Evidence emerges of intentional shooting of Japanese cameraman in Burma
New York, September 28, 2007 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the apparently deliberate fatal shooting of Japanese cameraman Kenji Nagai by a Burmese soldier on Thursday. Video footage shown on Japan’s Fuji News Network reveals that Nagai, who was filming near a group of demonstrators in Yangon, was pushed to the…
Four arrested in journalist shooting
UPDATE September 27, 2007 Original case: September 20, 2007 Amaury Ribeiro Jr., Correio BrazilienseATTACKEDFederal district police arrested four men in Brasilia in connection to Ribeiro’s shooting on September 19. Although one of the detainees confessed to shooting Ribeiro, an investigative reporter for the Brasilia-based daily Correio Braziliense, during an attempted robbery, the reporter said he believed he…
CPJ expresses support for Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act
Dear Sens. Kennedy and Smith, I am writing to you as executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists to express our concern for the safety of Iraqi journalists and others who now may find themselves imperiled for having helped U.S.-based and U.S.-backed media organizations report the news from Iraq. We would therefore like to express our support for the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act Senate Amendment #2872 to H.R. 1585 Department of Defense Authorization, which you recently co-sponsored. CPJ is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide and the rights of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal.
CPJ urges president to halt persecution of reporter, family
September 27, 2007 His Excellency Ilham Aliyev President of Azerbaijan 19 Istiqlaliyyat Street Baku 370066, Azerbaijan Via facsimile: +994-12-920-625 and +994-12-492-0625 Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by the seizure, beating, and imprisonment of Hakimeldostu Mehdiyev, regional correspondent for the opposition newspaper Yeni Musavat, by officials in the Nakhchivan Autonomous…
Préval pledges justice in murders of Haitian journalists
Préval pledges justice in murders of Haitian journalists New York, September 27, 2007—Haitian President René Préval has pledged support for an independent committee evaluating stalled investigations into a series of unsolved journalist murders this decade and said that all political obstacles to justice have now been removed.
Independent editor to be tried in Egyptian security court
New York, September 27, 2007―The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that a leading Egyptian editor charged with publishing articles about President Hosni Mubarak’s health will be tried by an emergency state security court. Meanwhile, a Cairo court handed jail terms to the chairman of an independent weekly and four of its journalists. Ibrahim Eissa,…
Japanese photographer killed as Burmese troops crack down on protests
New York, September 27, 2007— A Japanese photographer, Kenji Nagai, 50, who was working for Tokyo-based video and photo agency APF News, was one of at least nine people killed today by Burmese troops cracking down on anti-government demonstrations in Rangoon, according to official Japanese state-run television. Another 11 demonstrators were injured, as were 31…
Amid a crackdown, three Egyptian editors sentenced to jail
New York, September 26, 2007―The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns this week’s convictions of three editors from an opposition daily, which come amid a flurry of criminal lawsuits filed against the press by lawyers affiliated with the ruling National Democratic Party. A criminal misdemeanor court on Monday convicted Al-Wafd Editor-in-Chief Anwar al-Hawari, Deputy Editor-in-Chief…
Newspaper director reports death threats
SEPTEMBER 2007 Posted September 25, 2007 Harrys Robert Mintya, Le Devoir THREATENED Harrys Robert Mintya, the managing director of the independent newspaper Le Devoir, said he received three telephone threats in mid-September in relation to the Yaounde newspaper’s reporting.
Appeals for release of ailing Chinese writer ignored
New York, September 25, 2007 —The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that imprisoned writer Zhang Jianhong has been transferred to Qiaosi prison in the eastern province of Zhejiang, despite numerous appeals for his release on medical parole. Zhang has been diagnosed with a rare nerve disorder that could lead to permanent paralysis…