In Thailand, moves by military junta threaten press freedom
New York, September 21, 2006—As Thailand’s new ruling military junta imposed restrictions on the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the transitional authority to uphold the press freedom guarantees enshrined in the recently dissolved 1997 constitution. The ruling Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) called a meeting today with senior…
Journalists held over toxic waste report
September 12, 2006 Posted: September 22, 2006 Seydou Coulibaly, Le Jour Plus Edouard Gonto, Le Jour Plus Frédéric Koffi, Le Jour Plus HARASSED, LEGAL ACTION Coulibaly and Gonto were summoned on September 12 and detained overnight over a September 11 article titled “Toxic waste: Mrs. Gbagbo at the heart of the scandal,” according to Patrice…
China: Government restricts foreign news distribution
New York, September 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by China’s announcement Sunday that the state-controlled Xinhua News Agency would oversee the distribution of foreign news and information within China, and would censor all news stories, photographs and other information deemed offensive under several broad categories.
Government suspends Al-Arabiya TV over sectarian violence claim
New York, September 7, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the decision of the Iraqi government today to close the Baghdad bureau of the Dubai-based satellite channel Al-Arabiya for one month. The station reported that police entered its Baghdad offices to halt operations after the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the suspension.
Assailants attack a reporter and two photographers
SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 Posted: September 21, 2006 Eugenia Cicero, PM Jaime Murrieta Briones, El Diario Aurelio Suárez Núñez, PM ATTACKED Reporter Cicero and photographer Suárez, of the Ciudad de Juárez-based daily PM, and Murrieta, a photographer for the local daily El Diario, were attacked while trying to photograph a group of at least 20 armed…
Police holding three suspects in journalist’s murder
New York, September 1, 2006—Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo are holding a former soldier and two civilians in connection with the July 8 murder of freelance journalist Bapuwa Mwamba, according to the local press freedom group Journaliste en Danger and Agence France-Presse. Kinshasa regional police chief Gen. Patrick Sabiti told journalists Thursday that…
Sri Lanka: Veteran Tamil journalist feared abducted
New York, August 29, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports that veteran Sri Lankan journalist Nadarajah Guruparan is missing and feared abducted in Colombo today. The Free Media Movement, a local press group, reported that Guruparan, a producer, left for work at the privately owned Tamil-language radio station Sooriyan, or Sun…
CPJ calls for release of two imprisoned journalists
New York, August 14, 2006—Two journalists have been imprisoned in Nigeria’s southeastern Ebonyi state since June 14 on charges of sedition linked to an article criticizing the state governor, the Committee to Protect Journalists has confirmed. Imo Eze and Oluwole Elenyinmi, respectively director and editor of the local bimonthly Ebonyi Voice, have remained in detention…
Newspaper editor goes into hiding
New York, August 9, 2006—The editor of the private newspaper Umuco has gone into hiding following official criticism of articles in his paper and a police summons, according to several local sources. Bonaventure Bizumuremyi also complained of receiving threatening phone calls, the sources said. The incidents come days after another Umuco journalist, Jean-Léonard Rugambage, was…