New York, February 11, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the brutal assault on Iqbal Hasan, the local correspondent of the daily Janakantha. On Monday, February 9, armed supporters of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) attacked the journalist in the northwestern city of Natore. Hasan, 48, was called out of his house that…
New York, February 11, 2004—Nicaraguan journalist Carlos José Guadamuz was shot dead yesterday in Nicaragua’s capital, Managua, as he was arriving to work. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) continues to investigate whether his murder is related to his journalistic work. According to local news reports, the journalist’s murder took place at around 1 p.m.…
New York, February 11, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the murder of journalist Ruel Endrinal, a commentator on radio station DZRC in Legazpi City, Albay Province in the eastern Philippines. At about 6:20 a.m. today, two unidentified gunmen shot Endrinal as he was leaving his house for the radio station. The local police…
Dear Mr. Millán: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New Yorkbased independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide, is deeply concerned about Mexican journalist Irene Medrano Villanueva, who has been threatened and harassed during the last two months in connection with her journalistic work.
New York, February 6, 2004—The Daily News, Zimbabwe’s only independent daily, decided not to publish its Friday edition following a Thursday, February 5, Supreme Court ruling upholding legislation that criminalizes the publication of unlicensed newspapers. According to international news reports, the directors of the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), the company that owns the Daily…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide, is extremely concerned about deteriorating press freedom conditions in Russia. Recent steps taken by the Federal Security Service (FSB) to harass and intimidate independent journalists in retaliation for their work are particularly troubling. While FSB officials say they are safeguarding national security, journalists say they have become targets for reporting on government corruption and FSB abuses.
Bogotá, February 5, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is investigating the murder of Oscar Alberto Polanco Herrera, a television journalist who was shot dead yesterday, February 4, in the town of Cartago, Valle del Cauca Department, 125 miles (200 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Bogotá. Authorities said that Polanco Herrera, director of the local…
New York, February 5, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) deplores recent violent attacks on private Palestinian media outlets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by armed gunmen. At around 4:00 a.m. on Monday, February 2, three masked Palestinian men carrying automatic rifles stormed the offices of the Ramallah-based Al-Quds Educational Television, according to…
New York, February 5, 2004—Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court today upheld legislation that allows the government to decide who can be a journalist and criminalizes the practice of the profession by those who are not approved by the government. “This is a heavy blow to press freedom in Zimbabwe and sends a chilling message to the country’s…
Dear Lieutenant General Yaalon: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to request information about the status of the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) investigations into the shooting deaths of two journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2003, and to reiterate our call for a thorough inquiry into these deaths.