Iraq

Kuwait’s press has long been recognized as the most liberal in the Persian Gulf. Kuwaiti newspapers, all of which are privately owned, are known for outspoken and critical coverage of the government and its policies. Nonetheless, the country’s press laws prohibit “subjecting the person of the emir to criticism” and empower authorities to suspend newspapers…

Shortly after U.S. president George W. Bush arrived in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, in February 2002 for a state visit, the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, reported a miracle: that a cloud in the shape of a Kimjongilia, the flower named after the country’s leader, Kim Jong Il, had appeared over North Korea. “Even…

An ongoing state crackdown against pro-democracy activists continued to stunt what were once promising media reforms introduced in 2000 by Syria’s young president, Bashar al-Assad. For a short time, it appeared that Bashar, who replaced his authoritarian father, the late Hafez al-Assad, in 2000, would inspire a more liberal media and greater government transparency. After…

During 2002, President Leonid Kuchma’s relationship with the United States hit an all-time low over suspicions that he sold a sophisticated radar system to Iraq. At home, his presidency was threatened by court rulings that opened a criminal case against him (and that were later overturned) for alleged involvement in the 2000 murder of journalist…

The U.S. government took aggressive measures in 2002 to shield some of its activities from press scrutiny. These steps not only reduced access for U.S. reporters but had a global ripple effect, with autocratic leaders citing U.S. government actions to justify repressive policies.

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to request information about the U.S. bombing of Iraqi state television facilities in Baghdad earlier this week. We are concerned that the Pentagon may have violated international humanitarian law in targeting these facilities. During the early morning hours of March 26, 2003 (Baghdad time),…

New York, March 26, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned about the safety of a group of at least three journalists in Baghdad who have reportedly been expelled from the country. Newsday reporter Matt McAllester and photographer Moises Saman were last heard from Monday evening. Molly Bingham, a freelance photographer, is also missing.…

New York, March 25, 2003—The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has revoked the credentials of two reporters from the Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera. According to NYSE spokesman Ray Pellecchia, the press accreditation of Al-Jazeera’s Ammar Shankari and his colleague Ramzi Shiber was canceled on Monday, March 24. Pellecchia said the decision was an effort to…

New York, March 24, 2003— Iraqi officials expelled a Croatian free-lance journalist from Baghdad yesterday after he conducted a live interview with CNN, which was banished from Iraq last week. Robert Valdec, who had been in Baghdad for three weeks reporting for the Croatian Commercial Network, the Serbian Independent Network, the Bosnian Independent Network, and…

New York, March 23, 2003— Veteran ITV News correspondent Terry Lloyd, who disappeared in southern Iraq yesterday, is dead, according to the British television network ITN, which produces ITV News. “There is now sufficient evidence to believe that ITV News Correspondent Terry Lloyd, 50, was killed in an incident on the Southern Iraq war front…