JOURNALISTS PETITION FOR RELEASE OF WSJ REPORTER

IN Media Freedom | 05/05/2002

JOURNALISTS PETITION FOR RELEASE OF WSJ REPORTER

Daniel Pearl has been missing in Pakistan since January 23. Appeal to Captors for his Release.

New York, January 31, 2002 - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is distributing the following appeal issued today by a leading group of 50 prominent Arab, Western, and Turkish journalists with a long history of covering Middle Eastern and Muslim affairs. The journalists are calling for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

A copy of the appeal follows:

We, the undersigned, are colleagues of Daniel Pearl, who has become a captive while reporting for The Wall Street Journal in Pakistan.

Like Daniel himself, we are journalists. As he used to, we report on events in the Middle East. We are Americans, Arabs, and others, who have spent many years, in some cases lifetimes, in the Arab part of the Islamic world.

We would like to state without hesitation that Daniel is a professional journalist of the highest standard. During his own assignment covering the Arab part of the Muslim world, he worked with honesty, courage, and independence of mind to write the truth about the conflicts and problems of the region as he saw it. Like the rest of us, he did his best to convey the opinions and emotions of the people of the region.

We are dismayed by, and reject, accusations that Daniel is employed in any capacity other than as a professional journalist. He is in no way responsible for any actions or opinions other than his own. We affirm the rights of journalists everywhere--be they Western, Arab, Muslim, or any other nationality and religion--to perform their vital tasks without being subject to accusations and threats.

Daniel`s safe release will enable you to realize this goal.

Signed:
Ahmed Abdelmalik, Al Sharq, Doha
Mohammed al Ali, Al Jazeera, Doha
Christiane Amanpour, CNN, London
Ibrahim al Amin, As Safir, Beirut
Terry Anderson, New York
Fouzi al Asmar, Washington DC
Abdul Bari Atwan, Al Quds Al Arabi, London
Mehmet Ali Birand, CNN Turk, Istanbul
Bill Blakemore, ABC News, New York
Tom Brokaw, NBC News, New York
Cengiz Candar, Yeni Safak, Istanbul
John K. Cooley, Athens
Youssef Darwish, Al Raya, Doha
Raghida Dergham, Al Hayat, New York
Christopher Dickey, Newsweek, Paris
James M. Dorsey, The Wall Street Journal, Riyadh
Charles Glass, London
Sami Haddad, Al Jazeera, London
Assad Haydar, Al Moustaqbal, Paris
Ibrahim Helal, Al Jazeera, Doha
David Hi

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