New York, August 8, 2000 — Iran’s Press Court shut down yet another major reformist newspaper on Tuesday, two days after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei quashed a parliamentary bill to amend the country’s restrictive press laws, according to wire service reports. “This latest move by Iran’s Press Court is extremely disheartening to those who…
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in PANAMA New York, August 8, 2000 — In the latest in a series of attacks on the press in Panama, police this morning surrounded the home of Gustavo Gorriti, associate director of the Panama City daily La Prensa, and those of two of his colleagues,…
Your Excellency, Ahead of the August 6-7 SADC Summit of Heads of State, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wishes to express its grave concern about the deplorable state of press freedom in several SADC member states. Our research shows an alarming pattern of governments interfering with the free flow of information and using harsh, outdated laws to prosecute journalists for their work.
[Click here to read CPJ’s protest letter] August 3, 2000 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), citing an “alarming pattern of government interference” with the free flow of information in many Southern African countries, is calling on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to “consider the press freedom records of member states in determining…
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in the PHILIPPINES New York, July 31, 2000 — Citing security concerns, foreign news agencies pulled out their teams yesterday from the southern Philippine island of Jolo, where 16 journalists have been kidnapped over the past two months by various factions of the militant Islamic rebel…
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in PERU New York, July 28, 2000 — In a highly unusual move, the Peruvian government has imposed flight restrictions over Lima that prevented the media from using helicopters to monitor opposition demonstrations protesting today’s swearing-in ceremony for President Alberto Fujimori.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply saddened by yesterday’s killing of Sergey Novikov, owner of the independent radio station Vesna in the city of Smolensk. Novikov, 36, was shot and killed in the stairwell of his apartment building at around 9 p.m. on July 26. The killer, who remains at large, shot him four times and then escaped through a back door.
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in the PHILIPPINES New York, July 27, 2000 — Andreas Lorenz, the Der Spiegel reporter who was captured by armed rebels on the southern island of Jolo on July 2, was released today. He is currently en route to Hamburg with his wife, Jutta, and Der…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is outraged at the prison sentences recently imposed on three journalists from the private biweekly publication Dikalo in retaliation for their coverage of alleged corruption and mismanagement at a local trade union.
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in IRAN New York, July 25, 2000 — The reformist weekly Gunagoun was suspended by Branch 1410 of Tehran’s Public Court yesterday, bringing the total number of newspapers banned since January to 21. According to the state news agency IRNA, the closure came a day after…