ISRAEL and the Occupied Territories, including the Palestinian Authority Territories
AUGUST 22, 2005 Posted: August 26, 2005 Mohamed Ouathi, Daily News ABDUCTED Mohammed Ouathi, a soundman for France 3 television was released unharmed, eight days after unidentified gunmen seized him in the Gaza Strip.
Kidnapped French TV soundman freed
New York, August 22, 2005—A soundman for French television was released unharmed today, eight days after unidentified gunmen seized him in the Gaza Strip. Mohammed Ouathi of France 3 television told reporters he was well but made no further comment when he appeared at a Gaza City police station, international news agencies reported.
BOTSWANA
AUGUST 2, 2005 Posted: August 17, 2005 Rodrick Mukumbira, Ngami Times, Agence France-Presse, IRIN EXPELLED The government sent a July 27 letter to Mukumbira, a Zimbabwean national who had been working in Botswana since 2002, revoking his work and residence permits and ordering him to leave the country within seven days, according to the Media…
Independent newspaper targeted by army through the courts
New York, August 19, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is troubled by the growing legal harassment of the independent weekly L’Oeil du Sahel by Cameroon’s security forces. Army officers have brought at least twelve court cases against the newspaper since the beginning of the year, threatening its financial survival, director Guibaï Gatama said. L’Oeil du…
CPJ concerned about delay in witness testimony in Thai trial
New York, August 19, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about a delay in the testimony of three international expert witnesses who were scheduled to appear in court in Bangkok this week in defense of media activist Supinya Klangnarong, who is on trial with the Thai-language daily Thai Post on criminal defamation charges. Shin…
Suspended radio station is allowed back on air
New York, August 19, 2005—Independent radio station KFM was allowed back on the air Thursday after paying a fine of 4.95 million Ugandan shillings (US$2,700) for allegedly violating minimum broadcast standards, according to the station’s managing director. KFM had been closed for a week over on-air remarks by talk show host Andrew Mwenda, who blamed…
CPJ condemns grenade attack on newspaper
New York, August 18, 2005 The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the hand grenade attack on the offices of the Colombian daily El Informador. The newspaper said police believe a motorcycle passenger lobbed a fragmentation grenade which exploded outside the newsroom on Monday evening as three journalists and a designer were finishing Tuesday’s edition.…
Radio station closed
JULY 22, 2005 Posted: August 17, 2005 Radio Publique Africaine CENSORED RPA fell silent around 5 p.m. local time as a large group of police broke into the station compound, padlocked its studios, and cut off its transmitter, local sources said. The closure took place despite an earlier compromise deal between the authorities and RPA.
CAMEROON
AUGUST 17, 2005 Posted: September 15, 2005 Guibaï Gatama, L’Oeil du Sahel LEGAL ACTION A court in Maroua, the capital of Cameroon’s Far North Province, sentenced L’Oeil du Sahel publication director Guibaï Gatama in absentia to pay damages of 5 million CFA francs (U.S. $ 9,275) to the head of military security in the province…