CBC reporter freed in Afghanistan, two held
New York, November 10, 2008–Two days after the release of CBC journalist Mellissa Fung, contradictory details have begun to emerge about her captivity, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail. Fung was kidnapped 28 days ago while conducting interviews in a Kabul refugee camp. She was apparently held, chained and blindfolded, in Wardak, the province…
Press freedom in the news 11/10/08
The release of CBC correspondent Mellissa Fung, who had been abducted by a criminal gang in Afghanistan, is the focus of a few stories today. The Associated Press has coverage of her month-long ordeal, and that piece has been picked up by various papers including The Boston Globe and The Baltimore Sun.
Kidnapped journalist released in Congolese war zone
New York, November 7, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s release of a Belgian journalist, his interpreter, and his driver, who were kidnapped on Tuesday while reporting on the war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. CPJ remains concerned about the safety of journalists in the rebel-held town of Kiwanja, where the only radio station…
In DRC, CPJ welcomes releases
We issued the following statement today after the release of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung journalist Thomas Scheen, interpreter Charles Ntiricya and driver Roger Bangue, who were kidnapped by a pro-government militia last Tuesday in Kiwanja, in the war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo…
Day 7: Freelancers hostage in Somalia
Today marks the seventh day that four media workers have been held hostage by an unknown group roughly 12 miles (20 kilometers) west of Mogadishu. Freelance journalists Amanda Lindhout, Nigel Brennan, and Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi, along with driver Mahad Clise, were returning from interviews with Somali refugees at Celasha Biyaha when they were kidnapped along…
Brutally attacked in Guatemala…again
Two days after being abducted and badly beaten in Guatemala, prominent journalist José Rubén Zamora was still in shock. “I can’t remember what happened, but I was drugged and left unconscious in a hospital in the outskirts of Guatemala City,” he told me on Saturday after he was released from the local hospital.His colleagues at…
CPJ alarmed by abduction of journalist in Guatemala
We issued the following statement today in response to Thursday’s abduction and subsequent release of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, a 1995 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award: “We are alarmed by the kidnapping and reported beating of José Rubén Zamora, president of the Guatemalan daily El Periodico. Zamora has previously been the victim…