New York, October 22, 2002—The trial of Internet essayist Le Chi Quang, 32, is scheduled for October 28 in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. He is being tried on national security charges, including distribution of “reactionary and subversive documents,” said CPJ sources. Quang was targeted after he wrote a number of essays criticizing government policy. On February…
New York, October 21, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urges the Israeli government to release Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer Hussam Abu Alan, who has been held without charge for nearly six months. According to AFP’s Jerusalem bureau, Abu Alan’s period of administrative detention is scheduled to expire tomorrow. Abu Alan was detained on April…
New York, October 17, 2002–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release from house arrest of Chen Ziming, a recipient of CPJ’s 1991 International Press Freedom Award, but remains concerned that he has not been given total freedom. On October 10, the 50-year-old formally completed a 13-year sentence for his role in the 1989…
New York, October 16, 2002—A group of about 50 people today looted and ransacked the offices of the private Mayama media group, publisher of three Ivory Coast pro-opposition newspapers, said several sources in the capital, Abidjan. The mob smashed computers and other equipment and damaged printing presses while chanting pro-government slogans. The newsrooms of Le…
New York, October 15, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemns the Ugandan government’s raid on the Monitor media group, the detention of one of the organization’s reporters, and the charges filed against three Monitor editors. On October 10, three dozen police officers occupied the newsrooms of the private English-language daily Monitor and its…
New York, October 10, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release of two Palestinian journalists detained by Israeli authorities for five months and urges the Israeli government to release another journalist still in detention. Youssry al-Jamal, a soundman for Reuters, was released yesterday, October 9, without charge. Israeli forces detained him in the…
New York, October 7, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday’s attack on the Taipei offices of Next (Yi Zhoukan) magazine. At about 1 p.m. on October 6, at least 10 men stormed the Next offices in Taipei, destroying office equipment and carrying away two computers, according to Taiwanese and international news reports. Three…
New York, October 4, 2002—An appeals court in the northern breakaway region of Cyprus yesterday released from prison two journalists with the opposition daily Afrika, according to international press reports. On August 8, a court of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) sentenced Afrika editor-in-chief Sener Levent and editor Memduh Ener to six months…
New York, October 4, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release late yesterday of Philippine journalists Carlo Lorenzo and Gilbert Ordiales, who were held captive for five days while reporting on the southern island of Jolo, in Sulu Province. CPJ remains, however, deeply concerned about allegations made by Lorenzo that members of the…
New York, October 2, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned about the safety of television reporter Carlo Lorenzo and cameraman Gilbert Ordiales, who went missing on the southern island of Jolo, Sulu Province, on September 28. CPJ fears that the journalists may have been kidnapped. Lorenzo and Ordiales, who work for GMA television…