CPJ alarmed by Taliban threat to kill Afghan journalist Ajmal Nakshbandi
New York, March 30, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that Taliban leader Mullah Dadullah has threatened to kill kidnapped Afghan journalist and translator Ajmal Nakshbandi unless President Hamid Karzai negotiates his release. Ajmal remains in Taliban custody nearly four weeks after he was abducted in Helmand province on March 4, along…
Media mogul receives two-year jail sentence for defamation
New York, March 30, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the two year prison term on criminal defamation charges handed down to firebrand and Manager Media Group founder Sondhi Limthongkul, who is appealing the sentence and remains free on bail. A Bangkok criminal court on Thursday sentenced Sondhi in relation to comments he…
Authorities accuse Ceferino García of premeditated murder of Mauro Marcano
Updated: March 29, 2007 Original Case: September 17, 2004 Mauro Marcano, Radio Maturín, El Oriental KILLED On March 5, Venezuelan authorities arrested Ceferino García, believed to be the mastermind behind Marcano’s death, and accused him of premeditated murder, reported the local press. García is being held in Pica prison in the northern Monagas province.
CPJ calls for release of imprisoned journalist Josh Wolf
New York, March 29, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for the release of video blogger Josh Wolf, who has been jailed longer than any reporter in U.S. history after refusing to provide raw video footage of July 2005 San Francisco street protests to a federal grand jury. “No more purpose is served by…
In Iraq, 11 media workers jailed for month without charge
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that 10 current employees and one former employee of the independent production company Wasan Media have been held by the Interior Ministry for more than a month without charge.
Russian editor faces five years in prison for “extremist activity”
New York, March 28, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the criminal prosecution of Viktor Shmakov, editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper Provintsialnye Vesti (Provincial News) in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan. Prosecutors in the regional capital Ufa, 680 miles (1100 kilometers) east of Moscow, have charged Shmakov with “public calls for the realization…
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Radio journalist detained for two days over critical commentary
MARCH 27, 2007 Posted April 27, 2007 Minyanya Wasso, Radio Liberté HARASSED Five armed police officers stormed the studios of private Radio Liberté in the far eastern Sud Kivu province, arresting a journalist airing a live program and causing the station to go off the air for 30 minutes, Director Philemon Kangeta told CPJ.
Television anchor severely beaten in Bishkek
March 27, 2007 Posted: April 2, 2007 Daniyar Isanov, New TV Net (NTS) ATTACKED Four unidentified men approached Isanov, a news anchor for NTS, and asked him for a cigarette as the journalist was leaving the Kyrgyzfilm cinema in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek at around 9 p.m., according to local press reports.
Two Colombian journalists flee after death threats and murder plot
New York, March 27, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by death threats against Colombian journalist Germán Hernández, who fled his hometown, and a murder plot against journalist Darío Arizmendi, who fled the country this month. “We are concerned by the death threats against our colleague Germán Hernández, as well as by allegations of…