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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brant Houston, 573-882-2042

Feb. 5, 2002

IRE protests kidnapping of Daniel Pearl

Columbia, Mo. - Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. condemns the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and calls for his kidnappers to release him.

IRE, a professional international organization of more than 4,000 members, says the kidnapping of an independent journalist will accomplish nothing. Indeed, the kidnapping and threat to kill Pearl -- who has been a member of IRE -- only serve to lessen the opportunities for fair and in-depth reporting in that region.

"Our members believe this irrational attack on a member of the press is pointless and cruel," said Brant Houston, executive director of IRE. "Daniel Pearl is no agent of any government, but only a journalist just trying to do his job."

IRE also calls on Pearl's kidnappers to answer the request of The Wall Street Journal's managing editor seeking "to begin a dialogue that will address your concerns and bring about Danny's safe release."

The kidnappers, who have accused Pearl of being a government agent, are asking for money and concessions from the U.S. government over which Pearl, his newspaper and other journalists have no control.

IRE also asks the U.S. and Pakistani governments to redouble their efforts to obtain Pearl's release so he may quickly return to his wife, who is expecting their first child.

IRE notes that in its first year of existence, one of its members, Don Bolles, was killed by a car bomb in Phoenix, Ariz. Instead of stopping Bolles' work, the murder spurred IRE members to form a group of reporters to finish his investigations. That effort resulted in a multipart series on corruption in Arizona that drew far more attention to Bolles' work and was published in newspapers throughout the country.

IRE, based at the Missouri School of Journalism, was founded in 1975 and provides training, resources and networking to journalists around the world while doing all it can to uphold high standards for the profession.