2005-2014

The government in the breakaway republic of Somaliland has launched a crackdown on the independent press as September presidential elections near. On July 13, Somaliland police arrested private Radio Horyaal Director Mohamed Osman and News Editor Ahmed Suleiman at the station, accusing them of inciting violence, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported. The two were remanded in custody...

A former senior figure in Ukraine's interior ministry has confessed to the murder in 2000 of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze and implicated high-ranking state officials, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported quoting authorities. Details: [ Link] Asked by reporters if the suspect, arrested on Tuesday, had confessed and if he implicated senior Ukrainian officials in the killing, Vassyl Grytsak, deputy...

Real progress at the start of King Mohammed’s reign in Morocco has been followed by reverses and tension, especially from 2002 onwards. Thursday marks the 10th anniversary of Mohammed VI’s accession to the throne on July 23, 1999. The priority continues to be a thorough overhaul of the press code, which is much too severe, says Reporters sans Frontières (RSF), which has carried out an evaluation

There have been two incidents since the start of the withdrawal of US forces from the main Iraqi cities two weeks ago that could indicate a worsening in the environment for the Iraqi media. Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) fears a resurgence of threats and violence against journalists not only by armed groups, but also the police and other law enforcement personnel. "Iraqi security...

Moroccan journalist Yahya Bentahar was deported last week, shortly after he landed at Algiers airport, according to Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). Bentahar, who works for the Rabat-based weekly Assahrae Al Ousbouiya, had planned to do a report on the political situation in Algeria in the wake of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's reelection. The Algerian embassy in Rabat had told Assahrae Al...

Media representatives are frequently being prevented by Moldovan authorities from reporting freely, especially following parliamentary elections in April this year, the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) has said. According to SEEMO, on July 12 two journalists, Ivan Melnic and Vladimir Thorik from the Moldovan newspaper Moldavskie Vedomosti, were forcefully prevented from entering a...

After reporting 10 claims of women being raped since a new police chief came to the Turkish town of Diyarbakır, an issue of the Azadiya Welat newspaper was confiscated, IPS Communication Foundation (BIANET) has reported. The Diyarbakır 1st Criminal Court of Peace confiscated the July 8, 2009 issue of Azadiya Welat because it reported the claims of a 23-year-old woman who said she had been raped by...

Six bloggers based in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian were arrested at the end of last month on charges of defamation and high treason, according to delayed reports received by Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). Lawyers have told the Paris-based press freedom organisation they are being held for reporting that a young woman died after being gangraped in February 2008. “Reporting a woman...

The Propaganda Department to Chinese news media and news websites has censored reports about a corruption case with links to President Hu Jintao’s son and about the closure of a human rights law centre, according to Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). “The Propaganda Department’s readiness to suppress news is an insult to the rights of Chinese citizens to be informed about matters of...

The Sri Lankan government has refused to renew the press visa of the Associated Press (AP) bureau chief in the country, Ravi Nessman. Nessman, an American national who has been based in Sri Lanka since 2007, was forced to leave the country on July 20 after his visa was not renewed. Advisor to the head of state, Lucien Rajakarunanayake, said the refusal was because foreign correspondents were not...