New York, December 21, 2006–The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the killing of Philippines radio broadcaster Andres Acosta, which police believe may be linked to his work. He was stabbed to death Wednesday in the town of Batac, 240 miles (390 kilometers) north of Manila. “We join our colleagues in the Philippines in mourning the…
DECEMBER 20, 2006 Posted: January 12, 2007 Julián Herrera, Clave and Clave Digital THREATENED Herrera, a columnist who covers the armed forces for the Santo Domingo-based weekly Clave and the Internet daily Clave Digital, said in an interview with CPJ that he has been threatened and followed by unidentified individuals after reporting on corruption in…
DECEMBER 19, 2006 Posted: December 20, 2006 Ángel Mario Ksheratto, Cuarto Poder IMPRISONED Ksheratto, columnist for the daily Cuarto Poder, was released on parole in the southern Chiapas state after 41 days in prison, the Mexican press reported. He was detained on November 9 for allegedly violating a condition of bail stemming from a 2003…
New York, December 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by an upsurge in arrests and the harassment of journalists by rival groups battling for control of Somalia. Both the Islamists who hold Mogadishu and the U.N.-backed transitional government based in Baidoa, northwest of the capital, have cracked down on the press this month.…
Updated: DECEMBER 15, 2006 Original Case: April 8, 2006 Julio Balza, El Nuevo País LEGAL ACTION The Caracas Sixth Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s conviction of Balza, a columnist for the Caracas-based daily El Nuevo País, on criminal defamation and slander charges.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about threats and attacks against journalists in the run-up to general elections scheduled for January 23, 2007. We urge you to do everything in your power as leader of the interim government to ensure that assaults on the press are adequately investigated and punished, and that journalists are free to report on the election campaign without fear of retribution.
New York, December 14, 2006—Three private radio journalists returned to prison today after their one-day trial in the capital, Bujumbura, according to local journalists. The three have been jailed for more than two weeks while a fourth journalist went into hiding after receiving a judicial summons. Since September, the government has cracked down on three…
Bob Dietz Published in the South China Morning Post December 12, 2006 China media-watchers are accustomed to seeing moderate pendulum swings in the government’s approach to press freedom. Over the years, rules have been eased, only to be reined back when social conditions or political administrations change.