New York, February 7, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Monday’s vicious attack against the offices of the newspaper El Mañana in Nuevo Laredo, a city on the U.S.-Mexican border that is plagued by drug-related violence. Unidentified assailants fired assault rifles and tossed a grenade at the newspaper’s offices, causing considerable damage and seriously wounding…
Istanbul, Turkey, February 7, 2006—Scuffles erupted between riot police and Turkish nationalist lawyers at the start of the trial today of five journalists in a freedom of speech case given prominence by Turkey’s European Union application. After more than two hours of courtroom chaos, the judge adjourned the hearing until April 11 to allow the…
New York, February 7, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the Yemeni government’s decision to revoke the license of the private weekly Al-Hurriya Ahliya and issue an arrest warrant for the paper’s editor. The actions came after Al-Hurriya became the third Arab newspaper to publish controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The…
New York, February 7, 2006—Jean-Louis Ngalamulume, publisher of the private newspaper L’Eclaireur, has been jailed since January 27 in the capital, Kinshasa, on charges of publishing “public insults” against a government official, according to the press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED) and the secretary-general of the Congolese press union. Police questioned Ngalamulume about a…
New York, February 7, 2006—Sierra Leone’s attorney general confirmed today that he will not pursue charges of manslaughter against a member of parliament and two others accused of assaulting journalist Harry Yansaneh in May 2005. At the time, Yansaneh was acting editor of the private newspaper For Di People. A judicial inquest found that the…
Your Excellency: I am writing to you as the highest representative of China in the United States to ask that you make known to the authorities in Beijing, including President Hu Jintao, our deep concern about the imprisonment of Internet journalist Shi Tao.
New York, February 6, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the imprisonment of a Mexican reporter. Angel Mario Ksheratto columnist for the daily Cuarto Poder in the southern state of Chiapas, was detained on Saturday and accused of contempt after missing a court date in connection with a criminal defamation complaint filed against…
Istanbul, Turkey, February 6, 2006—Five prominent Turkish journalists are due to appear in court on Tuesday on charges of insulting the judiciary for criticizing a court decision to ban an academic conference on the killing of Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire. The case has embarrassed Turkey, which is in negotiations to…
New York, February 6, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the arrest of two Jordanian editors in Amman for publishing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The journalists, charged twice in three days, face criminal counts that include incitement to violence and blasphemy. The action comes as violence against journalists was reported in…
New York, February 6, 2006—The publication director of a private weekly newspaper was sentenced today to two months in prison for allegedly defaming a local businessman, according to two local journalist organizations. Ibrahim Manzo, director of L’Autre Observateur, was arrested and placed in “preventive detention” on Thursday; his trial lasted a single day. He is…