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…
Asesinan a periodista televisivo
Bogotá, 5 de febrero de 2005–El Comité para la Protección de Periodistas (CPJ, por sus siglas en inglés) investiga el asesinato de Oscar Alberto Polanco Herrera, periodista televisivo que fue ultimado a balazos el día de ayer, 4 de febrero, en la ciudad de Cartago, departamento de Valle del Cauca, unos 200 kilómetros al suroeste…
Security forces target journalists, impose blackout outside capital
New York, February 4, 2005—Security forces have arrested prominent social critic and columnist Khagendra Sangraula and are seeking to arrest Tara Nath Dahal, president of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, who is currently in hiding. The arrest came on the fourth day of the state of emergency called by King Gyanendra, who has also banned…
Italian journalist abducted
New York, February 4, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the abduction of an Italian journalist today in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Gunmen seized Giuliana Sgrena, a reporter for the Rome-based Italian daily Il Manifesto, near Baghdad University, according to The Associated Press, which cited Italian and Iraqi officials.
Journalist abducted, threatened by military officers
New York, February 3, 2005—Akrep Hasanov, an Azerbaijani journalist with the independent weekly Monitor in the capital, Baku, was abducted by military officers and held in detention for five hours, Hasanov told CPJ. The journalist says he was detained in retaliation for writing an article about abuses and mismanagement in an Azerbaijani military unit. On…
King and army shut down independent press
New York, February 3, 2005—Two days after Nepal’s king declared a state of emergency, the independent press has been effectively shut down with blanket news bans introduced, military patrols placed at media outlets, and reprisals threatened against journalists. King Gyanendra has imposed a six-month ban on what state radio described as critical reporting on government…
Journalist jailed in defamation case; CPJ seeks release
New York, February 2, 2005—-A reporter with the Congolese private daily La Référence Plus was taken into custody on Monday and imprisoned in the western town of Matadi on defamation charges brought by two national oil executives. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for his immediate release. In September, a Kinshasa court sentenced José…
CPJ deeply concerned about journalists’ safety, censorship
New York, February 2, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the safety of Nepalese journalists and the censorship of the press following King Gyanendra’s dismissal this week of Nepal’s multi-party government and his declaration of a state of emergency. “The suspension of civil liberties is a worrisome sign for all citizens, including…
Gunmen kill key witness in Damalerio murder case
New York, February 2, 2005—A key witness in the 2002 murder of Philippine journalist Edgar Damalerio was killed by gunmen in the city of Pagadian this morning—the second witness to be slain while the suspect, a former police officer, awaits trial. Edgar Amoro—who identified former officer Guillermo Wapile as Damalerio’s killer— was gunned down outside…