In Zimbabwe, state broadcast journalists face criminal charges
New York, March 27, 2007—Two journalists with Zimbabwe’s state broadcaster have been criminally charged in connection with footage of diamond trafficking in the eastern Manicaland province, according to Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and news reports. Andrew Neshamba, Manicaland bureau chief for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), was arrested on February 9 and charged…
In Pakistan, a media group cries foul over government advertising
CPJ’s Bob Dietz discusses the situation in Pakistan. (mp3). New York, March 27, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about a deteriorating media environment in Pakistan that includes both business retaliation and outright attacks on media companies.
In Uzbekistan, Deutsche Welle reporter faces criminal charges
New York, March 27, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the filing of criminal charges against Natalya Bushuyeva, Tashkent-based correspondent for the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. On Friday, the prosecutor’s office in the Uzbek capital charged Bushuyeva with tax evasion as well as concealing her income and working as a reporter without accreditation, according…
In Bangladesh, reporter jailed for reporting on local mismanagement
New York, March 26, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists called for the immediate release of Daily Star reporter E.A.M. Asaduzzaman Tipu, who was jailed in the northern Bangladesh district of Nilphamari on Wednesday. The correspondent suffered a severe asthma attack two days after being arrested for his reporting on official mismanagement, the Dhaka-based daily reported.…
Press for release of Afghan journalist Ajmal Nakshbandi
Dear Colleagues, We are asking you–journalists and news organizations–to help pressure the Afghan government to work for the release of Ajmal Nakshbandi, the freelance Afghan journalist who was seized with La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo and the group’s driver Sayed Agha. As you know, Agha was beheaded a few days after the men were taken on March 5. According to most sources, Ajmal is still being held by the Taliban group that abducted them and is still somewhere in Helmand province.
Somali government shuts down Al-Jazeera bureau
New York, March 23, 2007— The bureau of satellite television Al-Jazeera in the capital Mogadishu was indefinitely shuttered on Thursday following an order from intelligence officials of Somalia’s Ethiopian-backed transitional government, according to news reports. The bureau of the Qatar-based broadcaster was “effectively closed” today after the station received a letter from the transitional government’s…
Zimbabwean government threatens foreign correspondents
New York, March 23, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a government press release issued on Thursday threatening foreign correspondents with unspecified government reprisal in the capital Harare over alleged biased reporting. Prominent correspondents Jan Raath of the The Times of London and Peta Thornycroft of Britain’s Daily Telegraph and US-based broadcaster…
CPJ calls for further investigation into death of Bangladeshi reporter
New York, March 23, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bangladeshi authorities to thoroughly investigate the death of Jamal Uddin, an independent reporter in the southeastern district of Rangamati. Jamal Uddin, 25, went missing on March 5, and his body was found the next day in the outskirts of his hometown Kathaltala, according to…