New York, May 22, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the sentencing of South Korean free-lance photojournalist Jae Hyun Seok to two years in prison. Today, a court in Yantai, Shandong Province, sentenced Seok, who works regularly for The New York Times and South Korea’s Geo magazine, to a two-year prison term on charges…
New York, May 21, 2003—Atahar Siddik Khasru, a reporter for the national Bengali-language daily Ittefaq who had been missing for three weeks, was found early this morning by a village roadside, his hands and feet bound by heavy chains secured with a padlock. A villager spotted Khasru’s body at around 5:30 a.m. and alerted local…
New York, May 21, 2003—On May 17, free-lance journalist Jiang Qisheng was released from prison after completing his four-year prison term. Jiang was arrested on May 18, 1999, after writing a series of essays and petitions marking the 10th anniversary of the June 4, 1989, military crackdown on peaceful protesters in the capital, Beijing. On…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent murder of radio announcer Apolinario “Polly” Pobeda in Lucena City, Quezon Province. We call for a swift and thorough investigation into the killing and for those responsible to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
New York, May 20, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today sent a letter of inquiry to Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo requesting that authorities investigate the murder of radio announcer Apolinario “Polly” Pobeda and attacks on several other journalists. Pobeda was shot by unidentified assailants on Saturday, May 17 as he rode his motorcycle…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the five-year sentence recently handed down to Internet publisher Huang Qi. The court has long delayed the verdict, which comes nearly three years after Huang’s arrest, compounding a case of grave injustice.
Dear Major General Tellefsen: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to draw your attention to a death threat issued last week against journalist Ponniah Manikavasagam, a correspondent for the Tamil-language daily Virakesari who contributes regularly to the BBC. Manikavasagam lives in the town of Vavuniya and covers news across Sri Lanka’s northern region.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about several recent attacks against the press in Sitakunda, an industrial town in Chittagong District, in southeastern Bangladesh. We are particularly worried about the fate of journalist Mahmudul Haq, who was arrested on May 6, and journalist Atahar Siddik Khasru, who disappeared on April…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned by two recent violent attacks on journalists in Vietnam. On April 21, assailants set fire to the car of journalist Hoang Thien Nga outside her home in Dak Lak Province, in the Central Highlands. Nga, the Dak Lak correspondent for the national daily Tien…
New York, April 30, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the threat issued yesterday by the militant group Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen against journalists working “against the freedom struggle” in the disputed territory of Kashmir. The organization is one of more than a dozen armed groups fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir, which is claimed by both…