New York, April 12, 2004—Amid a climate of increasing danger in Iraq, three Czech journalists have gone missing. A Japanese freelance journalist who was abducted on April 8, along with two other Japanese civilians, remains in captivity. Michal Kubal and his cameraman Petr Klima, both of the public network Czech Television, are feared kidnapped since…
New York, April 8, 2004—At least one journalist is believed to be among three Japanese civilians abducted today in Iraq by an unknown group calling itself the Mujahedeen Squadrons. The news comes amid escalating clashes between Coalition forces and Iraqis, as well as several incidents this week in which foreigners—including journalists—have been briefly held by…
New York, April 8, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has learned that journalist Gaston Bony, publication director of Le Venin weekly newspaper and a host at the radio station La Voix de l’Agnéby, has been sentenced to six months in prison on criminal defamation charges. On March 24, a court in Agboville, a town…
New York, April 7, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the shooting of Delwar Hossain, correspondent of the Bangla-language daily Jugantor, who was attacked in the capital, Dhaka, on the afternoon of Sunday, April 4. Hossain was in a store in central Dhaka when two unidentified men entered and shot him, according to local…
New York, April 7, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) renews its call for the Cuban government to release the 29 independent journalists sentenced to lengthy prison terms last April 7. The detention of political dissidents and journalists-who were accused of being “counterrevolutionaries” at the service of the United States-began on March 18, 2003, during…
New York, April 7, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about several recent incidents in which journalists have been briefly held by insurgents in Iraq. These incidents come amid escalating clashes between Coalition forces and Iraqi insurgents. According to The Associated Press (AP), one of its photographers and his driver were detained…
New York, April 6, 2004—Journalists covering yesterday’s opposition rally in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, were attacked by two dozen men in civilian clothes. The men smashed journalists’ cameras, assaulted several reporters, and destroyed filmed footage of the events, the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported. The men attempted to disrupt the rally by throwing eggs…
New York, April 6, 2004-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the recent jailing of an Ethiopian journalist, after he was unable to pay bail in a criminal defamation case. On Friday, April 2, Ethiopian authorities jailed Merid Estifanos, former editor-in-chief of the private, Amharic-language weekly Satanaw. According to local sources, Estifanos…
New York, April 5, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain a copy of the classified investigation into the March 18 shooting by U.S. troops in Baghdad of two Iraqi journalists working for the Dubai-based Arabic satellite news channel Al-Arabiyya. On Monday, March 29, the…
New York, April 2, 2004—Marking the fourth anniversary of the murder of Jean Léopold Dominique, one of Haiti’s most renowned journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls on the new Haitian authorities to revive the stalled investigation into his killing and put an end to impunity in this case. “After years of delays and…