Sri Lankan journalist, still in jeopardy, says government never offered protection
New York, August 31, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists remains concerned about the safety of Sri Lankan journalist Iqbal Athas, who has come under threat after writing an August 12 article about alleged government misconduct in the procurement of MiG-27 fighter jets from Ukraine. Athas said that he has been harassed and followed by unknown…
Russian police seize computers from Novaya Gazeta bureau
New York, August 31, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that police in the Volga River city of Nizhny Novgorod raided the local bureau of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta on Thursday, seizing all of the office’s computers. “This raid on Novaya Gazeta is yet another installment in the unending saga of…
HAITI: Two gang members sentenced to life in prison for journalist murder
UPDATE: August 30, 2007 Original case: July 14, 2005 Jacques Roche, Le Matin KILLED—UNCONFIRMED On August 30, Port-au-Prince judge Jean Claude Rigeur sentenced Alby Joseph and Chéry Beaubrun, members of the local Solino gang, to life in prison for the 2005 kidnapping and murder of Haitian journalist Jacques Roche, reported the Haitian press.
In Niger, government bans live broadcasts on Tuareg rebellion
New York, August 30, 2007—Niger’s state-run High Council on Communications has banned the broadcast of live debates on an armed rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in the north of the uranium-rich West African nation, according to local journalists. Attacks by Tuareg fighters have killed at least 45 soldiers since February, according to Reuters. The ruling on…
In a benchmark verdict, Russian court convicts 5 in reporter’s murder
New York, August 30, 2007—A court in Russia’s west-central republic of Tatarstan has convicted five members of a criminal gang in the 2000 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Igor Domnikov, the newspaper reported today. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed this important development, but urged authorities to vigorously prosecute the masterminds of the crime.
Government shuts down newspaper for one month
AUGUST 24, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Makkal Osai CENSORED The government ordered the month-long closure of Makkal Osai, a Tamil-language newspaper, for publishing a picture of Jesus holding a cigarette and what appears to be a can of beer. The Internal Security Ministry suspended the paper’s publication permit after the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC),…
Burmese authorities move to restrict news coverage of protests
New York, August 29, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the Burmese government’s restriction of news coverage of recent nationwide protests over an August 15 government decision to end fuel price subsidies. According to the Burma Media Association (BMA), plainclothes police and pro-government groups brandishing crude weapons have threatened, harassed, and physically…
In Russia, four formally charged in Politkovskaya murder as new suspect emerges
New York, August 29, 2007—Four of the 10 suspects detained in the 2006 murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya have been formally charged, a defense lawyer told the independent radio station Ekho Moskvy. A warrant has been issued for the detention of an 11th suspect in the case, a spokeswoman for the Moscow City Court told…
SOMALIA:In Somaliland, TV journalist assaulted by mayor, held three days
JUNE 28, 2006 Posted August 10, 2007 Abdirahman Muse Omar, Somaliland Television IMPRISONED Omar, a news editor for private broadcaster Somaliland Television in the northern breakaway republic of Somaliland, was assaulted on June 28 by Mayor Hussein Muhammud Jiir after seeking official comments about the police’s expulsion of a family and the destruction of their…
Taliban harass reporter
AUGUST 28, 2007 Posted August 28, 2007 Mohammad Zahir Bahand, Salam Watandar, Reporter DETAINED, INTERROGATED, THREATENED Bahand was kidnapped by Taliban in the vicinity of the Pulisurkh area in Sayedabad district of Wardak province and was released after a few hours of questioning, according to Kabul-based radio station Salam Watandar’s manager Sanjar Qiam. Bahand was…