New York, August 23, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the fate of three journalists who are missing in Iraq and have not been heard from for several days. Christian Chesnot, a reporter with Radio France-Internationale, and Georges Malbrunot, a reporter with the French daily Le Figaro, have been out of…
Baghdad, August 22, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release in Iraq on Sunday of U.S. journalist Micah Garen and his Iraqi translator Amir Doushi, who were abducted by gunmen on or about August 13 in the city of Nasiriyah. A CPJ representative spoke to Garen and Doushi and confirmed they are free and…
New York, August 20, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly opposes a bill to regulate journalists in Brazil, a measure Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sent to Congress this month. “This government-sponsored proposal severely restricts the right to freedom of expression,” said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. “Journalism must not be guided by…
New York, August 20, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the brutal attack by Chinese police officers on Han Guan Ng, a photographer with The Associated Press, and the harassment of Frederic Brown, a photographer for Agence France-Presse, at the Asian Cup soccer final on August 7. Brown and Ng were covering the match and…
New York, August 19, 2004—At least four Beninese reporters face criminal defamation charges and two of them have already spent time in prison this year—the first journalists to be imprisoned for their work since 1996 in the West African nation. The defendants include Patrick Adjamonsi, publication director of the private daily L’Aurore, who was released…
Washington, August 19, 2004—A delegation led by the Committee to Protect Journalists met with senior U.S. and Russian officials today, calling on them to work together to aggressively investigate and prosecute those responsible for the July murder in Moscow of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov. “We urge U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President…
New York, August 19, 2004— An investigative journalist working on a story about government corruption was beaten in the middle of the day on a main street in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporozhye, and taped interviews for his article were taken. An unknown assailant intercepted Dmitry Shkuropat, a correspondent for the independent weekly Iskra…
New York, August 18, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is extremely concerned by reports today that an armed group in Iraq has threatened to kill the abducted American journalist Micah Garen in 48 hours unless U.S. forces withdraw from the city of Najaf. A group calling itself the Martyrs Brigade released video to the Qatar-based…
New York, August 18, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by the increasing violence against journalists by Maoist rebels, including the murder of radio journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa and the subsequent death threats made against at least nine other rural reporters earlier this week. Rebels in midwestern Nepal’s Dailekh District claimed to have…