Al-Arabiya correspondent arrested after news report
New York, January 6, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly protests the arrest of a correspondent for news channel Al-Arabiya in Kuwait yesterday, shortly after the station aired a disputed report of clashes between Kuwaiti government forces and militants. Correspondent Adil Aidan remained in custody today after his arrest by Kuwaiti authorities, according to Al-Arabiya…
CPJ disturbed by ruling that Russian newspaper must pay millions
New York, January 4, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by a Moscow court’s finding that Kommersant, Russia’s leading independent business daily, must pay millions in damages for a July article that described long lines of customers withdrawing money at a major bank. An appellate court ruled last week that Kommersant (Businessman) must pay…
In a year of war, murder still top cause of work deaths for journalists
New York, January 3, 2005—Even in a year of combat casualties brought on by war, murder remained the leading cause of work-related deaths among journalists worldwide in 2004, an analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists has found. Thirty-six of the 56 journalists who died in the line of duty in 2004 were murdered, continuing…
As tragedy deepens, a courageous newspaper staff is mourned
New York, December 30, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply saddened at the loss of media colleagues in the devastating tsunami that has claimed more than 100,000 lives in South Asia. Among the hardest-hit regions was the province of Aceh in Indonesia, where the dead included journalists and media workers who have reported for…
Kidnapped radio journalist freed after three days
New York, December 30, 2004—Peruvian radio journalist Duber Maruiola Labán was released this morning, three days after being kidnapped by a group of peasants who accused him of promoting the interests of a local mining company, local police told the Committee to Protect Journalists. More than 50 members of a peasant group kidnapped Mauriola at…
Provincial radio journalist kidnapped by peasants
New York, December 29, 2004—A stick-wielding group of peasants kidnapped Peruvian radio journalist Duber Mauriola Labán on Monday, accusing him of promoting the interests of a local mining company. Police were trying to rescue the journalist, who was still being held today by kidnappers in a remote village. According to local press reports, more than…
Journalist jailed in defamation case
New York, December 28, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the recent jailing of an Ethiopian journalist who was unable to pay bail in a criminal defamation case. Wosonseged Gebrekidan, former editor-in-chief of the private, Amharic-language weekly Ethiop, has been imprisoned since December 23. Local sources said Gebrekidan was charged with defamation…
CPJ condemns journalist’s prison sentence
New York, December 23, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the conviction and sentencing of Risang Bima Wijaya, former general manager of the Yogyakarta daily Radar Jogja, on criminal defamation charges. A judge in Yogyakarta District Court, in central Java, sentenced Wijaya to nine months in prison on December 22 for publishing libelous articles. The…
Writer faces increasing official harassment, fears imprisonment
New York, December 23, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by Vietnamese authorities’ intensifying harassment of writer Do Nam Hai. The writer, who penned articles critical of the Vietnamese government under the name Phuong Nam, fears that authorities are planning to arrest him, sources close to the journalist told CPJ. “Vietnam’s record of…
French journalists released in Iraq after four months of captivity
New York, December 21, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of two French journalists who had been kidnapped and held hostage in Iraq by an insurgent group for the last four months. Al-Jazeera reported that insurgents turned over the journalists, Christian Chesnot of Radio France Internationale and Georges Malbrunot of the daily Le…