China: CPJ demands release of filmmaker and blogger Wu Hao
New York, March 22, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for the release of documentary filmmaker and blogger Wu Hao whose detention has only now been made public. Wu was detained on February 22 in Beijing, apparently without charge, according to his friends in China and the United States. “Wu Hao must be released…
Sports editor assaulted
MARCH 10, 2006 Posted March 21, 2006 Peter Nimely Toby, The Analyst ATTACKED, THREATENED Armed and masked men assaulted and threatened Toby, sports editor for the independent newspaper The Analyst in the capital, Monrovia, the newspaper reported. The men jumped out of a black jeep, beat Toby with guns, and threatened him with death.
Two journalists arrested, charged for “false news”
MARCH 11, 2006 Posted March 21, 2006 Matongo Maumbi, Radio Chikuni Jyde Hamoonga, Radio Chikuni HARASSED, LEGAL ACTION Maumbi and Hamoonga, two journalists working for Radio Chikuni, a community station in the southern district of Monze, were arrested and charged with publishing “false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public.” The…
Colombian radio host dies of injuries from shooting
New York, March 21, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalist mourns the death of Colombian radio commentator Gustavo Rojas Gabalo, who died Monday of injuries he suffered in a February 4 shooting outside a local supermarket in the northwestern city of Montería, Córdoba province. Rojas, known as “El Gaba,” died in the Salucoop Clinic in Medellín,…
In Iraq, CBS cameraman faces trial Wednesday
New York, March 21, 2006—An Iraqi cameraman held by U.S. forces for nearly a year without charge will stand trial in Baghdad on Wednesday, CBS News and a U.S. military spokesman said late today. Abdul Ameer Younis Hussein, a freelance cameraman working for CBS News, will be prosecuted at the Central Criminal Court of Iraq…
Czech reporter beaten, three Belarusians detained in election aftermath
New York, March 21, 2006—Unidentified assailants beat a reporter for the Czech daily Mlada Fronta Dnes as he was completing coverage of a post-election opposition rally in downtown Minsk Sunday night, The Associated Press reported. The attackers broke Jan Rybar’s nose, leaving him with a mild concussion and bruises, and took his laptop computer and…
Iranian journalist Ganji freed after six years in prison
New York, March 20, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison of prominent Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji, freed on Friday after six years behind bars, but the organization calls on authorities to release all Iranian journalists jailed for their work. At least nine journalists are now jailed in Iran, CPJ research shows.
In Belarus, press attacks continue on election weekend and beyond
New York, March 20, 2006—Belarusian authorities muzzled independent journalists in the final hours of the presidential campaign—and beyond—as President Aleksandr Lukashenko won a third term in balloting on Sunday that international observers said fell short of democratic standards. Authorities arrested three Belarusian editors without explanation and barred at least four Russian journalists from covering the…
Authorities release two RFE/RL journalists
New York, March 20, 2006—Authorities have released two journalists working for the Turkmen service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) after arresting them on spurious charges of hooliganism, according to international press reports. RFE/RL officials in Prague issued a statement saying that the two journalists—Meret Khommadov and Dzhumadurdy Ovezov—were freed on Thursday only after signing…
Periodistas bajo acoso en Colombia
Gerardo Reyes El Nuevo Herald March 19, 2006 Alos periodistas colombianos no les queda otra posibilidad que ejercer su oficio en puntillas. Están condenados a cubrir la historia de su país con la delicadeza del cazador de minas que trata de no pisar los intereses de quienes podrían ejercer el derecho artillado de la réplica.