New York, July 17, 2003—A top Iranian official said yesterday that the death of Canadian-Iranian free-lance photojournalist Zahra Kazemi might have be en caused by a fall or another accident, contradicting an announcement the same day by Iranian vice president Mohammad Ali Abtahi that Kazemi died from a “brain hemorrhage resulting from beatings” Iranian foreign…
Your Majesty: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the sharp erosion of press freedom in Morocco in recent months, including the arrest and criminal prosecutions of newspaper editors and the closure of independent publications. These actions contravene the internationally guaranteed right to freedom of expression and continue to undermine Morocco’s standing as a country that permits open media.
New York, July 16, 2003—A top Vietnamese government official has said that imprisoned writer and publisher Nguyen Dan Que would be released only if he agrees to leave Vietnam permanently and live in exile, according to a Sunday, July 13, report from the U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) confirmed by CPJ. RFA reported that Deputy…
New York, July 15, 2003—Three imprisoned Togolese journalists announced yesterday morning that they would begin a 48-hour hunger strike to protest their continued detention on charges of “publishing false information and disturbing public order.” Dimas Dzikodo and Philip Evégnon, editor-in-chief and publication director, respectively, of the private weekly L’Evenement, and Jean de Dieu Kpakpabia, journalist…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply alarmed by the death of Canadian-Iranian free-lance photographer Zahra Kazemi. Although you have ordered several government ministries to officially investigate her death, we demand that an immediate, independent inquiry be conducted—including an autopsy—and that the results be made public. According to the official Iranian news…
New York, July 14, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the arrest of Eritrean journalist Aklilu Solomon, Asmara-based stringer for the U.S. governmentfunded Voice of America (VOA) news service. Eritrean security officers arrested Solomon at his home on Tuesday, July 8, and took him to an undisclosed location. Ten days earlier, authorities had stripped…
New York, July 11, 2003—A Georgian court sentenced former police officer Grigol Khurtsilava on Wednesday, July 9, to a 13-year prison term for the July 2001 murder of popular television journalist Georgy Sanaya. Sanaya anchored “Night Courier,” a nightly political talk show on the independent television station Rustavi 2 in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. The journalist…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is dismayed that Munawar Mohsin, a former subeditor of the national daily Frontier Post, has been sentenced to life in prison by a court in North West Frontier Province on charges of blasphemy.
New York, July 10, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent closure by the Belarusian authorities of Russian television network NTV’s Belarus bureau, as well as the decision to cancel accreditation for the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and Internews, both U.S. government-funded organizations that provide support to independent media. On July…
New York, July 10, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about Canadian-Iranian free-lance photographer Zahra Kazemi who is currently in serious condition in a hospital in Iran’s capital, Tehran. Kazemi, who has contributed to Recto Verso, a Montreal-based magazine, and the London-based photo agency Camera Press, is in a coma in a…