New York, May 2, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release on bail Saturday of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor and publisher of the now-defunct weekly tabloid Blitz. Choudhury spent 17 months behind bars awaiting trial on sedition and antistate charges, despite repeated requests for bail. “While we are relieved that our colleague Salah…
New York, April 18, 2005—A French freelance journalist was being held for questioning today in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, after border police arrested him for alleged visa violations last week in the southwestern Satkhira District. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating the circumstances behind the arrest. Police detained Arnaud Mandagaran, 55, and his Indian…
Your Excellency: One year after the Committee to Protect Journalists conducted a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh in response to a pattern of violence against the press, death threats and deadly attacks against journalists continue at an alarming rate. You offered assurances last year that the press in Bangladesh “enjoys full press freedom,” but that freedom is at great risk today. We are deeply concerned about this press freedom crisis, and join with our Bangladeshi colleagues in calling for swift and decisive action to stanch this relentless tide of violence against journalists.
New York, March 21, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s High Court conviction of seven editors, publishers and reporters from the Bangla-language daily Prothom Alo and the Bangla-language daily Bhorer Kagoj for publishing disputed reports about a judge’s educational background. Samaresh Baidya, senior reporter for Bhorer Kagoj, faces two months in jail and a…
MARCH 14, 2005 Posted: March 28, 2005 SM Gorky, Jugantor ATTACKED, HARASSED Members of the elite army unit Rapid Action Battalion beat SM Gorky, senior photographer for the daily Jugantor, after he photographed them roughing up people on the street. The photographer was held briefly and released, according to Jugantor.