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BELARUS: New York, March 27, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a sudden crackdown by Belarusian authorities against independent journalists in the last few days. Today, the Belarusian Security Service (known as the KGB) raided the offices of independent broadcasters and the apartments of more than a dozen journalists, the Belarusian Association of…

Leading independent editor sentenced to six months in jail New York, March 26, 2008―The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the six-month jail term handed down today to a leading Egyptian editor and urges the appeals court to overturn the conviction. The Boulak Abul Ela Court of Misdemeanor, on the outskirts of Cairo, sentenced Ibrahim Eissa,…

MARCH 24, 2008 Posted April 22, 2008 Tribuna das Águas LEGAL ACTION On March 24, a civil court in Águas de Lindóia, a city in the southeastern state of São Paulo, banned the local weekly Tribuna das Águas from publishing the names of government officials under penalty of a large fine, according to press reports…

New York, March 24, 2008―The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by an upcoming court ruling in Cairo that might send a leading Egyptian editor to prison. The ruling is expected on March 26. Ibrahim Eissa, editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Dustour and one of Egypt’s top critics of President Hosni Mubarak’s 27-year rule, was charged…

UPDATE MARCH 5, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 Original Case: February 10, 2004 Carlos José Guadamuz, Canal 23 KILLED William Hurtado García, who confessed to the 2004 murder of Canal 23 television host Guadamuz, was conditionally released from prison, the Nicaraguan press reported on March 5. Hurtado had been sentenced to a 21-year prison sentence…

UPDATE MARCH 5, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 Original Case: February 10, 2004 Carlos José Guadamuz, Canal 23 KILLED William Hurtado García, who confessed to the 2004 murder of Canal 23 television host Guadamuz, was conditionally released from prison, the Nicaraguan press reported on March 5. Hurtado had been sentenced to a 21-year prison sentence…

MARCH 21, 2008 Posted April 22, 2008 Javier Montes Camarena, El Diario de Colima ATTACKED Unidentified individuals fired several shots at Montes’ home in Manzanillo, a city in the western Mexican state of Colima. The journalist told CPJ that he believes the attack was retaliation for his criticism of the local government in the daily…

MARCH 21, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 Arifur Rahman, Prothom Alo RELEASED Arifur Rahman was freed from Dhaka Central Jail after the police officer who had filed a case against him failed to appear in court hearings because he was in East Timor, The Associated Press reported.

Dear President Rajapaksa, The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by ongoing intimidation of Sri Lanka’s media. Recent events in the state-run Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation in Colombo and the treatment of Tamil journalists under investigation by the Terrorist Investigation Division both reveal how press workers face increasing threat of restriction under your government.

New York, March 21, 2008–The Chadian government effectively forced the country’s only permanent foreign correspondent to leave the country on Thursday after withdrawing her work permit without explanation, according to news reports. Sonia Rolley, a journalist reporting for several France-based media outlets, including Radio France Internationale (RFI), Agence France-Presse (AFP), French daily Libération and international…