Harassed

New York, July 15, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the arrest of Zambian journalist Chansa Kabwela on bogus charges of circulating obscene materials. 

Dear Mr. President: As Tunisia’s October presidential and parliamentary elections draw closer, the Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to you for the second time in four months to protest reprisals against critical journalists and their families. It is inconceivable that free and fair elections can take place in an environment in which independent media are harassed and silenced. We urge you to honor your oft-stated commitment to promote free expression, and we ask that you instruct your government to allow our colleagues to perform their work unhindered.

New York, July 14, 2009–The Sri Lankan government is continuing its offensive against the independent news media, blocking domestic access to a news Web site and smearing lawyers who are representing a leading newspaper.

New York, July 13, 2009–A group of Venezuelan journalists with the regional television network Telesur and the state-owned station Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) left Honduras on Sunday after being detained and harassed in the capital, Tegucigalpa. The Committee to Protect Journalists reiterated its call on the interim Honduran government to respect freedom of expression by…

Minutes after I woke up to get ready for the presentation of a CPJ report on press freedom conditions in Nicaragua, I turned on the TV. Nicaragua was shaken by the sudden death of Managua’s mayor, Alexis Arguello, who was found at home with a gunshot wound to his chest. Arguello, who had won three…

New York, June 30, 2009–Honduran military personnel briefly detained seven journalists, temporarily shut down several local broadcasters, and intermittently blocked the broadcast signals of international news channels in the aftermath of the weekend coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on those in power in Honduras to allow the…

New York, June 29, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Moroccan court decision today to impose fines and damages on three independent dailies for “publicly harming” Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, above, and “injuring his dignity.”

New York, June 29, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on national police Inspector General Mike Okiro to investigate reports that Delta state police harassed six journalists and attacked at least three of them last week. The Nigerian Union of Journalists Delta State Chapter said police attached to the state Ministry of Land prevented the…