MEXICO: Bullets found outside home of journalist who criticized local government
August 28, 2007 Posted September 17, 2007 Martín Serrano Herrera, Diario Tribuna THREATENED Serrano, editor of the Jalapa-based daily Diario Tribuna, found high-caliber bullets with red paint wrapped in newspaper just outside his home in the southeastern state of Veracruz. The journalist told CPJ he believed the threat was a warning against his critical reporting…
CPJ urges Sri Lankan president to ensure columnist’s safety
Dear President Rajapaksa: The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by grave threats made against the veteran journalist Iqbal Athas. He has come under extraordinary pressure following his investigations into irregularities surrounding a 2006 deal to purchase MiG-27 fighter jets from Ukraine.
Cameroonian publisher sentenced to jail in absentia
New York, August 28 2007— A court in Cameroon’s northwestern town of Kumbo sentenced in absentia, on August 13, the publisher of a small English-language newspaper to a year in prison, according to the national secretary of the Cameroon Journalists’ Trade Union. The sentence was related to alleged press offenses by the newspaper, which published…
IVORY COAST: Students raid newspaper
AUGUST 27, 2007 Posted September 7, 2007 L’Intelligent HARASSED About 40 militants of pro-government student group FESCI invaded the offices of private daily L’Intelligent in the capital, Abdijan, sequestering journalists for two hours, seizing newsroom equipment and knocking down the door of editor Laurent Okoué, according to news reports and local journalists.
Protesters detain cameraman
August 27, 2007 POSTED September 12, 2007 Edwin David Hernández, Star Chanel HARASSED Hernández, cameraman for the news program “Noti Star” on national cable channel Star Chanel, was held for more than three hours by protesters in the central Baja Verapaz province, he told CPJ.
Yemeni editor abducted, severely beaten
New York, August 27, 2007–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the abduction and brutal beating of a Yemeni editor by gunmen in Sana’a today. The local journalists CPJ spoke with suspected the gunmen are part of the government’s security forces. A silver Toyota SUV carrying six gunmen wearing civilian clothing descended upon Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani,…
Yahoo, MSN affiliates agree to blogging controls in China
New York, August 27, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the decision of blog hosting services in China, including Yahoo China and MSN China, to sign a pledge that “encourages” real-name registration for bloggers and commits companies to deleting “illegal or inappropriate information.” “The Chinese government depends on the complicity of private…
In Russia, suspects arrested in Politkovskaya murder
New York, August 27, 2007—Ten suspects have been arrested in the October 2006 assassination in Moscow of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika told a news conference today. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the development but urged Russian authorities to publicly disclose details of the probe, including evidence of the suspects’…
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Intelligence agents question four TV journalists over interview
AUGUST 26, 2007 Posted September 5, 2005 Stéphane Kitutu O’Leontwa, Canal Congo Télévision Thierry Musenepo, Business Radio Télévision Christian Ali, Business Radio TélévisionTutu Kazadi, Business Radio TélévisionHARASSED
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),…