2005-2014

Agents of Administrative Department of Security (DAS), the national intelligence service of Colombia, had spied on critical reporters, Supreme Court judges, opposition politicians, and officials in President Alvaro Uribe's administration, leading newsweekly Semana has reported. Citing five unnamed DAS agents, the magazine said that rogue intelligence officials had monitored and intercepted...

The new media law in Belarus contains several provisions that further deteriorate the media situation in the country. In particular, the law provides for regulation of online media by a governmental decree and re-registration of all the media outlets; it simplifies the procedure of closing down a media outlet and­ decreases the level of security of journalists and editorial boards, according to

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the "unjustified" detention of journalists by the Palestinian Authority's Preventive Security Services. The latest case of this media repression concerns Isam Al Remawi, a cameraman with the Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA), who was arrested January 26 and finally released on February 10. "We condemn these arbitrary...

The Sudanese government is censoring the media and cracking down on human rights activists and journalists who speak out on human rights and justice. Harassment, repression and censorship has worsened in the last year, particularly since the International Criminal Court's (ICC) request for an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir in July 2008. A 21-page report by Human Rights Watch (HRW),

An independent female journalist probing a child sexual abuse case was recently harassed and assaulted by youths in the Mexican city of Oaxaca, according to delayed reports. On January 29, a group of five or six youths harassed and assaulted independent journalist Verónica Villalvazo, who works under the pseudonym of "Frida Guerrera". At the time of the incident, Villalvazo was walking near the...

An official in Swaziland has apologised for summarily dismissing a female reporter from Parliament nearly two weeks ago. It was the latest in a controversy sparked by allegations of gender discrimination against Mantoe Phakathi, an award-winning journalist with the private monthly, the Nation, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported on its blog. "As a former media practitioner...

Three defendants in the October 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya walked free out of the Moscow District Military Court Friday after a jury unanimously acquitted them of helping to organise the crime. The state prosecution said it will appeal the verdict, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported. Those acquitted are Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, a former police...

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has condemned amendments to the UK Counter Terrorism Act, which came into force in the UK on February 16. The amendments contain powers of arrest and imprisonment of anyone who takes pictures of police officers or other public servants which are "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism." "This is a serious setback for...

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has expressed satisfaction at a court ruling in Argentina requiring the government to place official advertising in the newspaper Perfil. At the same time it criticised Guatemala's federal government for suspending state advertising in all print media in the Central American country. In Argentina last week, the government, which has been accused of...

The Buenos Aires Supreme Court has reinstated the life imprisonment sentence against former Pinamar police commissioner Alberto Gómez for his involvement in the January 25, 1997 murder of photographer José Luis Cabezas. This ruling revoked a previous decision by an appeals court that had reduced the original life sentence handed down in 2002 to 24 years in prison. The Foro de Periodismo Argentino...