Vineet Narain’s contempt trial starts tomorrow
New York, August 8, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the safety of journalist Vineet Narain, whose contempt of court trial has been abruptly moved up to August 9. It was originally scheduled for September 3. Narain is the founding editor of the New Delhibased investigative journal Kalchakra. He faces contempt…
CPJ sends letter of inquiry to attorney general
New York, August 7, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists yesterday sent a letter of inquiry to Adolfo González Rodas, attorney general of Guatemala, expressing concern about the August 1 attack by police officers against four Guatemalan journalists who were covering demonstrations protesting a recent tax raise. According to local sources, when police moved to arrest…
U.S. REPORTER JAILED FOR CONTEMPT
New York, August 7, 2001—In a letter sent today to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, CPJ called for the release of free-lance writer Vanessa Leggett, who has spent the last two weeks in a Texas jail after refusing to turn over research materials about a high-profile murder case to federal prosecutors. CPJ believes that no…
Court refuses to consider lifting ban on controversial Chilean book
New York, August 6, 2001—The Santiago Appeals Court refused to consider journalist Alejandra Matus’ petition to authorize the circulation of The Black Book of Chilean Justice, her muckraking exposé of the Chilean judiciary that was banned more than two years ago. The Chilean judiciary seems unwilling to lift the ban even though a new press…
Journalist abducted by security forces, many others still missing
The fate of a dozen journalists remains unclear. New York, August 6—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the safety of Mattewos Habteab, editor-in-chief of the private Tigrigna-language MeQaleh newspaper, who sources believe is being forced to perform military work in retaliation for his critical journalism.
South Africa considering invasive interception and monitoring bill
New York, August 3—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by South Africa’s proposed Interception and Monitoring Bill, which empowers the police, the National Defense Force, the Intelligence Agency, and the Secret Service to “establish, equip, operate and maintain monitoring centers.” If adopted, the legislation would allow the government to monitor electronic and…
CPJ asks fair trial for journalist charged with spying
August 2, 2001 His Excellency Jiang Zemin President, People’s Republic of China Beijing 100032 People’s Republic of China VIA FACSIMILE: 86-10-6512-5810 Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the continued imprisonment of author and journalist Wu Jianming, a U.S. citizen, on charges of spying for Taiwan and “collecting information that…
CPJ CALLS ON NEW INDONESIAN PRESIDENT TO SUPPORT PRESS FREEDOM
New York, August 1, 2001—In a July 30 letter to Megawati Sukarnoputri, the newly elected president of Indonesia, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on her to preserve and strengthen recent gains in press freedom. CPJ cited reports that Megawati’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle may revive the Ministry of Information—a department which, under the…
Wife of missing cameraman calls for independent investigation
New York, July 27–The wife of missing Belarusian cameraman Dmitri Zavadsky called on the United States and the international community to establish an independent commission to investigate her husband’s disappearance and other politically motivated deaths and disappearances in Belarus. Svetlana Zavadskaya visited Washington, D.C., for four days in mid-July with a small delegation that included…
Georgian Journalist Found Dead
New York, July 27, 2001–A popular 26-year-old Georgian journalist was found dead in his Tbilisi apartment yesterday, according to local and international reports. Georgy Sanaya was shot once in the head at close range with a 9mm weapon. Sanaya anchored “Night Courier,” a nightly political talk show in which he interviewed Georgia’s leading politicians on…