American journalists threatened by protesters
New York, October 10, 2001—Susan Taylor Martin, a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, and Jamie Francis, a photographer for the same paper, were threatened and harassed by protesters angered by the recent U.S.-led bombing campaign in neighboring Afghanistan. The two were reporting in Sakot, a town in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, when they…
Taliban release British journalist
New York, October 9, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release of British journalist Yvonne Ridley, a reporter for London’s Sunday Express who was imprisoned by Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia for 10 days after entering the country without a visa. Late yesterday evening, October 8, Taliban escorts drove Ridley to the Pakistani border…
DETAINED BRITISH JOURNALIST FACES TRIAL IN AFGHANISTAN
New York, October 4, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by the Taliban’s announcement today that British journalist Yvonne Ridley will face trial for entering Afghanistan without authorization. “She will be tried because she broke the laws of our land and entered the country without permission,” Mullah Abdur Rahman Zahid, the Taliban’s…
CPJ DISTURBED BY TALIBAN ACCUSATIONS AGAINST DETAINED JOURNALIST
New York, October 3, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by comments reportedly made by a senior official in Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia, accusing British journalist Yvonne Ridley of “ill intentions” and suggesting the reporter may be working as a “special forces” agent.
CPJ Demands Release of British Journalist and Colleagues Held in Afghanistan
New York, October 1, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia’s recent arrest of Yvonne Ridley, a reporter for London’s Sunday Express newspaper, and two male guides. Soldiers arrested the group on September 28 near the eastern city of Jalalabad and detained Ridley on suspicion of spying, according to news reports.
Newsweek article criticizing controversial blasphemy laws is censored
New York, September 4, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the decision of Pakistani censors to order the removal of an article from the September 3 edition of Newsweek as a condition of the magazine’s distribution in the country. The censored article, titled “Talking is Dangerous,” highlights the prosecution of Shaikh Mohammed Younus, a…
Journalist in hiding after local authorities threaten his arrest over coverage of tribal clashes
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the safety of Hayat Ullah, a correspondent for the Urdu-language daily Ausaf in Mirali, North Waziristan Agency. Hayat Ullah is currently in hiding after North Waziristan authorities ordered his arrest for reporting on clashes between local tribal groups.
CPJ urges inquiry into prosecution of Frontier Post editor
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned that the prosecution on drug charges of Rehmat Shah Afridi, owner and chief editor of the English-language newspaper The Frontier Post and the Urdu daily Maidan, may be politically motivated. On June 27, a special anti-narcotics court in Lahore convicted Afridi on drug smuggling charges and sentenced him to death.
Journalists released on bail
New York, July 18 — A judge in the northern city of Abbottabad today ordered the release on bail of four journalists from the Urdu-language daily Mohasib who had been imprisoned under Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws. The journalists, who had been jailed for about six weeks, were released after vigorous protests by local and international…
Government harasses relatives of VOA reporter
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a nonpartisan organization of journalists dedicated to the defense of our colleagues around the world, is writing to protest your government’s efforts to silence the U.S.-based Voice of America journalist Jahongir Mamatov by harassing his relatives in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.