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We are deeply concerned about the welfare of translator Samuel George who has been under interrogation by State Security Services in Port Harcourt since August 31. He was arrested with American documentary filmmaker Andrew Berends while they were filming at the Nembe waterside in Port Harcourt. Joe Bussio, who provided accommodation for Berends in Port Harcourt during the filming, was also arrested. No official charges have been brought against any of them. Berends was finally allowed to leave the country on Tuesday.

New York, September 11, 2008— The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the shooting of Sri Lankan journalist Radhika Devakumar on Monday evening. A gunman or gunmen fired on Devakumar, an ethnic Tamil, at her home in Batticaloa, eastern Sri Lanka, according to local news reports. She was in critical condition today after being…

New York, September 11, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns a Vietnamese court decision on Wednesday to imprison blogger Nguyen Van Hai, better known by his penname Dieu Cay, on charges of tax evasion. The court in Ho Chi Minh City, in southern Vietnam, convicted Hai, 55, in a closed-door trial, sentencing him to…

Bloggers across the Web are showing their solidarity with Mohamed Erraji, a Moroccan blogger who was sentenced to two years in prison last week for “failing to show respect for the king.” A Moroccan court convicted Erraji, 29, a contributor to HesPress, a Moroccan daily news ‎Web site, on Monday in a closed, 10-minute trial.…

EDITOR’S NOTE: The original version of this alert has been modified to correct the age of the blogger. New York, September 10, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Moroccan court’s decision to jail and fine blogger and journalist Mohamed Erraji for “failing to respect the king.” The court in Agadir, in southwest Morocco, convicted Erraji…

The Web site OneWorld has continued coverage of the release of filmmaker Andrew Berends, who is back in the United States after being detained in Nigeria since August 31. Berends is safely at home after a week of questioning by the Nigerian military; however his translator Samuel George is still under scrutiny from the authorities.…

New York, September 10, 2008–Opposition activists in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra stormed the offices of two state-owned media outlets on Tuesday, destroying equipment and forcing them to halt broadcasts in the wake of two-week long antigovernment protests. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the attacks and called on Santa Cruz’s governor…

We issued this statement today after learning that Radhika Devakumar, a provincial correspondent of the Thinakaran newspaper, a Tamil daily, survived an attack in her home during which she received three gunshot wounds.”This attack has the earmarks of an assassination attempt. The government must immediately act to bring the perpetrators to justice. Sri Lanka’s record of…

The Web site Lower Hudson Journal has coverage of the release of filmmaker Andrew Berends, who had been detained in Nigeria since August 31. Berends flew from Nigeria to Germany last night after spending 10 days beign questioned by the Nigerian military on suspicion of espionage. His Nigerian translator, Samuel George, continues to face interrogation…