2005-2014

17 July 2009

Suspension lifted for independent television station in Congo

Canal Plus Bénédiction (CB Plus), a faith-based television station broadcast from Brazzaville, was reauthorised to broadcast on July 3 following a five-month suspension, Journaliste en danger (JED) has reported. CB Plus was suspended on February 12 on orders from the state-run national media regulator, the High Council on Freedom of Communication (CSLC), after it aired archival footage of a 1991...

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17 July 2009

Two journalists killed within 24 hours in Mexico; motives not yet known

Two journalists were killed in Mexico within a span of 24 hours earlier this week, according to delayed reports received by Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). Martín Javier Miranda Avilés, a reporter on the daily Panorama and correspondent for news agency Quadratin, found dead at his home in Zitacuaro, Michoacán state in the south-east on July 12. Ernesto Montañez Valdivia, an editor of...

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17 July 2009

Belarus news website threatened over article about pro-Russian neo-fascist group

There have been continuing threats against journalists working for the Charter 97 news and opposition website (charter97.org) in Belarus, according to Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). In the latest case, site editor Natallya Radzina received a threatening email message on July 15 that was prompted by a report about a pro-Russian neo-fascist group. The email that Radzina received on...

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17 July 2009

Seven photographers and Franco-Iranian cameraman arrested in Iran crackdown

Eight photographers and cameramen have been arrested in a recent crackdown in Iran, according to Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). Following the expulsion of almost all foreign reporters, seven photographers have been jailed since June 12. They include Mehdi Zabouli (arrested on June 20), Tohid Bighi (July 11), Majid Saidi (July 11), Satyar Emami (July 11), Marjan Abdolahian (July 11)...

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17 July 2009

Thailand distributors block Economist over article on country's lese majeste laws

Distributors blocked the July 4-10 edition of the Economist from entering Thailand over an article that covered the mounting threat of lese majeste complaints to the country's Internet freedom and freedom of expression, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This is the third time since December that distributors have opted not to distribute the British weekly newsmagazine...

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17 July 2009

Yemen journalist sentenced to 14 months for harming national unity, provoking sedition

A Yemeni court has found journalist Anis Mansour from suspended daily Al-Ayyam guilty of "harming national unity, provoking sedition and rebellion, and ‎inciting people in the streets" and "taking part in unauthorised protests and promoting ‎secessionist slogans." He was sentenced on Wednesday to 14 months imprisonment, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported. The case was...

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16 July 2009

Sikh journalist who flung shoe at Chidambaram sacked by Dainik Jagran

Jarnail Singh, the Sikh journalist who created a stir by flinging a shoe at Union home minister P Chidambaram, was on Thursday sacked by his employers. Singh, who was a defence correspondent with Hindi daily Dainik Jagran for nearly a decade, said his services with the newspaper were terminated following a show-cause notice issued about 4 months ago. “I have been victimised for raising a genuine...

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16 July 2009

Kyrgyz police officer confesses to beating journalist who died

A policeman has confessed to beating a Kyrgyz journalist in the southern Osh region who later died from his injuries, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service has reported quoting the country's Deputy Interior Minister Sabyrbek Kurmanaliev. Almaz Tashiyev, 32, was buried on July 13 in the Nookat district. He died the previous day from massive internal injuries suffered during a beating in Nookat on July 4. Details...

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16 July 2009

Venezuelan newspapers threatened by lack of dollars to import paper

Dozens of regional daily newspapers in Venezuela are at risk of having to halt their presses due to government delays in providing foreign currency needed to import paper, a Canadian Press report has said. The National Union of Press Workers said in a statement Wednesday that more than 50 dailies across the country "are on the brink of ceasing operations due to the lack of paper." Some details: [...

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16 July 2009

Sudanese reporter faces trial and 40 lashes for "dressing in a sensational manner"

Sudanese reporter Lubna Ahmed Al-Hussein is on trial for "dressing in a sensational manner." The "general discipline" police considered Al-Hussein's style of dress to be a threat to Sudanese societal values and virtues, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has reported. This crime is subject to only one punishment, 40 lashes in public, according to article 152 of the Sudanese...

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