New York, May 21, 2004—Nguyen Vu Binh, an imprisoned journalist who has been on a hunger strike since May 5, was moved from the Hoa Lo Moi Prison in the capital, Hanoi, to the Ba Sao Prison in Ha Nam Province, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Hanoi, on or around May 18, according to…
New York, May 21, 2004—Less than 48-hours after being arrested and released, Editor Bornwell Chakaodza and reporter Valentine Maponga, both with the independent weekly The Standard, were re-arrested early this morning. The two journalists were held at a police station until this afternoon, when they were taken to court for arraignment. They were formally charged…
New York, May 20, 2004—The European Court of Human Rights ruled yesterday that Russian authorities used a politically motivated criminal investigation in 2000 to try to take over the print and broadcast operations of Russian media mogul Vladimir Gusinsky. The Strasbourg, France–based court said that Russian authorities illegally harassed and arrested Gusinsky on charges of…
New York, May 20, 2004—Two journalists from Zimbabwe’s independent weekly The Standard were arrested yesterday afternoon and detained for six hours. Editor Bornwell Chakaodza and reporter Valentine Maponga were charged with “publishing false statements prejudicial to the State” under Section 15 of the draconian Public Order and Security Act (POSA). At least six police officers…
New York, May 19, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has confirmed that Abdishakur Yusuf Ali, editor of the independent weekly War-Ogaal, has been in jail without charge for almost one month in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland in Somalia. Abdishakur was arrested on April 21 after War-Ogaal published an article accusing Puntland Finance…
New York, May 18, 2004—The death sentence of Burmese editor Zaw Thet Htway, who was convicted of high treason along with eight others in November 2003, was reduced to a three-year prison term on May 12 by Burma’s Supreme Court. Htway, editor of the sports magazine First Eleven, has been detained since July 17, 2003,…
New York, May 18, 2004—Prominent Chinese Internet writer Du Daobin went on trial today at the Intermediate People’s Court in Xiaogan, a city in the central Hubei Province, on subversion charges, according to international news reports. Du’s lawyer, Mo Shaoping, was only notified about the trial on Friday, May 14, and was therefore unable to…
New York, May 18, 2004—Reuters news agency revealed today that three of its Iraqi employees were subjected to sexual abuse and humiliation in January, when they were arrested by U.S. troops near Fallujah while covering the aftermath of the downing of a U.S. helicopter. According to Reuters, U.S. troops detained cameraman Salem Ureibi, journalist Ahmad…
New York, May 17, 2004—The Brazilian government dropped its threat on Friday, May 15, to expel New York Times correspondent Larry Rohter, restoring the journalist’s visa. The Ministry of Justice made its decision after receiving a letter from Rohter’s Brazilian lawyers stating that he had not meant to offend Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da…
New York, May 17, 2004—Judes Zossé, publication director of the private daily newspaper L’Hirondelle (The Swallow) in the Central African Republic, was released from prison on Friday, May 14, under a presidential pardon. He had served more than two months of a six-month sentence for defaming President François Bozizé. On March 12, Zossé was sentenced…