Government repeals controversial information law
New York, September 27, 2001—After a barrage of criticism from the local media and civil society, the Paraguayan government repealed a controversial new access to information law that restricted the ability of journalists to obtain public records. On September 24, President Luis González Macchi repealed Law 1728 on Administrative Transparency and Free Access to Information.…
State Department pressures VOA to kill Taliban interview
New York, September 27, 2001—Under pressure from the U.S. Department of State, the Voice of America (VOA) recently delayed airing a story containing parts of an exclusive interview with the leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban movement, Mullah Mohammed Omar. The federally funded broadcaster’s decision came after Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage and senior National…
JAPANESE JOURNALIST MISSING IN CAUCASUS
New York, September 26, 2001— Japanese free-lance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka has now been missing since late July, when he reportedly left Georgia for Chechnya to interview Chechen rebels. Tsuneoka, 32, last communicated with his family via e-mail at the end of July after arriving in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, the Japan Economic Newswire reported. He wrote…
Nine journalists arrested; two others flee as crackdown continues
New York, September 25, 2001—Eritrean security forces have arrested at least nine journalists over the last few days, sources in the capital, Asmara, told CPJ. The arrests came less than a week after authorities abruptly closed all privately owned newspapers, allegedly to safeguard national unity in the face of growing political turmoil in the tiny…
Seven journalists threatened with assassination
New York, September 25—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned for the safety of seven Sierra Leonean journalists, all longtime critics of the government who received identical anonymous death threats during the last week. CPJ obtained a copy of one letter, postmarked September 14 and signed by an otherwise unidentified “Danger Squad.” Titled,…
NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER MURDERED
New York, September 24, 2001—Eduard Markevich, editor and publisher of a local newspaper in the town of Reftinskiy, Sverdlovsk Region, was found dead last Tuesday night, according to press reports. He had been shot in the back. Markevich, 29, edited Novyy Reft, a paper that was often critical of local officials. The journalist’s colleagues told…
Tabloid editor sentenced to three years in prison
New York, September 20, 2001-An Egyptian State Security Court has convicted tabloid editor Mamdouh Mahran of undermining public security, publishing scandalous photos, insulting religion, and causing civil turmoil. On September 16, Mahran, editor of the controversial weekly newspaper Al-Nabaa, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 200 Egyptian pounds (about US$50). The charges…
Government suspends all private newspapers
New York, September 20, 2001—Eritrean authorities have suspended all the country’s privately owned newspapers until further notice, the state radio station announced on Tuesday. Newspapers affected by the suspension order include Meqaleh, Setit, Tiganay, Zemen, Wintana, and Admas. It is unclear what prompted the decision, which surprised both Eritrean and foreign observers.
U.S. PHOTOJOURNALIST AMONG WORLD TRADE CENTER DEAD
New York, September 20, 2001—An American free-lance news photographer is among the 233 confirmed dead in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Several other media workers have been reported injured or missing. As of today, CNN reported, the confirmed death toll in the World Trade Center attacks stands at 233, with…
Controversial radio journalist killed
New York, September 18, 2001—Guatemalan radio journalist Jorge Mynor Alegría Armendáriz was murdered at around 10 p.m. on the evening of September 5, CPJ has confirmed. Alegría was shot at least five times outside his home in Puerto Barrios, a port city located on the Caribbean coast in Izabal Department. His personal effects were untouched,…