News

The Philippines government must address a series of shootings that have targeted journalists on the southern island of Mindanao, the latest coming on Wednesday when gunmen critically wounded a local radio broadcaster, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has demanded. One of two men riding a motorcycle fired once at Harrison Manalac at about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to local news...

A district court judge in Baku has sentenced Nazim Guliyev, an editor and the founder of the pro-government newspaper Ideal, to six months in prison on defamation charges, the Azeri Press Agency (APA) reported. Guliyev was jailed immediately. Judge Elman Akhmedov imposed the sentence on Wednesday, although the accuser, Sabira Makhmudova, said she wanted to withdraw her complaint, APA reported...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has condemned journalist Elena Maglevannaya’s conviction by a court in the southern city of Volgograd of defaming the prison service in articles about torture in Russian prisons that she wrote for the website Vestnikcivitas. Some of the articles were about the case of Zubayr Zubayrayev, a young Chechen imprisoned in Volgograd. In a May 13 ruling, the court found...

An increasing number of lawsuits are being filed in Algeria against journalists for alleged defamation, Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has eported. On May 11, Nedjar El Hadj Daoud, editor of the Al-Waha newspaper, was sentenced to six months in prison by the Ghardaïa court, confirming the 2007 and 2008 rulings. The sentence stemmed from the publication of a May 21, 2006 article...

Local police arrested one of the alleged gunmen in the 2005 killing of journalist Philip Agustin on May 13 in Pampanga, a province approximately 81 km from Manila, according to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). The Philippine National Police in Central Luzon arrested Nilo "Boy" Morete in Poblacion village, Mabalacat town, Pampanga at around 3:30 p.m. (local time) on May 13...

Sierre Leone journalist Sylvia Blyden has been forced into hiding after receiving death threats, while another, Umaru Sitta Turay, suffered a vicious knife attack, Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. Both journalists were targetted for attack because they had allegedly “libelled” Sierra Leone’s president, RSF said, urging the head of state to call off the “witch-hunt” against...

Authorities in Malawi should immediately release three journalists arrested today in a police raid on an opposition radio station, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has demanded. The country is holding general elections between Wednesday and Thursday. The 4 a.m. raid targetted Joy Radio, a station owned by former president and opposition leader Bakili Muluzi, in the commercial city of...

A freelance Filipino journalist, Carlos Conde, has alleged that that his name appeared on a 2007 official Armed Forces "order of battle" document, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Conde said he is concerned that the official document amounts to a "hitlist" that contains more than a hundred names, mostly and members of anti-government groups. The names, Conde said, are...

The Thai government has announced its plan to regulate the programme content of radio stations and cable and satellite TV stations in the country, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) has reported quoting media reports. The Bangkok Post quoted on May 14 Prime Minister's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey as saying the government will ban any programme, whether broadcast over community...

A journalist from Bangued was unharmed after gunmen fired at her family's house on May 14, delayed reports have said. Bangued is the capital of Abra, a province approximately 408 km northwest of Manila. Marjorie Bandayrel-Trinidad, news editor of the weekly community newspaper Abra Today, said she and her husband were awakened by the sound of breaking glass at around 3:30 a.m. (local time) on May...