abducted

New York, April 12, 2004—Amid a climate of increasing danger in Iraq, three Czech journalists have gone missing. A Japanese freelance journalist who was abducted on April 8, along with two other Japanese civilians, remains in captivity. Michal Kubal and his cameraman Petr Klima, both of the public network Czech Television, are feared kidnapped since…

New York, April 8, 2004—At least one journalist is believed to be among three Japanese civilians abducted today in Iraq by an unknown group calling itself the Mujahedeen Squadrons. The news comes amid escalating clashes between Coalition forces and Iraqis, as well as several incidents this week in which foreigners—including journalists—have been briefly held by…

New York, April 7, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about several recent incidents in which journalists have been briefly held by insurgents in Iraq. These incidents come amid escalating clashes between Coalition forces and Iraqi insurgents. According to The Associated Press (AP), one of its photographers and his driver were detained…

There were 138 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2003 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is the same as last year. An analysis of the reasons behind this is contained in the introduction on page 10. At the beginning of 2004, CPJ sent letters of inquiry to…

While integration into NATO and the European Union has had a positive effect on press freedom conditions in most of Central Europe and the Baltic states, the situation for journalists in Russia and the former Soviet republics has worsened steadily, with governments relying on authoritarian tactics to silence the media. Even reformist governments in the…

With Algerians preparing for the April 2004 presidential election , the government of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has always had a contentious relationship with the media, took steps to restrict press freedom. Since 1990, when the first private newspapers were allowed in Algeria, the media and the government have engaged in a tug-of-war. In 2003,…

In 2003, Bangladesh was one of the most violent countries in the world for journalists, with almost daily cases of physical assaults and intimidation–particularly in rural areas. Local journalists say they are increasingly under threat for reporting on political violence, graft, and organized crime, but that the main cause of brutality against the press in…

In 2003, President Yahya Jammeh’s ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) maintained a firm grip on power in this tiny West African country, despite signs of political and economic instability. In September and October, the president fired four ministers, including the communications minister, while a fifth, the justice minister, resigned.

The U.S.-led war in Iraq proved extremely dangerous for journalists. More than a dozen lost their lives reporting there in 2003, and many seasoned war correspondents have called the postwar environment the most risky assignment of their lives. With the demise of Saddam Hussein’s repressive regime, Iraqi media have flourished, but news organizations faced potentially…

There was hope for a peaceful resolution toe the political violence in Nepal on January 29, 2003, when the government and Maoist rebels signed a cease-fire agreement to halt their seven-year civil conflict. However, the deepening political crisis within the country’s constitutional monarchy and the eventual collapse of the cease-fire in August sparked a sharp…