Attacks on the Press 2007: Tunisia
TUNISIA In a July 25 speech marking the 50th anniversary of the Tunisian Republic, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali proclaimed that his government had “enriched the information and communication landscape and offered opportunity for the expression of different opinions.” It was an Orwellian moment in a year in which the Ben Ali administration stepped…
Attacks on the Press 2007: Venezuela
VENEZUELA The Venezuelan government’s unprecedented decision not to renew the broadcast concession of the country’s oldest private television station, RCTV, represented a major setback for free expression and democracy. The decision, aimed at silencing Venezuela’s most critical media outlet, was part of President Hugo Chávez Frías’ aggressive strategy to challenge the influence of the private…
Chadian police take radio station off the air
New York, January 17, 2008—Police in the Chadian capital, N’djamena, forced a radio station launched by local human rights activists off the air on Wednesday and detained its director on allegations of defamation over the broadcast of a press release by a consumer advocacy group, according to local journalists and news reports. The studios of…
Lebanese editor’s murder remains unsolved
New York, December 12, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that two years after the Beirut assassination of a prominent Lebanese editor, the perpetrators remain at large. On December 12, 2005, Gebran Tueni, managing director and columnist for the leading daily Al-Nahar, was killed by a bomb that targeted his armored vehicle in East…
Lebanese editor’s murder remains unsolved
New York, December 12, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that two years after the Beirut assassination of a prominent Lebanese editor, the perpetrators remain at large. On December 12, 2005, Gebran Tueni, managing director and columnist for the leading daily Al-Nahar, was killed by a bomb that targeted his armored vehicle in East…
Supreme Court ruling limits manipulation of state ads
New York, September 7, 2007—An Argentine Supreme Court ruling condemning the province of Neuquén for the withdrawal of state advertising from a critical daily will help protect the media from government manipulation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On Wednesday, Argentina’s highest tribunal ruled the government cannot suppress or substantially reduce official advertising to…
Leading Indian newsweekly attacked by hardliners
New York, August 14, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attack today on the Mumbai office of the Indian weekly Outlook by a group of men who identified themselves as members of the Shiv Sena, a Hindu nationalist party. The assailants were apparently angered by the political journal’s depiction of their founder, Bal Thackeray,…
Venezuela could remove RCTV from cable
New York, July 31, 2007—The Venezuelan government has asked cable and satellite providers to remove RCTV’s new signal from their programming by tomorrow if the station does not register as a national broadcaster. RCTV has been operating as a paid subscription channel since July 16 after being taken off the public airwaves by the government…
Venezuela’s RCTV off the air; CPJ urges government to respect dissent
New York, May 29, 2007—Venezuela’s commitment to democracy has suffered a serious blow as the government forced private television station RCTV off the air for political reasons on Monday after 53 years of continuous broadcasting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. “This arbitrary decision thwarts Venezuelans’ right to seek and receive information and represents…