Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned about the plight of photojournalist Wallace Gichere, who is paralyzed from the waist down because of a 1991 incident in which Kenyan police officers threw him from a fourth floor residence. This crime was committed after Gichere wrote articles in the foreign press about abuses of civil and political rights in Kenya under former president Daniel arap Moi. In 2000, a government Standing Committee on Human Rights recommended that the State compensate Gichere for injuries and financial losses–a recommendation that was approved by government the same year. However, Gichere has still not received compensation.
Dear Mr. Millán: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New Yorkbased independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide, is deeply concerned about Mexican journalist Irene Medrano Villanueva, who has been threatened and harassed during the last two months in connection with her journalistic work.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide, is extremely concerned about deteriorating press freedom conditions in Russia. Recent steps taken by the Federal Security Service (FSB) to harass and intimidate independent journalists in retaliation for their work are particularly troubling. While FSB officials say they are safeguarding national security, journalists say they have become targets for reporting on government corruption and FSB abuses.
Dear Lieutenant General Yaalon: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to request information about the status of the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) investigations into the shooting deaths of two journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2003, and to reiterate our call for a thorough inquiry into these deaths.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is troubled by the recent criminal charges brought against journalists working for the private weekly newspaper Telegraph. On January 16, Editor-in-Chief Philip Moore Jr., Managing Editor Adolphus Karnuah, and Subeditor Robert Kpadeh Jr. were arrested and brought to the Magistrate Court in the capital, Monrovia, where they were charged with “criminal malevolence.”
Dear Mr. de León: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide, is disturbed by the alleged participation of Guatemala state agents in a June 2003 attack against José Rubén Zamora, publisher of the daily elPeriódico. We urge you to ensure that these allegations are fully investigated and to bring those responsible to justice.
Dear Senator Abdykarimov: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide, is very concerned about deteriorating press freedom conditions in Kazakhstan and government efforts to strengthen legal restrictions over the independent media ahead of parliamentary elections due later this year.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide, is concerned about Ecuadorian journalist Rodrigo Fierro Benítez, who was convicted of criminal defamation in 2003 and whose sentence was recently upheld.
Excelencia: Pela presente, o Comitê para a Proteção dos Jornalistas (CPJ), uma organização sem fins lucrativos radicada em Nova York que se dedica a defender a liberdade de imprensa em todo o mundo, manifesta sua preocupação com o jornalista equatoriano Rodrigo Fierro Benítez, que foi condenado pelo delito de injúria em 2003 e cuja sentença foi ratificada recentemente.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the prolonged detention of journalist Jiang Weiping, who is currently serving a six-year prison sentence in Dalian, Liaoning Province. As of last month, Jiang had served half his sentence and is now eligible for parole under Chinese law. He should be released immediately.