Opposition newspapers blocked from printing
New York, January 19, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that Kazakhstan’s biggest printing company, which is run by a relative of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has refused to print seven Almaty-based opposition newspapers. Local press freedom groups said that the company, Dauir, told the editors of the weeklies Svoboda Slova, Epokha, Apta.kz, Soz,…
Moroccan press faces aggressive judicial harassment
New York, January 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a recent series of criminal cases against the Moroccan press, including criminal prosecutions of newspaper editors and the imposition of excessive fines on independent publications. Three journalists face possible imprisonment as a direct result of news or opinions published in their weeklies. Abdelaziz…
In Ivory Coast, youth militia seize state broadcaster
New York, January 18, 2006—Hundreds of members of the radical pro-government Young Patriots militia seized control of the state television and radio broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) today, broadcasting calls for protests against the French and U.N. presence in the country, according to local sources. They were also said to ransack a community radio station…
CPJ protests continued censorhip of Voice of the People
New York, January 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today that Voice of the People (VOP), an independent Zimbabwean news production company, remains inactive after police confiscated its equipment and files in a December raid. Authorities have continued to hold VOP material for more than a month. VOP Director John Masuku appeared in…
CPJ seeks halt to Cambodia’s media crackdown
New York, January 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the politicized prosecution of Cambodian journalists and calls on Prime Minister Hun Sen to drop all criminal defamation charges against Mom Sonando, Kem Sokha, and Pa Guon Tieng. The prime minister ordered the men released on bail Tuesday to coincide with a visit by U.S.…
CPJ issues appeal as kidnappers in Iraq threaten reporter
New York, January 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by a report today that kidnappers in Iraq have threatened to kill U.S. reporter Jill Carroll if the United States does not free all female Iraqi prisoners within 72 hours. The Arabic-language TV network Al-Jazeera aired a 20-second video in which a pale…
China: Internet writer still in detention after nearly a month
New York, January 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the well-being of dissident Internet writer Yang Tongyan (commonly known as Yang Tianshui), who was detained by plainclothes police in Nanjing late last month. Yang’s family has not been informed of any details of his case, including where he is being held…
Journalist begins 3-month jail term for criminal libel
New York, January 17, 2006— The Committee to Protect Journalists today called the jailing of a Polish journalist for criminal libel an affront to Polish democracy and called on the Polish president to pardon him. “Poland is now part of democratic Europe and democracies do not jail journalists for criticizing officials,” CPJ Executive Director Ann…
In Russia, Putin signs restrictive NGO bill
New York, January 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by news today that Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a restrictive bill regulating the work of nongovernmental organizations, including those dedicated to promoting press freedom and supporting independent media. Putin signed the bill on January 10, but news of his…