Imprisoned journalists released
New York, June 25, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release of two journalists from prison today in Afghanistan. However, CPJ remains deeply concerned about government threats to prosecute the journalists for blasphemy in connection with articles published that were critical of Islam. Sayeed Mirhassan Mahdawi, the editor of the weekly newspaper Aftab,…
CPJ condemns journalists arrests
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent arrests of Sayeed Mirhassan Mahdawi and Ali Payam Sistany, editor-in-chief and deputy editor, respectively, of the weekly newspaper Aftab. On Tuesday, June 17, the two journalists were arrested in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, and the newspaper was closed after it published an article that Afghan authorities considered blasphemous.
Suspects arrested in journalists’ murders
New York, April 22, 2003—Afghan officials announced yesterday that they have arrested five men suspected of involvement in the murder of four journalists killed in an ambush in southeastern Afghanistan on November 19, 2001. Azizullah Haidari, an Afghan photographer for the Reuters news agency; Harry Burton, an Australian cameraman for Reuters; Julio Fuentes, a Spanish…
Attacks on the Press 2002: Asia Analysis
The vicious murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan focused international attention on the dangers faced by journalists covering the U.S. “war on terror,” yet most attacks on journalists in Asia happened far from the eyes of the international press. In countries such as Bangladesh and the Philippines, reporters covering crime and…
Attacks on the Press 2002: Middle East and North Africa Analysis
The Arab world continues to lag behind the rest of the globe in civil and political rights, including press freedom. Despotic regimes of varying political shades regularly limit news that they think will undermine their power. Hopes that a new generation of leaders would tolerate criticism in the press have proved illusory, with many reforms…
Attacks on the Press 2002: Afghanistan
In many obvious ways, press conditions in Afghanistan in 2002 were far better than the year before, when virtually no local independent media outlets operated, and eight journalists were killed covering the U.S.-led military offensive that ended the repressive rule of the Taliban regime. During 2002, Afghan journalists produced some 150 publications in the capital,…
Attacks on the Press 2002: North Korea
Shortly after U.S. president George W. Bush arrived in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, in February 2002 for a state visit, the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, reported a miracle: that a cloud in the shape of a Kimjongilia, the flower named after the country’s leader, Kim Jong Il, had appeared over North Korea. “Even…
Attacks on the Press 2002: United States
The U.S. government took aggressive measures in 2002 to shield some of its activities from press scrutiny. These steps not only reduced access for U.S. reporters but had a global ripple effect, with autocratic leaders citing U.S. government actions to justify repressive policies.
CPJ concerned about assault, detention, and expulsion of reporter
Dear Governor Ismail Khan: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the recent assault, detention, and expulsion from Herat of Ahmad Behzad, a reporter for the U.S.- funded Radio Free Afghanistan. On March 19, security agents in the western city of Herat assaulted and detained Behzad after the journalist raised questions about…