CPJ protests censorship and threats to private radio stations
New York, February 10, 2005—CPJ is outraged at today’s closure of the private station Radio Lumière, as well as attempts by Togolese authorities to intimidate private broadcasters that have protested the military’s appointment of the late President Gnassingbé Eyadema’s son as leader. Earlier in the week, officials cut FM transmissions of Radio France Internationale (RFI),…
IRAQ
FEBRUARY 9, 2005 Posted: February 10, 2005 Abdul-Hussein Khazal, Al-Hurra KILLED—UNCONFIRMED Khazal, 40, and his son were gunned down outside their home around 8 a.m., Al-Hurra said in a statement. Khazal, who joined Al-Hurra in April 2004, also worked as a correspondent for the U.S.-funded radio station Radio Sawa, the station said.
In Port-au-Prince, radio host wounded in drive-by shooting
New York, February 9, 2005—A Haitian radio reporter was wounded in the arm in a drive-by shooting in front of the station’s studios in the capital, Port-au-Prince, on Friday. Raoul Saint-Louis, a reporter with the private station Radio Megastar, has since moved from his home in fear for his life, The Associated Press reported. “We…
Authorities issue warning to newspaper over Chechnya interview
New York, February 9, 2005—Federal authorities in Moscow have issued an official warning to the independent Moscow daily Kommersant for publishing a February 7 interview with Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, according to local and international press reports. The Federal Service for Oversight of Compliance with Media Laws issued the warning Tuesday under the Media…
BBC producer killed outside Mogadishu hotel
New York, February 9, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply saddened by the death of BBC producer Kate Peyton, who was shot today outside her hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Peyton underwent surgery at a local hospital but died later of internal bleeding, according to the BBC. Details were sketchy, but news reports…
Gunmen kill reporter, young son in Basra
New York, February 9, 2005—An Iraqi correspondent for the U.S.-funded television station Al-Hurra and his 3-year-old son were shot dead by unknown gunmen in the city of Basra today, according to Al-Hurra and international press reports. Abdul-Hussein Khazal, 40, and his son were gunned down outside their home around 8 a.m. Iraq time, Al-Hurra said…
TOGO
FEBRUARY 8, 2005 Posted: February 11, 2005 Radio France Internationale CENSORED FM broadcasts of Radio France Internationale (RFI) were cut at around noon, according to RFI and international news reports. Communications Minister Pittang Tchalla told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that RFI had gone off air because of a “technical fault.” But AFP quoted a source close…
RUSSIA
FEBRUARY 8, 2005 Posted: February 10, 2005 KommersantHARASSED Federal authorities in Moscow issued an official warning to the independent Moscow daily Kommersant for publishing a February 7 interview with Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, according to local and international press reports.
Calls for immediate release of jailed editor, protests recent prosecutions
Washington, D.C., February 8, 2005—A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists met with Yemen’s ambassador to the United States, Abdulwahab Abdulla al-Hajjri, today to express deep concern about the imprisonment of a Yemeni opposition newspaper editor and a recent spate of criminal convictions handed down against several other journalists. Abdelkarim al-Khaiwani, editor of the…