SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS MEDIA LEGISLATION
New York, February 5, 2004—Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court today upheld legislation that allows the government to decide who can be a journalist and criminalizes the practice of the profession by those who are not approved by the government. “This is a heavy blow to press freedom in Zimbabwe and sends a chilling message to the country’s…
TV host attacked and tortured
New York, February 4, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemns the recent violent attack against Colombian journalist and human rights activist Inés Peña, who was assaulted and tortured in the city of Barrancabermeja, Santander Department, last week. On January 28 at around 3 p.m., two armed men abducted the journalist while she was…
Governing council penalizes Al-Jazeera
New York, February 2, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council’s (IGC) decision to bar the Qatar-based satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera from covering official IGC activities in Iraq. Al-Jazeera’s Baghdad bureau chief, Majid Khader, told CPJ that he was informed on January 29 via e-mail that Al-Jazeera’s staff was barred from…
EXPLOSION ROCKS HOME OF JOURNALIST
New York, February 2, 2004—An explosion at about 2 p.m. today shook the downtown Moscow apartment of Yelena Tregubova, an independent journalist who recently published a controversial best-selling book criticizing the Kremlin. A package was left outside the door to Tregubova’s apartment and exploded as she was leaving to meet a friend.
Journalist murdered
New York, January 29, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the murder of Sajid Tanoli, a reporter with the regional Urdu-language daily Shumal, who was shot and killed today in the town of Manshera in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province Police filed murder charges today against Manshera’s local government head, Khalid Javed. The police…
CNN PRODUCER AND DRIVER KILLED IN AMBUSH
New York, January 27, 2003—A television producer working for the U.S. cable news network CNN and his driver were killed in an ambush today on the outskirts of Baghdad, CNN has reported. The network said that producer Duraid Isa Mohammed, who also acts as a translator, and driver Yasser Khatab died of multiple gunshot wounds…
Journalist charged with sedition
New York, January 26, 2004—After authorities denied holding freelance journalist Khawar Mehdi Rizvi for weeks, on Saturday, January 24, Pakistan police formally charged him with sedition, conspiracy, and impersonation, senior police officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP). The maximum penalty for the charges is life imprisonment. Two other individuals were also charged with Rizvi, Allah Noor…
Military court sentences French journalist’s killer to 17 years in prison
New York, January 23, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the verdict delivered yesterday by a military court in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan, sentencing an Ivoirian police officer to 17 years in prison for the October 2003 murder of Radio France Internationale (RFI) correspondent Jean Hélène. The court found Sgt. Théodore Séry Dago…
CPJ condemns police raids on home and officeof Ottawa Citizen reporter
New York, January 22, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday’s raid by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on the home and newspaper office of Juliet O’Neill, a reporter for the daily Ottawa Citizen, in Canada’s capital, Ottawa. Police authorities, who were operating with a search warrant, attempted to locate the source of…
Daily News reopens
New York, January 22, 2004—The Daily News, Zimbabwe’s only independent daily, resumed publication today after police closed it on September 12, 2003, following a Supreme Court declaration that the newspaper was operating illegally. Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), the company that owns the Daily News, had refused to register the newspaper with the government’s Media…