April 24, 2002, New York—CPJ deplores the continuing harassment of journalists by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops deployed in the West Bank. In the most recent incident, the IDF today detained Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana, who was CPJ’s 2001 International Press Freedom awardee, and Hussam Abu Alan, a photographer for Agence-France Presse (AFP). IDF troops…
Your Royal Highness: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to protest an incident over the weekend in which Saudi authorities confiscated videotapes and a laptop computer from Dr. Bob Arnot, a reporter for the U.S. cable television channel MSNBC. On April 21, security officials at the Riyadh airport escorted Dr. Arnot off a flight to Dubai, in the neighboring United Arab Emirates. The officials demanded video footage that Dr. Arnot had gathered during his reporting trip to Saudi Arabia, which the journalist undertook with Saudi government permission.
New York, April 23, 2002—After two earlier adjournments, the trial of four men charged with the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl resumed this week in Karachi, Pakistan. The trial, which is being held before a special anti-terrorism court convened at Karachi’s Central Jail, remains closed to journalists and to the…
Bogotá, April 19, 2002—The campaign of presidential front-runner Álvaro Uribe Vélez said earlier this week that a radio network in central Colombia was targeted for a deadly April 7 bomb attack because the station had broadcast the candidate’s speeches. But network officials denied the claims and said the statements endangered the lives of their staff,…
Bogotá, April 18, 2002–A man being held by authorities in Colombia’s capital has confessed to murdering journalist Orlando Sierra, a newspaper editor and columnist who was shot and killed early this year, CPJ has learned. Luis Fernando Soto told investigators that he shot 42-year-old Sierra, deputy editor of La Patria newspaper, on a whim after…
New York, April 18, 2002—Ali-Hamed Imam, editor of the local weekly Shams-e Tabriz, was sentenced to 74 lashes and seven months in prison on April 16 by a court in Tabriz, 350 miles (560 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Tehran. According to Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, the court also revoked Imam’s publishing license and…
New York, April 18, 2002—Mohammed Daraghmeh, an Associated Press (AP) correspondent detained by Israeli forces on Tuesday morning, was released on Tuesday evening but did not arrive at home until yesterday, according to the AP. Daraghmeh, who was rounded up along with 30 other men during a sweep in the West Bank town of Nablus,…
Nueva York, 17 de abril de 2002 — Luego del fallido golpe de estado de la semana pasada contra el presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez Frías, partidarios de Chávez hostigaron a varios medios de comunicación, según conoció el Comité para la Protección de los Periodistas (CPJ, por sus siglas en inglés). El jueves, poco antes de…
New York, April 17, 2002—In a letter sent today to Serbian National Assembly president Natasa Micic, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed strong support for Parliament’s efforts to safeguard press freedom in Serbia. CPJ believes that by passing the draft Broadcasting Law, currently under consideration, Parliament can create an effective legal framework for the…
New York, April 17, 2002—In the aftermath of last week’s failed coup against President Hugo Chávez Frías, Chávez supporters harassed several Venezuelan media outlets, CPJ has learned. On Thursday, just before his ouster, Chávez had accused local broadcasters of conspiring to overthrow his government. At around 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, when President Chávez…