Alerts

New York, November 5, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes today's release of five journalists, four of whom have been imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Maoist rebels in Nepal.

The journalists released today are Ishwarchandra Gyawali, executive editor of the monthly magazine Dishabodh; Manarishi Dhital, a reporter for Dishabodh; Deepak Sapkota, a reporter for the weekly Janadesh; Dipendra Rokaya, of the daily Janadisha; and Mina Tiwari Sharma, publisher and editor of the monthly magazine Eikyavaddatha.

New York, November 5, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned that New York Post columnist and Red Herring magazine contributing editor Chris Byron's phone records have been illegally obtained by individuals seeking access to his journalistic sources.

In an October 19 article, the New York Post first reported that Byron's phone records had been stolen. Yesterday, Byron told CPJ that the records included the numbers of several confidential sources for a Red Herring column in which he criticized the operations and management of the Vancouver-based company Imagis Technologies. Imagis produces biometric facial recognition software, which helps identify criminals. Oliver "Buck" Revell, a former associate deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is director and chairman of the company.

New York, November 4, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday's decision by Kuwaiti authorities to suspend Al-Jazeera's Kuwait bureau.

Saad al-Enezi, the Al-Jazeera bureau chief in Kuwait, told CPJ he received a telephone call from the Ministry of Information yesterday informing him of the Kuwaiti government's decision. He said that no specific reason was given for the decision, other than that Al-Jazeera was "biased" against Kuwait.

New York, October 31, 2002—Judicial authorities in Zimbabwe have agreed to postpone the prosecution of Lloyd Mudiwa, a reporter with the independent Daily News, after the government acknowledged that the section of the country's harsh new press law under which Mudiwa is charged violates the constitution.

However, rather than dropping the case against Mudiwa, the government is seeking to amend the press law and plans to prosecute the journalist under the redrafted legislation.

New York, October 30, 2002—Rising crimes against journalists in Colombia prompted the Attorney General's Office this month to add 12 new prosecutors to a unit dedicated to investigating attacks against the press, according to a statement from the office released on Monday, October 28.

The unit, which previously had four prosecutors based in the capital, Bogotá, will now have prosecutors working in seven additional towns and cities throughout the country.

New York, October 29, 2002—CPJ is deeply concerned that Sergei Duvanov, a prominent 49-year-old journalist known for his criticism of Kazakh authorities, was arrested on October 27 on suspicion of raping a minor.

The journalist, who remains in detention, has been officially charged, the opposition party Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan reported today.

Duvanov has denied the charges, saying the authorities "decided to use the dirtiest, most deceitful means to discredit me in from of the eyes of my Western colleagues...in order to prevent me from writing articles which aren't pleasing for those who sit in power," The Associated Press reported.

New York, October 28, 2002—The trial of Internet essayist Le Chi Quang, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed until further notice, said international news reports and CPJ sources. According to Agence France-Presse, an official at the People's Court in the capital, Hanoi, told reporters that, "Our judges need more time to prepare." A new trial date has not yet been announced.

Quang was arrested on February 21 after he wrote a number of essays criticizing government policy.

New York City, October 28, 2002—Iraqi officials have denied reports that the government has expelled foreign journalists from the country.

On Friday, CNN reported that its Baghdad bureau chief, Jane Arraf, and five other non-Iraqi reporters and staff members were ordered to leave the country by today, because officials were angered by the network's coverage, most recently of anti-government protests last week.

New York, October 25, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent attack on journalist Hedley Thomas and his family at their home in Brisbane, on the east coast of Australia. Thomas is a reporter with the Courier-Mail, a national daily.

At about 10:30 p.m. on October 23, an unidentified gunman fired four shots at Thomas' home, according to Australian media reports. No one was injured, although one bullet missed Thomas' wife, Ruth Mathewson, by only inches. The couple's two children, aged 18 months and 3 years, were sleeping at the time of the attack.

New York, October 25, 2002—The Colombian government announced yesterday that it will require foreign journalists to obtain authorization from the Interior Ministry before entering two state-run security zones.

Yesterday's announcement clarified an earlier decree, released on September 9, requiring all foreigners traveling to the zones to get permission from the government first. It was unclear until yesterday how the new regulations applied to foreign journalists.