IRAQ
APRIL 15, 2005 Updated September 29, 2005 Saman Abdullah Izzedine, Kirkuk TV KILLED—CONFIRMED Unidentified assailants gunned down Izzedine, a 33-year-old news anchor for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)-backed Kirkuk TV as he was driving on the main highway from Kirkuk to Baghdad. Kurdish journalists in Kirkuk said that Izzedine’s car was fired on by…
Two Iraqi journalists killed in Baghdad bombings
New York, April 15, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the deaths of two Al-Hurriya television journalists who were killed in suicide bombings while on their way to an assignment in Baghdad yesterday morning. The station’s Baghdad director, Nawrooz Mohamed, told CPJ today that producer Fadhil Hazem Fadhil and cameraman Ali Ibrahim Issa were killed…
British journalists face trial on accreditation charges
New York, April 4, 2005—Zimbabwean government prosecutors are pushing ahead with a criminal trial of two journalists from the London-based Sunday Telegraph on accreditation charges that could bring two years in prison, the journalists’ lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, said today. Toby Harnden, the newspaper’s chief foreign correspondent, and photographer Julian Simmonds have been jailed since their…
ZIMBABWE
MARCH 31, 2005 Posted: May 10, 2005 Toby Harnden, The Sunday TelegraphJulian Simmonds, The Sunday Telegraph IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION Harnden, chief foreign correspondent for the London-based Sunday Telegraph, and photographer Simmonds were arrested at a polling station in Norton, a town near the capital, Harare, according to a statement from the newspaper. The journalists were…
Wave of violence against Bangladeshi press goes unchecked
Your Excellency: One year after the Committee to Protect Journalists conducted a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh in response to a pattern of violence against the press, death threats and deadly attacks against journalists continue at an alarming rate. You offered assurances last year that the press in Bangladesh “enjoys full press freedom,” but that freedom is at great risk today. We are deeply concerned about this press freedom crisis, and join with our Bangladeshi colleagues in calling for swift and decisive action to stanch this relentless tide of violence against journalists.
Editor’s conviction upheld, sentence toughened
New York, March 22, 2005—A Rwandan appeals court today stiffened the sentence against a newspaper editor as it upheld his conviction on charges that he defamed the deputy speaker of parliament in a 2004 article. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the ruling, saying it reflected the ongoing harassment of editors and reporters for Umuseso,…
Three journalists receive death threats
New York, March 14, 2005—Three journalists in the southeastern city of Chittagong received letters containing death threats from a group identifying itself as the student wing of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami Party. Journalists Sumi Khan, Samaresh Baidya, and Jubayer Siddiqui each received similar letters within three days of one another, Baidya told CPJ. “Threats against journalists…
Attacks on the Press in 2004: Preface by Tom Brokaw
Remember 1989? The collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of democracy and democratic institutions in the old Communist bloc, including Mother Russia, inspired a new generation of journalists in places where a free press had been a state crime. Other journalists in other places, such as Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and…
Attacks on the Press in 2004: Introduction
by Ann CooperWith its myriad dangers and devastating death toll, Iraq remained the worst place to practice journalism throughout 2004, and one of the most dangerous media assignments in recent history. Twenty-three journalists and 16 media support workers were killed on the job in Iraq during the year. An insurgent kidnapping campaign also posed severe…
Attacks on the Press 2004: Africa Analysis
Overviewby Julia Crawford With the rule of law weak in many African countries, journalists regularly battle threats and harassment, not only from governments but also from rogue elements, such as militias. Repressive legislation is used in many countries to silence journalists who write about sensitive topics such as corruption, mismanagement, and human rights abuses. If…