CPJ APPOINTS THREE NEW BOARD MEMBERS
New York, November 10, 2003— The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today announced the appointment of three new board members. They are: Dean Baquet, managing editor of the Los Angeles Times; Sandra Mims Rowe, editor of The Oregonian, and Paul E. Steiger, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal.
Supreme Court upholdsacquittal of journalists on state secrets charge
New York, November 10, 2003—Russia’s Supreme Court upheld the acquittal last week of two journalists from the Perm-based independent newspaper Zvezda who were charged with revealing state secrets. Yuri Shmidt, the journalists’ lawyer, said that the district court’s ruling was so strongly supportive of the journalists that it would have been impossible for the Supreme…
CPJ condemns arrest of photojournalist
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the November 1 arrest of Selim Jahangir, a photojournalist for the national Bengali-language daily Janakantha, in Rajshahi, a city in northwestern Bangladesh. We call for his immediate release from jail. Jahangir’s arrest is a blatant example of the abuse of power by local government officials, who must not be allowed to deny journalists their right to report on public events.
Government annouces new press accreditation requirements
New York, November 6, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by the Israeli Government Press Office’s (GPO) new administrative guidelines for press accreditation, which were announced on Sunday, November 2. The guidelines, set to take effect on January 1, 2004, include a provision requiring the country’s internal security service, or Shin Bet,…
CPJ concerned about jailing of three journalists
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is disturbed by the continued imprisonment of three journalists working for privately owned Sido radio station. According to local sources, police in Ségou, a city in southern Mali, arrested program host Chériff Haïdara; radio director Mamoutou Traoré; and reporter and program host Gata Ba on October 20, 24, and 26, respectively.
Journalist imprisoned
New York, November 5, 2003–Police officers in Equatorial Guinea arrested journalist Rodrigo Angue Nguema at his home in the capital, Malabo, on November 3. Angue Nguema works as a correspondent for the wire service Agence France-Presse (AFP), as well as several other foreign news organizations, and is one of the only independent journalists in the…
CPJ condemns arrest of Internet essayistDetention is part of continuing crackdown on online speech
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent arrest of Internet essayist Du Daobin and is gravely concerned that his arrest could mark an escalation in the continuing crackdown on online speech in China.
Iranian journalists released after four months
New York, November 3, 2003—Coalition forces in Iraq have released two Iranian journalists who had been held for four months on suspicion of spying. Said Abu Taleb and Soheil Kareemi, two journalists with Iranian State Television, were released today and returned to Iran. According to their colleagues, the journalists were in Iraq working on a…
Independent radio station attacked
New York, October 30, 2003— The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the Tuesday, October 28, gunfire attack on the offices of the independent station Radio Caraïbes, located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. Caraïbes protested the attack by suspending newscasts on Wednesday. It plans to resume broadcast on Monday, November 3. At around 8:30 p.m. on…
Constitutional Court abolishes part of restrictive election law
New York, October 30, 2003—Russia’s Constitutional Court today struck down part of a law that sought to strengthen state regulation over independent media outlets, particularly coverage of election campaigns. According to local and international press reports, the court ruled that a sub-section of Article 48 of the law “On Fundamental Guarantees of Voters Rights” is…