Journalists assaulted while covering rally
New York, May 26, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the assault of several foreign and local journalists by government supporters as police looked on during demonstrations in Cairo yesterday. Journalists told CPJ that the attacks took place as they were covering demonstrations in downtown Cairo organized by Kifaya (Enough), an opposition group that was…
Honduran high court strikes down desacato provision
New York, May 26, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a new ruling by the Honduran Supreme Court of Justice that strikes down the desacato, or contempt, provision in the country’s Penal Code. The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber ruled on May 19 that Article 345 of the Penal Code was unconstitutional because it provided “special…
Journalist shot and wounded in Mogadishu
New York, May 26, 2005—Veteran journalist Abdallah Nurdin Ahmad was wounded Tuesday night in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, when an unidentified gunman fired three times at close range, according to CPJ sources. Nurdin, a senior producer at the private radio station HornAfrik, underwent surgery at Medina Hospital and was recovering today. Ali Iman Sharmake, HornAfrik’s…
EGYPT
MAY 25, 2005 Posted: June 21, 2005 Shaymaa Abol Kheir, Al-Dustour Gamal Fahmi, Press Syndicate and Al-Arabi Mohamed Abdel Kouddous, Press Syndicate Several other journalists ATTACKED Government supporters assaulted several foreign and local journalists as police looked on during demonstrations in Cairo.
ITALY
MAY 25, 2005 Posted: May 31, 2005 Staff, Corriere della Sera ATTACKED Six police officers searched the headquarters of Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading national daily based in Milan. The officers spent at least two hours in the newsroom, looking for documents that the daily had used as part of its earlier report on the…
CPJ urges president to halt criminal defamation prosecutions
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is very concerned about the recent surge of criminal defamation cases brought against journalists in Algeria, including numerous cases filed in retaliation for critical coverage of Your Excellency. In the past week alone, at least four journalists have been convicted of criminal defamation and three have received prison sentences. Hundreds of cases are pending against local journalists, many involving charges of defaming Your Excellency, journalists have told CPJ.
Brazilian jury convicts suspected drug lord in Lopes murder
New York, May 25, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s conviction of a suspected drug lord in the brutal 2002 slaying of Brazilian investigative reporter Tim Lopes. A jury in Rio de Janeiro also sentenced the defendant, Elias Pereira da Silva, to 28 and a half years in prison, according to press reports.
Media executive severely beaten
New York, May 25, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Sunday’s assault on Dmitry Suryaninov, general director of the Media-Samara holding company, which owns several news outlets in the Samara region of southern Russia. At least two assailants battered Suryaninov with baseball bats near his home in Samara, the regional capital, according to local and…
Journalists detained, charged with seditious libel
New York, May 25, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the criminal charges brought today against two journalists from the private weekly newspaper Trumpet. Managing editor Sydney Pratt and reporter Dennis Jones were arrested yesterday and were being held at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in the capital, Freetown, where the paper is based. Both…