the death of BBC producer Kate Peyton, who was shot today outside her hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Peyton underwent surgery at a local hospital but died later of internal bleeding, according to the BBC. Details were sketchy, but news reports…
Gunmen kill reporter, young son in Basra
New York, February 9, 2005—An Iraqi correspondent for the U.S.-funded television station Al-Hurra and his 3-year-old son were shot dead by unknown gunmen in the city of Basra today, according to Al-Hurra and international press reports. Abdul-Hussein Khazal, 40, and his son were gunned down outside their home around 8 a.m. Iraq time, Al-Hurra said…
Calls for immediate release of jailed editor, protests recent prosecutions
Washington, D.C., February 8, 2005—A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists met with Yemen’s ambassador to the United States, Abdulwahab Abdulla al-Hajjri, today to express deep concern about the imprisonment of a Yemeni opposition newspaper editor and a recent spate of criminal convictions handed down against several other journalists. Abdelkarim al-Khaiwani, editor of the…
Two journalists killed, two others wounded in gun attack
New York, February 7, 2005—Gunmen in Pakistan’s tribal area of South Waziristan fatally shot two journalists today and wounded two others. Amir Nowab, also known as Mir Nawab, a freelance cameraman for Associated Press Television News and a reporter for the Frontier Post newspaper, and Allah Noor, who was working for Peshawar-based Khyber TV, became…