China: CPJ troubled by libel case against journalists reporting on Apple supplier
New York, August 30, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the filing of a defamation suit and the freezing of the assets of two journalists who investigated alleged labor abuses by a maker of Apple iPods in China. A subsidiary of Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd of Taiwan is suing reporter Wang You and…
BBC reporter’s brother killed in Pakistani tribal area
New York, August 30, 2006—The teenage brother of a BBC correspondent was found murdered today in South Waziristan, a violent and lawless tribal region along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. Taimor Khan, 16, brother of Dilawar Wazir, an Urdu language reporter for the BBC, was abducted in the town of Wana on his way home from…
Sri Lankan journalist freed after 20 hours in captivity
New York, August 30, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release today of Sri Lankan radio producer Nadaraja Guruparan, who was abducted by gunmen in the capital, Colombo, early Tuesday. Guruparan said he was held for about 20 hours by kidnappers who had forced him out of his car as he drove to work…
Pro-democracy writer freed from Vietnamese prisonwith conditions
New York, August 30, 2006—Writer Pham Hong Son was freed from prison today several months ahead of his scheduled release, but he faces three years of restricted movements and government surveillance, his wife told reporters. Son, a medical doctor who spent more than four years in prison after posting pro-democracy writings online, was included in…
Venezuelan columnist shot to death in front of home
New York, August 29, 2006—An unidentified assailant shot and killed Venezuelan columnist Jesús Rafael Flores Rojas last week in front of his home in El Tigre in southwestern Anzoátegui province. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether Flores’ murder is related to his journalistic work. Flores, known locally as “El Pavo Flores,” was editorial…
Sri Lanka: Veteran Tamil journalist feared abducted
New York, August 29, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports that veteran Sri Lankan journalist Nadarajah Guruparan is missing and feared abducted in Colombo today. The Free Media Movement, a local press group, reported that Guruparan, a producer, left for work at the privately owned Tamil-language radio station Sooriyan, or Sun…
Update Journalist faces lesser charge of insubordination
August 28, 2006 Original Alert: May 2, 2006 Viktor Shmakov, Provintsialnye Vesti LEGAL ACTION The regional prosecutor in the republic of Bashkortostan charged Shmakov, 63, founder and editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper Provintsialnye Vesti (Provincial News), with the lesser charge of “calling for insubordination to legal authorities.”
CPJ urges Sudan to release Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express grave concern about the detention and criminal prosecution of Paul Salopek, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Chicago Tribune, who was charged on Saturday with espionage and two other criminal counts in a Sudanese court.
Colombian radio commentator gunned down in his home
New York, August 28, 2006—Colombian radio commentator Atilano Segundo Pérez Barrios was murdered last week in his apartment in the northern city of Cartagena in the Bolívar province, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether Pérez’ murder is related to his journalistic work. An unidentified assailant forced…
Two killed in car bomb attack on Iraqi newspaper
New York, August 28, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Sunday’s deadly car bomb attack on the state-run daily newspaper Al-Sabah. The blast killed two people, injured 20 others, and caused severe damage to the newspaper building in Baghdad’s northern Waziriya district. The newspaper published on Monday despite the attack.