Attacked

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is shocked by the recent attack on the office of the Tamil-language newspaper Dinamalar in Thanjavur, a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. On the afternoon of July 30, about six people armed with wood sticks charged into the Dinamalar office and began destroying equipment and furniture. They assaulted employees who attempted to stop them...

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by today's attack on Shahid Rashid, editor of the Urdu-language daily State Reporter. Rashid was shot this morning by masked gunmen as he rode his scooter to the newspaper office in the Chanapora area of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir State. Both Pakistan and India claim the disputed territory of Kashmir for their own...

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the shooting of Zafar Iqbal, a journalist for the Srinigar, Kashmir-based English-language daily Kashmir Images. Iqbal, who was shot by three unidentified assailants this afternoon, was seriously injured and is currently in the hospital in stable condition, according to journalists in Kashmir and Indian news reports. At about 3:00 p.m., three gunmen...

In a letter to the interior minister of the state of Gujarat, Gordhan Zadaphia, RSF denounced the attack on some twenty journalists by police of Gujarat State in western India. "After accusing the media of exaggerating the extent of the recent wave of inter-community violence in the state of Gujarat, the authorities of this state used the most reprehensible behavior to prevent journalists from...

In a letter addressed to Home Affairs Minister Lal Krishna Advani, RSF protested the attack on three employees and the editor of weekly "Chattan", published in Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir, north-western India), by members of the security forces. "This type of violence is unworthy of Indian government representatives," said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. "It calls for an investigation and...

Seventeen journalists were attacked today by Indian security forces as they attempted to cover a funeral procession in the troubled Kashmir region. The incident occurred in Magam, a town about 17 miles (28 kilometers) north of the state capital, Srinagar. Three of the journalists were hospitalized and thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment was destroyed, according to local and...

In a letter to the director general of Border Security Forces (BSF, paramilitary forces), Gurbachan Jagat, RSF protested the attack on thirteen photographers, cameramen and journalists by BSF members in Jammu and Kashmir province. The organisation asked that an investigation be conducted to identify and take sanctions against the authors of this attack. RSF asked to be kept informed of progress in...

In a letter to the chief of police of the Indian province Jammu-e-Kashmir, Ashok Suri, RSF protested the attack on Surinder Oberoi, a journalist with Agence France-Presse (AFP) and RSF correspondent, by a police officer in Kashmir. The organisation expressed concern that no serious investigation was conducted and that no sanctions were taken against the officer responsible for this attack. RSF...

In a 17 August 2000 letter to the chief minister of West Bengal State, Jyoti Basu, RSF protested assaults on journalists by activists of the Communist Party India-Marxist (CPI-M, the ruling party in this eastern Indian state). The organisation asked the chief minister if his declarations condemning the attacks could be followed by acts and sanctions against the authors of the assaults. RSF also...

In a letter to the governor of Assam State, S. K. Sinha, RSF protested the assault on a journalist by a magistrate. RSF asked the governor to sanction the magistrate. "Your duty as a governor is to protect journalists who are merely trying to do their work," Robert Ménard, the organisation's secretary-general, reminded him. According to the information collected by RSF, Parag Saikia, a journalist...