24 March 2004
Volume 13 - 2004 Issue 12 (23 Mar. 2004)
Cuba
Five IFEX members joined worldwide calls last week for the release of 75 imprisoned journalists and dissidents in Cuba, marking the first anniversary of a sweeping government crackdown on the country's human rights activists and independent press.
International
The war in Iraq exacted a huge toll on journalists in 2003, with as many as 19 killed in the line of duty, said the International Press Institute (IPI) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) in annual reports released last week.
Iraq
One year after the American-led invasion of Iraq, the country is the most dangerous in the world for journalists, says the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Last week, five more lost their lives, bringing to 36 the number of media workers killed during and after the Iraq war.
Mexico
Journalists Against Corruption (Periodistas frente a la corrupción, PFC), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) are calling on Mexican authorities to investigate the murder of journalist Roberto Javier Mora García, who was killed in the northern city of Nuevo Laredo on 19 March 2004.
International
Internal conflicts, terrorism fears and the repression of journalists are taking a toll on press freedom in the Americas, concluded the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) at its mid-year meeting in Mexico last week.
China
Chinese authorities have granted South Korean photographer Seok Jae-Hyun an early release from prison in response to pressure from the South Korean government and international press-freedom groups, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).
Romania
A Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) delegation is visiting Romania from 24 March to 1 April, 2004 to investigate threats to press freedom and journalists' safety.
International
Legislators from 24 countries in the Western Hemisphere will have an unprecedented opportunity to discuss press-freedom issues with journalists at a conference in May organised by the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).
International
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has appointed Hungarian writer and former parliamentarian Miklos Haraszti as its new Representative on Freedom of the Media.
International
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is inviting journalists from Southern Africa to apply for the 2004 MISA John Manyarara Investigative Journalism Award. Named after retired judge and founding chair of the MISA Trust Fund Board, John Oliver Mayarara, the award honours excellence in investigative journalism.
International
Rights & Democracy is seeking nominations for the 2004 John Humphrey Freedom Award, presented each year to an organisation or person who has made an outstanding contribution to the promotion of human rights and democratic development.
Cuba
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) invites you to sign a petition calling for the release of imprisoned Cuban journalist Manuel Vásquez Portal.
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