2005-2014

Honduras President Manuel Zelaya’s ouster Sunday by the Army has been followed by a curfew during which the broadcasts of several radio and TV stations were suspended, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. As soon as the curfew had been decreed, the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) notified cable TV operators of a ban on broadcasting certain international TV stations such...

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) expresses deep dissatisfaction over the increasing frequency of convictions for press misdemeanours in Egypt. The latest occurrence involved the criminal court sentencing of Yasser Barakat, editor-in-chief of the Al-Mogaz newspaper, to six months in prison and a fine of LE 20000 (approx. US$3500) in an insult and libel case filed by MP...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has welcomed the decision to lift the ban on the Arabic version of the Gulf News newspaper after the authorities stopped its publication on Sunday June 21. "We welcome the lifting of the ban which was a serious violation of press freedom," said Paco Audije, IFJ Deputy General Secretary on June 23. "It is not for governments to tell newspapers what...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Hamas government in the Gaza strip to release Palestinian journalists who have been arbitrarily detained by their respective security forces. "We condemn this latest crackdown against journalists in Palestine," said Paco Audije, IFJ Deputy General Secretary. "Our colleagues must not...

Hang Chakra, editor-in-chief of the opposition Khmer-language daily Khmer Machas Srok, has been sentenced to one year in prison stemming from his reports on alleged government corruption. According to the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), a Cambodian court ruled Saturday that Hang Chakra violated criminal disinformation laws by publishing a series of articles that accused officials working...

The World Association of Newspapers and IFRA, the leading international associations for print and digital news publishing, have merged into a new organisation, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). The combined new organisation will represent more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3000 companies in more than 120 countries. WAN-IFRA is dedicated...

Press freedom groups have urged Iranian authorities to release all of the roughly 40 journalists and media workers who have been detained in the aftermath of the country's disputed June 12 presidential election. Iranian news organisations identified two more detained journalists in reports on Thursday. Multiple news reports named the two as cartoonist Behzad Bashbo and television producer Khalil...

Eleven Sri Lankan journalists were driven into exile in the past 12 months amid an intensive government crackdown on critical reporters and editors, the Committee to Protect Journalists says in a new survey. The surge from Sri Lanka accounted for more than a quarter of the journalists worldwide who fled their native countries in the past year after being attacked, harassed, or threatened with

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has condemned the charges of “violating public decency”, “inciting crimes” and “publishing court statements still under the seal of confidentiality” that were brought against Hanevy Ould Dehah, the editor of the website Taqadoumy, on June 24. Dehah, who has been held since June 18, was taken to Dart Naim prison after being charged. “We urge the authorities to...

A Paris court has found Tahiti-Pacifique editor Alex du Prel guilty of defaming public prosecutor Jean Bianconi in an article criticising the judicial probe into the 1997 disappearance of Jean-Pascal “JPK” Couraud, a leading investigative journalist based in Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. The court on Tuesday fined Du Prel 1,000 euros and...