Editor brutally murdered
New York, November 12, 2004—The battered body of a local newspaper editor from the eastern state of Orissa was found by the side of a highway near the village of Bhagirathipur on Tuesday, November 9, police sources told the Press Trust of India (PTI), a national newswire service. Dilip Mohapatra, editor of the Oriya-language newspaper…
Government instructs media to promote leadership’s positions
New York, November 12, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by a new directive from Iraqi authorities that warns news organizations to reflect the government’s positions in their reporting or face unspecified action. The warning came in a statement released Thursday but dated November 9 by the government regulatory Media High Commission. The…
Journalist killed covering violent clashes
New York, November 12, 2004—Antoine Massé, a correspondent for the private daily Le Courrier d’Abidjan, was fatally shot November 7 while covering violent clashes between French troops and demonstrators in the western Ivoirian town of Duékoué, his editor told the Committee to Protect Journalists today. CPJ called on French and Ivoirian authorities to conduct thorough…
CPJ outraged by newspaper attacks, bans
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by Thursday’s violent attacks on four private newspapers in Abidjan, and by a government ban against eight newspapers. These grave attacks on press freedom came as hostilities resumed in the rebel-held north of the country. We are also alarmed at the silencing of three international radio stations in Abidjan, reportedly by an act of sabotage.
Togo: Promises and the Press
In Togo, journalists are skeptical but see opportunity in the regime’s bid to shed sanctions. By Adam Posluns with reporting by Alexis Arieff With 37 years in power, Togolese President Gnassingbé Eyadéma is Africa’s longest-serving head of state. Even after the country introduced multiparty elections more than a decade ago, Eyadéma and his ruling party,…
French peacekeepers rescue missing journalist from rebel zone
New York, October 15, 2004—Ivory Coast journalist Amadou Dagnogo, who disappeared from the rebel-held town of Bouake nearly two months ago, was flown to the commercial capital, Abidjan, yesterday by French peacekeepers. Dagnogo, the Bouake correspondent for Abidjan-based independent daily L’Inter, said he had been detained by rebels for six days but had escaped. In…
Journalist killed in drive-by shooting in Baghdad
New York, October 14, 2004—An Iraqi reporter for a local Arabic-language television station was killed in a drive-by shooting today in Baghdad’s Adhamiya district. Dina Mohammed Hassan, a correspondent for Al-Hurriya TV, was gunned down in front of her Baghdad residence as she waited for a car to transport her to work, station staff told…
JUDGE ORDERS SECOND JOURNALIST TO JAIL
Washington, October 13, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that a U.S. federal judge has ordered a second journalist to jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA operative’s identity. Judge Thomas F. Hogan today ordered Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper to jail until he agrees to…
Judge holds Times reporter in contempt in CIA case
New York, October 7, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that a federal judge has held another reporter in contempt for not disclosing confidential sources to prosecutors investigating the leak of a CIA operative’s identity. Judge Thomas F. Hogan today ordered New York Times reporter Judith Miller jailed until she agrees to testify…