New York, October 1, 2002—Brazilian journalist Domingos Sávio Brandão Lima Júnior was murdered yesterday afternoon. Brandão was the owner, publisher, and a columnist of the daily Folha do Estado, which is based in the city of Cuiabá, in the central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Brandão, 40, was shot at least 5 times by two…
New York, September 27, 2002—An Argentine federal judge has subpoenaed the phone records of Thomas Catan, the Buenos Aires correspondent for the U.K.-based Financial Times. The records could potentially reveal the journalist’s sources. On August 20, 2002, Catan, citing unnamed bankers and diplomats he interviewed, reported that Argentine legislators had solicited bribes from foreign banks…
New York, September 26, 2002—Roddy Scott, 31, a British free-lance cameraman working for Britain’s Frontline, a television news agency, was killed in the Russian republic of Ingushetia. Russian soldiers found his body earlier today in Ingushetia’s Galashki region, near the border with Chechnya, following clashes between Russian forces and a group of Chechen fighters. The…
New York, September 25, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about the safety of journalists covering the ongoing military crisis in the Ivory Coast. According to several sources in the capital, Abidjan, at least one local journalist was badly beaten by troops loyal to the government of President Laurent Gbagbo, who have…
New York, September 20, 2002—Brazilian police yesterday captured a local drug trafficker who was the leading suspect in the disappearance and murder of prominent journalist Tim Lopes. Elias Pereira da Silva, also known as Elias the Madman, was apprehended in one of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, or shantytowns, after a two-day search. In early August,…
New York, September 20, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release today of the prominent AIDS activist and Web publisher Wan Yanhai, who was detained for nearly a month on suspicion of “leaking state secrets.” China’s official news agency, Xinhua, as quoted by Agence France-Presse, said that Wan was released after “confessing to…
Hong Kong, September 19, 2002—Pending national security legislation represents what could be the biggest threat to press freedom in Hong Kong since the territory’s 1997 transfer of sovereignty to China, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said at a press conference here today. The Hong Kong government is currently preparing national security legislation to be…
New York, September 19, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) demands the immediate and unconditional release of Franklin Moliba-Sese, a reporter for the United Nationsoperated Radio Okapi who was arrested by rebels on Friday, September 13. That day, fighters from the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), an armed rebel group opposed to the…
New York, September 19, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) confirmed today that four more Eritrean journalists, who have been missing, are in government custody, according to several sources in the capital, Asmara. CPJ had previously confirmed the detention of 14 journalists, many of whom were arrested one year ago today after President Isaias Afewerki…
Hong Kong, September 19, 2002—Pending national security legislation represents what could be the biggest threat to press freedom in Hong Kong since the territory’s 1997 transfer of sovereignty to China, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said at a press conference here today. The Hong Kong government is currently preparing national security legislation to be…