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MOSCOW, Oct. 7 — The independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and Russian prosecutors know the identity of the man who killed Anna Politkovskaya, its correspondent who was slain in a contract-style killing one year ago, according to its editor and a special report planned for publication on Monday. But the identity of the person who ordered the killing has not been determined, and the man who shot Ms...

NIAMEY - A French journalist held for a month in Niger for alleged intelligence with Tuareg rebels has been expelled from the country, an official said yesterday. Francois Bergeron "was released, the order for his expulsion was signed yesterday and he had to leave Niger the same day," the official said, giving no further details. Since August Niger has barred foreign journalists and others from...

MOSCOW (AFP) — Hundreds of Russian opposition activists rallied in Moscow on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya amid international calls for the journalist's killers to be brought to justice. "A year ago, Politkovskaya was killed in a despicable way. She died defending the human dignity of all citizens," Mikhail Kasyanov, a former prime minister turned opposition...

CHICAGO: Gonzalo Guillen, a reporter for The Miami Herald's Spanish-language daily El Nuevo Herald, has fled Colombia after President Alvaro Uribe accused him of ghost-writing a book linking the president to the notorious drug dealer Pablo Escobar, a Colombian free-press group said Friday. The Bogota-based Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP for its initials in Spanish) said Guillen had left the...

TOKYO (Reuters) - The body of a Japanese video journalist who was shot dead during a crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Myanmar was returned home on Thursday, and was due to be taken for an autopsy. The results of the investigation are likely be a factor as Japan weighs whether to take action against military-ruled Myanmar, such as cutting back economic assistance. Kenji Nagai, 50, was shot...

(IAPA/IFEX) - The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has added its voice to a demand by the Peruvian Press Council that the South American country's judiciary and attorney general's office not allow the 2004 murder of journalist Antonio de la Torre to continue to go unpunished following the recent arrest of the alleged culprit. Moisés Julca Orrillo, accused of being one of those who allegedly...

(CMFR/IFEX) - A newspaper columnist critical of the Arroyo government has received a death threat via email warning her that her criticism of the regime may cost her life. Ellen Tordesillas, who writes for the daily newspaper "Malaya" and the daily tabloid "Abante", found the emailed death threat when she checked her inbox on 30 September 2007. The email was time-stamped 3:53 a.m. (local time) of...

ISTANBUL (AFP) — Turkish police withheld and destroyed evidence to cover up the killing of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, a lawyer for his family claimed as the second hearing in the murder trial began here Monday. "Evidence and information is being hidden from prosecutors... A lot of evidence was destroyed and lost," Fethiye Cetin said in an interview with the Radikal newspaper. Several...

(BIANET/IFEX) - As the murder trial of journalist Hrant Dink continued on 1 October 2007, a recording of the suspect Erhan Tuncel speaking to police intelligence officer Muhittin Zenit has emerged, though the prosecution has yet to procure it. The recorded conversation, made public by Murat Utku, a reporter with the Dogan News Agency (DHA), was made one hour and 47 minutes after Dink's murder on...

(HRinfo/IFEX) - In an unprecedented scene familiar only to those who lived under extinct dictatorships, Ibrahim Essa's trial took place, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said, raising concerns about the pre-trial procedures that preceded his trial for allegedly publicizing false news about the president's health. Essa is the editor of the independent newspaper "Al-Dostur". On 1...