2005-2014

(JED/IFEX) - On 8 October 2007, the National Communication Council (Conseil national de la communication, CNC), Gabon's media regulatory body, suspended two newspapers: "La Nation", a privately-owned bi-monthly based in the capital, Libreville, and "Le Gri-Gri International", a satirical, privately-owned bi-monthly published in Paris, but distributed in Gabon. In a statement that appeared on 8...

(IMI/IFEX) - On 9 October 2007, the harshly critical journalist Vitaliy Portnikov resigned as editor-in-chief of "Gazeta 24" daily newspaper and of the media holding "MediaDim". Portnikov cited "political censorship" as the motive for his resignation in an open letter to the journalists and to readers of "Gazeta 24". The text of his letter follows: "I regret to inform you that I had to cease...

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The Cambodian Ministry of Information has suspended for a month the "Khmer Amatak" newspaper for refusing to publish a correction the ministry requested over a controversial article in the newspaper. The article, published on 24 September 2007, said that two senior officials from the ruling Funcinpec party, Secretary General Nhiek Bun Chhay and Minister of State Serey Kosal, had...

(IAPA/IFEX) - IAPA questions accumulated "points" leading to early release of Orlando Sierra murderer The organization calls on Colombian's president Uribe not to stigmatize journalists, citing the case of an El Nuevo Herald correspondent MIAMI, Florida (October 8, 2007) - The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today expressed dissatisfaction at the Sept. 30 release from prison in Colombia of...

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - Information Commissioners from six European countries have added their voices to a broad coalition of over 500 NGOs and individuals calling on the Council of Europe to reinforce its proposed European Convention on Access to Official Documents. The drafting group, which convenes for its last scheduled meeting from October 9 - 12, also faces calls from the OSCE to ensure the...

(IFJ/IFEX) - The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the regional group of the International Federation of Journalists, today announced its support for the "Perpignan Call," a petition in favor of the right to information through pictures and the right to publish news photographs. The petition was jointly launched by the International Festival of Photojournalism "Visa pour l?Image" and by...

(CPJ/IFEX) - New York, October 9, 2007 - A private radio station in southwest Uganda was knocked off the air for several days after armed assailants poured acid on its transmitter last week in an attack believed to have been prompted by a program critical of the local government, according to local journalists and news reports. Life FM, one of two radio stations in the town of Fort Portal, 160...

(CPJ/IFEX) - New York, October 9, 2007 - Colombian reporter Gonzalo Guillén has been forced to flee his home in Bogotá after receiving more than 20 death threats following comments made by President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, the journalist said today. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Uribe today to personally ensure that Colombian authorities conduct a prompt investigation into these...

(CEPET/IFEX) - Mexico, 9 October 2007 - Three vendors of the newspaper "El Imparcial" of Oaxaca were killed on the afternoon of 8 October 2007 as they were driving in a media vehicle on the Istmo de Tehuantepec highway. Agustín López, Mateo Cortés Martínez and Flor Vásquez López were on their way to Salina Cruz in this southern area of Mexico when they were fired upon by men with high caliber...

(CENCOS/IFEX) - Mexico, 9 October 2007 - Luis Téllez Kuenzler, secretary of communication and transportation, took care of the issue of media monopolies in one fell swoop by merely denying the existence of the problem. In doing so, he contradicted his - and then-president Felipe Calderón's - promises to address this issue when they come to power less than six years ago. He denied the existence of...