CPJ deeply disturbed by contempt ruling in CIA leak case
New York, August 11, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is very concerned by a U.S. federal judge’s ruling to hold a journalist in contempt of court for refusing to testify before the grand jury probing the 2003 leak of a CIA operative’s name. Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan of U.S. District Court in Washington,…
CPJ protests criminal defamation charges
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by the continuing use of Indonesia’s outdated criminal defamation laws to punish journalists who criticize public figures. This disturbing trend is having a chilling effect on local journalists and poses a direct threat to press freedom in Indonesia. We call on you to do everything in your power to uphold Article 28 of Indonesia’s Constitution, which guarantees press freedom, and to fight for the removal of defamation laws from your country’s Criminal Code.
Disputes accusations that station incited violence
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly protests the Iraqi interim government’s closure of the Iraq offices of the Qatar-based satellite news channel Al-Jazeera. On August 7, the interim government barred Al-Jazeera from working in Iraq for 30 days, accusing the station of incitement to violence and hatred, according to news reports. Your Excellency announced the decision at a press conference, noting that an Iraqi media monitoring body had produced a report “on the issues of incitement and the problems Al-Jazeera has been causing.” You also said the ban was implemented to “protect the people of Iraq and the interests of Iraq.”
Search warrant revoked in Hong Kong newspaper raid
New York, August 10, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes a Hong Kong court decision today setting aside a search warrant issued in a July 24 raid on the daily newspaper Sing Tao. The newspaper was one of seven raided by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in a sweeping anti-corruption investigation. Justice Michael…
CPJ Calls on Putin to ensure editors’ killers are brought to justice
Your Excellency: The July 9 slaying of Forbes Russia Editor Paul Klebnikov in the capital, Moscow, is a grim reminder of the years-long pattern of deadly, unchecked violence against journalists in Russia that is damaging your nation’s international reputation and depriving your citizens of the independent reporting essential to democracy. Eleven journalists have been murdered in contract-style killings during your tenure–and four others have died as a result of other violent, work-related circumstances–yet no one has been brought to justice for these killings.
Imprisoned journalist receives suspended sentence
New York, August 9, 2004—A court in the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui, today sentenced Maka Gbossokotto, publication director of the private French language daily Le Citoyen, to a 12-month suspended jail term and a 500,000 CFA franc (US$960) fine for printing “public insults” against businessman Jean-Serge Wafio. Gbossokotto was also charged with defamation, but…
Radio Hosanna employees released, station still shuttered
New York, August 9, 2004—Seven employees of an evangelical radio station that was shuttered last week were freed on Saturday, August 7, without charge. The station, Radio Hosanna, in the southern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Lubumbashi, remains closed. The station has been shut down since August 4, when national intelligence agents and police…
Maoist rebels attack journalists
New York, August 9, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is troubled by the continuing deterioration of press freedom conditions in Nepal, marked by several recent threats and attacks on journalists covering the Maoist rebel insurgency in the western part of the country. On July 31, Maoist rebels abducted a local journalist and human rights…
CPJ CALLS ON PUTIN TO ENSURE EDITORS’ KILLERS ARE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE
New York, August 9, 2004—Saying that Russian authorities “have repeatedly disregarded pertinent evidence and witnesses” in the slayings of two editors of a Togliatti newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on President Vladimir Putin today to “devote the full resources of your office” to bring the true killers to justice.