New York, May 14, 2001 — Three Colombian journalists have been killed so far this year, according to CPJ research. At least one of the journalists, Flavio Bedoya, appears to have been targeted for his work. At around midday on April 27, four unidentified gunmen on motorcycles shot and killed Bedoya, 52, as he stepped…
Your Majesty: CPJ is deeply concerned about your June 22 decree expanding the Swazi government’s already sweeping power to ban local publications. The decree, a continuation of the King’s Proclamation of 1973, authorizes the “appropriate ministry” to ban any publication for any reason. “The minister concerned shall not furnish any reason or jurisdictional facts for such proscription,” reads the decree.
Your Highness: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely disturbed by the unwarranted suspensions of the weekly Guardian and the monthly Nation, two independent publications based in the Swazi capital, Mbabane. On May 2, police arrested the Guardian’s editor, Thulani Mthethwa, and drove him to police headquarters in Mbabane where he was interrogated at length over stories in his newspaper about activities in Your Highness’s palace. He was released after several hours.
Sarajevo, May 10, 2001 — In a meeting today with representatives from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Serb chairman of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zivko Radisic, pledged to bring to justice the perpetrators of a 1999 car-bomb attack on Bosnian Serb journalist Zelko Kopanja. As chairman of Bosnia’s joint presidency, Radisic…
New York, May 10, 2001 — Seventeen journalists were attacked today by Indian security forces as they attempted to cover a funeral procession in the troubled Kashmir region. The incident occurred in Magam, a town about 17 miles (28 kilometers) north of the state capital, Srinagar. Three of the journalists were hospitalized and thousands of…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has welcomed news of the release of Syrian journalist and human rights activist Nizar Nayyouf, who was taken from prison to his parents’ home on the night of May 6 after serving nine years of a 10-year sentence. This action is a very positive step, although it is long overdue, particularly since Nayyouf has suffered severe health problems in prison.
Belgrade, May 8, 2001 In response to new challenges faced by the independent media in post-Milosevic Serbia, Kati Marton, a board member of the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), met for two days of consultations with journalists and government officials in Belgrade. “We are very happy that there is a new atmosphere of…
New York, May 7, 2001 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the release of Syrian journalist and human rights activist Nizar Nayyouf, who was taken by police from prison to his parents’ home Sunday night after serving nine years of a 10-year sentence for his conviction of membership in an unauthorized organization and…
New York, May 3, 2001 ƒ The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) received a message from imprisoned Iranian journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin to his “colleagues all over the world” on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, the same day that CPJ placed the man responsible for Shamsolvaezin’s imprisonment, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the top…
New York, May 2, 2001 – The Liberian Government announced on April 27 that media reports on fighting in the north of the country and on other issues of national security should be cleared with the Ministry of Information before publication or broadcast. According to a report by Agence France-Presse, the statement issued by Information…