Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

(CPJ/IFEX) – Gustavo Gorriti, associate director of the opposition daily “La Prensa”, was granted a work visa by the Panamanian government on 15 October 1997, ending the threat of expulsion from that country. **Updates IFEX alerts dated 22 September and 7 August 1997** Background Information On 4 August, in apparent response to Gorriti’s investigative reporting, […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – On 13 October 1997, the state-run telecommunications company, Slovak Telecom, cut the popular independent radio station Radio Twist off its main frequency for 25 hours, citing unpaid bills for the use of its transmitter in the capital, Bratislava. Andrei Hric, the station’s owner and general manager, said Radio Twist was switched off without […]

(CPJ/IFEX)- On 11 October 1997, John Foray, acting editor of the newspaper “Democrat”, and freelancer Abdul Kposwa were beaten and arrested by army officers who then took them to Pademba Road prison where they were detained without charge. Elsewhere, Umaru Fofana, a freelancer for the “Vision” newspaper and a stringer for the British Broadcasting Corporation […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – On 8 October 1997, Nguyen Hoang Linh, the editor of the state-run business newspaper “Doang Nghiep” (“Enterprise”), was arrested on charges of revealing state secrets. The arrest and charges, which were confirmed by the management of the newspaper on 12 October, were linked to reports authored by Linh in “Doang Nghiep” that explored […]

(CPJ/IFEX)- On 1 October 1997, Kwesi Biney, a correspondent for the “African Observer”, received a call from the economic crime bureau of Accra police asking him to report to the Criminal Investigation Department the following day. Biney, who was accompanied to the meeting by “African Observer” circulation manager Frank Awuah, was informed that he was […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – On 30 September 1997, after ousting the opposition mayor of Belgrade, Zoran Djindjic, from office, the combined forces of the Serbian Socialists, Radicals and the Renewal Movement moved to sack the top management at the popular municipal television station Studio B TV and replace them with their own supporters. Zoran Ostojic and Lila […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – On 29 September 1997, a district court in Bishkek sentenced Rysbek Omurzakov, a reporter for the opposition weekly “Res Publika”, to three years in prison for libelling the manager of a state-owned factory. The ruling makes Kyrgyzstan the only country in Europe and the former Soviet Union to have sent a journalist to […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – An explosion in the late evening of 27 September 1997 destroyed the editorial offices of “Alternativa”, the only alternative newspaper in the Bosnian Serb town of Doboj. Although no one was injured by the blast, the newspaper’s offices were destroyed and several adjacent apartments were damaged. A fire broke out and threatened to […]