Your Excellency: We the undersigned join the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in protesting the detention of our colleague Ibrahim Hemaidi, the Damascus bureau chief for the London-based daily Al-Hayat. Syrian authorities arrested Hemaidi on December 23, 2002, because of an article he wrote for Al-Hayat about alleged preparations by the Syrian government for an…
New York, January 14, 2003—The High Court in the capital, Dhaka, ruled today that the government’s detention of journalist and press freedom activist Saleem Samad is illegal and ordered his release. On December 23, 2002, the court had ordered his release on bail in connection with a sedition case. But on December 24, the day…
New York, January 13, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release from prison today of Iftikhar Gilani, New Delhi bureau chief for the Jammu-based newspaper Kashmir Times. Authorities had accused Gilani of possessing classified documents “prejudicial to the safety and security of the country,” a charge they finally admitted was unsubstantiated. “Iftikhar Gilani’s…
New York, January 10, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) mourns the death of our colleague Vikram Singh Bisht, who died yesterday from internal injuries after falling from his wheelchair. On December 13, 2001, a suicide squad shot Bisht, a cameraman for the New Delhibased news agency Asian News International, while he was covering an…
New York, January 8, 2003—Journalist and human rights activist Shahriar Kabir, who had been detained for one month on suspicion of conducting “anti-state activities,” was released yesterday. However, another journalist, Saleem Samad, who was also accused of conducting “anti-state activities,” remains in custody despite a High Court order to release him on bail. Samad was…
Manila, January 7, 2003—Philippine media organizations renewed protests against the stalled investigation into the murder of journalist Edgar Damalerio by calling for the immediate arrest of the chief suspect. National police authorities and representatives from the office of Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo promised a group of journalists in the capital, Manila, today that action would…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the prolonged detention of journalist Saleem Samad, who remains in government custody on charges of “anti-state activities” after working with a documentary crew for Britain’s Channel 4 “Unreported World” series. On December 24, government authorities ordered that Samad remain in custody for 30 more days, despite…
New York, January 6, 2003—The Gaza correspondent for the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera, who was apprehended early this morning by Palestinian security forces, was released this evening. According to sources at Al-Jazeera, Saifeddin Shahin was detained this morning at his Gaza office several hours after Al-Jazeera’s Sunday night news bulletin from Doha, Qatar, aired. During…
New York, January 2, 2003—A total of 19 journalists were killed worldwide for their work in 2002, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This number marks a sharp decrease from 2001 when 37 journalists were killed, eight of them while covering the war in Afghanistan. Of the 19 journalists killed in 2002, most…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to strongly protest the ongoing detention of Ibrahim Hemaidi, the veteran Damascus bureau chief for the London-based daily Al-Hayat. According to media reports and sources at Al-Hayat, Syrian police detained Hemaidi on December 23 in connection with a December 20 article he wrote. The article discussed the Syrian government’s alleged preparations for a possible influx of Iraqi refugees in the event of a U.S.-led attack on Iraq. The Syrian government has denied the allegation, and Al-Hayat published a statement from the Syrian government to this effect on December 24.