A journalist is freed as more than 20 remain jailed
New York, December 7, 2004—The man who headed an independent Havana news agency has been freed after more than 20 months behind bars, becoming the sixth Cuban journalist to be released in recent months. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Cuban officials to immediately release the 23 journalists still jailed after the government’s massive…
Journalist bludgeoned to death
New York, December 2, 2004—The body of a young reporter was found Saturday in a garbage bin on the outskirts of Tabuk in remote Kalinga Province, the latest slaying in one of the deadliest years on record for Filipino journalists. Police believe that Stephen Omaois, 24, was bludgeoned to death, according to international news reports.…
Photographer gunned down in Sinaloa
New York, December 1, 2004—A newspaper photographer was gunned down Sunday in front of his family in a cafeteria in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, home to some of Mexico’s top drug traffickers. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating the slaying to determine whether it was connected to his journalistic work.
One journalist released, 42 still behind bars
New York, November 30, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the November 27 release of dissident journalist Liu Jingsheng, imprisoned since 1992 for “spreading counterrevolutionary propaganda.” But with 42 journalists still behind bars—including four imprisoned in 2004 alone—China remains the world’s leading jailer of journalists. CPJ called on the Chinese government to reverse its long…
Rivero released on medical parole
New York, November 30, 2004—Cuban writer Raúl Rivero was released from a Havana prison today, the second imprisoned journalist to be granted medical parole in as many days. Twenty-five other journalists swept up in a March 2003 government crackdown on the independent press remain behind bars. Rivero’s discharge and the release of journalist Oscar Espinosa…
Court ruling keeps Zanzibar independent paper closed
New York, November 30, 2004—The popular weekly Dira, Zanzibar’s only independent newspaper, remains shuttered after a court refused to reverse a one-year-old government ban. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities to lift the “outrageous” ban, and repeal laws that allow the government to silence critical reporting. The High Court on Tanzania’s semi-autonomous island…
Imprisoned Cuban journalist released on medical parole
New York, November 29, 2004—At least one of the 27 journalists imprisoned in Cuba since a March 2003 crackdown on the independent press has been released from custody on a medical parole, and several others have been transferred to prison hospitals in Havana. CPJ called on Cuban authorities today to release all of the journalists…
Cebu City journalist gunned down, the latest in a deadly year
New York, November 29, 2004—Allan Dizon, a photographer for the English-language newspaper The Freeman and a correspondent for the local tabloid Banat, was shot and killed Saturday night in Cebu City. CPJ is seeking to determine whether the journalist’s murder was related to his work. Dizon, 31, was shot in the head and chest near…
Stewards of a tradition’LA Times Editor Carroll reminds journalists of heroes and values
New York, November 24, 2004—The gap widens each year between contemporary journalists who work in multi-faceted news corporations and the journalistic “heroes” of the past, Los Angeles Times Editor John Carroll told a crowd of 850 who gathered at the Waldorf-Astoria Tuesday to honor reporters and editors who risked everything to report the news.
Editor acquitted of “divisionism,” convicted of defamation
New York, November 23, 2004—The editor of Umuseso, Rwanda’s only independent newspaper, was acquitted today on a criminal charge of ethnic “divisionism,” but convicted of defamation for a story that raised questions about parliament’s vice president. Charles Kabonero averted a prison sentence, but was ordered to pay a fine of 8,500 Rwandan francs (US$15) and…