China plans restrictions on reporting of disasters
New York, June 26, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by a proposed law that would subject news outlets to fines for reporting on natural disasters, riots, and other emergencies without official approval. The draft law is under review by the country’s legislature, according to state media.
Radio journalist beaten, detained
JUNE 23, 2006 Posted: July 10, 2006 Augusto Queba Barbosa, Bombolom FM ATTACKED, HARASSED Police arrested Barbosa, a reporter for the private radio station Bombolom FM in the southwestern town of Bolama, after he broadcast a report accusing a local police officer of violence against a woman, according to the pan-African news agency Panapress and…
CPJ alarmed by plan to double jail time for defamation
New York, June 23, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a proposal sent to Panama’s President Martín Torrijos to stiffen penalties for defamation, including a doubling of prison terms. A commission of lawyers and academics, which was set up by Torrijos to examine penal code reform, made the proposals in a draft bill…
Journalist convicted in secret in defamation case, JED says
New York, June 23, 2006—A journalist imprisoned in the Democratic Republic of Congo since April on defamation charges was secretly convicted and sentenced to four months in jail over a week ago, a press freedom group reported today. The Kinshasa-based organization, Journaliste en Danger (JED), told the Committee to Protect Journalists that one of its…
CPJ condemns brutal murder of Swedish photographer
New York, June 23, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply shocked by the killing of award-winning Swedish journalist and photographer Martin Adler, who was shot by an unidentified gunman while filming a demonstration in the Somali capital Mogadishu today. Adler, a long-time contributor to Britain’s Channel 4 News, was freelancing for several newspapers including…
Sri Lanka: CPJ concerned by move to reinstate state-controlled Press Council
New York, June 23, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today about the Sri Lankan government’s reinstatement of a politically appointed Press Council with the authority to penalize news outlets and journalists for their reporting. Mass Media and Information Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa announced on Thursday that the cabinet had approved the restoration of…
CPJ urges revival of probe into murder of Zeta editor
New York, June 22, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists urged Mexican authorities to revive a stalled investigation into the murder of Francisco Ortiz Franco, co-editor of the Tijuana-based weekly Zeta, who was gunned two years ago today. José Luis Vasconcelos, the leading prosecutor in the organized crime division of the federal Attorney General’s office, told…
Two Pakistani journalists charged after months in custody
New York, June 22, 2006—Authorities filed criminal cases against Geo TV correspondent Mukesh Rupeta and freelance cameraman Sanjay Kumar today, more than three months after the two disappeared in Jacobabad in south Pakistan’s Sindh province. The two journalists were accused of filming a Pakistani air force base in violation of the Official Secrets Act, and…
Pakistan: CPJ urges probe into journalist killings
Washington, June 21, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists met with Pakistan’s new ambassador to the United States today to press for an investigation into the killing of Hayatullah Khan and other journalists. Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani said he would convey CPJ’s concerns to his government when he visits Islamabad at the end of the week.