**Updates IFEX alerts of 6 March, 22 February and 13 January 2000, 17 December, 30, 25, 16, 3 and 2 November, 28, 22, 20, 19 and 18 October 1999** (CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 7 March 2000 press release: CPJ Posts Daily Updates on Trial of Angolan Journalist Rafael Marques Visit www.cpj.org for latest […]
**Updates IFEX alerts of 6 March, 22 February and 13 January 2000, 17 December, 30, 25, 16, 3 and 2 November, 28, 22, 20, 19 and 18 October 1999**
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 7 March 2000 press release:
CPJ Posts Daily Updates on Trial of Angolan Journalist Rafael Marques
Visit www.cpj.org for latest reports
The Committee to Protect Journalists will run daily updates about the trial of Angolan journalist Rafael Marques on its Web site (www.cpj.org), starting on March 6. After repeated postponements, the journalist’s trial, on charges of defaming President José Eduardo dos Santos, is now set to begin March 9, in the Supreme Court of Angola. CPJ intends to focus the attention of the world on the Angolan government’s ongoing harassment of Marques by issuing regular reports on the proceedings, based on reports from its correspondents in Luanda.
Marques was arrested on October 16, 1999, and charged with defamation for referring to President dos Santos as a “dictator” in an article published in the independent weekly newspaper Agora. Marques was jailed for nearly six weeks, then released on bail, on condition that he not make public statements or speak to journalists. If convicted, he faces two to eight years in prison.
CPJ believes the charges against Marques illustrate President dos Santos’s deep-seated disregard for freedom of expression and fears that a guilty verdict is already a foregone conclusion. As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the defense of press freedom worldwide, we intend to monitor developments closely.
A letter of protest has already been sent to the president. CPJ believes that with daily reports on the Web site, dos Santos will know that the whole world is watching.
