News

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has called for the release of the manager of the Poobalasingam Book Depot bookshop in Colombo, who was arrested by anti-terrorism police at his home in the Colombo suburb of Wellawatte on March 5 for sending copies of Ananda Vikatan, a Tamil weekly magazine published in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, to another branch of the same bookshop in Jaffna, in the...

The is deep concern in Bahrain over the aggressive attitude of the local authorities towards journalists, writers and columnists, as many of them are prosecuted for exercising their professional right to report on issues of public interest. Lamees Dhaif, a well known columnist, journalist and reporter, was recently summoned to the Public Prosecutor's Office on charges brought by the Supreme...

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has condemned the harsh ruling by Tetuan misdemeanours court against Moroccan journalist and blogger Hassan Barhoun for allegedly circulating false news. On March 6, in a hasty trial that took only one hearing session, the court sentenced him to six months in prison and a 5,000 Moroccan dirham fine (approx US$570). Some lawyers withdrew from...

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has condemned Deputy Prime Minister Abdirahman Ibbi's recent statements on Radio Garowe criticising Somalia's independent news media and threatening to combat them. Ibbi is both deputy premier and minister of fisheries and marine resources in the new national unity government. "The deputy prime minister is picking on the wrong people," RSF said. "Somalia's...

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has expressed great concern over the trial of the Omani journalist and internet activist Ali al-Zwaidi who allegedly violated article 61 of the Omani communications law. The crime carries a sentence of up to a year in prison and a fine of one thousand Omani riyals (approx US$2,600). In August 2008, al-Zwaidi, a supervisor of the discussion...

The Ankara bureau chief of Cumhuriyet Daily, Mustafa Balbay, and online Toplumsal Haber columnist, Nerima Aydin, were taken under custody for a second time in relation to the Ergenekon case, involving accusations of overthrowing the government. Both were sent to Metris prison, IPS Communication Foundation (BIANET) has reported. Turkey's Society of Journalists (TGC), Contemporary Journalists'...

More than a year-and-a-half after the murder of Oakland Post reporter Chauncey Bailey, new evidence incriminating Yusuf Bey IV, the former head of Your Black Muslim Bakery, has come to light. Suspected of being the crime's mastermind, he has nonetheless not been charged yet. On March 4, a confidential informant implicated Yusuf Bey IV in the killing of the veteran journalist in August 2007. The...

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has turned down an international call for the reform of lèse-majesté law but hinted some amendment to the enforcement of the law could be considered to allow for expression of academic opinions, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) has reported. Speaking at the 54th anniversary of the Thai Journalists Association (TJA) on March 5, Abhisit said there was...

Centro de Reportes Informativos sobre Guatemala (CERIGUA) has warned of several incidents that the organisation has taken note of that could be part of a plan to undermine freedom of expression in the country. CERIGUA's director, Ileana Alamilla, said in a statement that in the beginning of February 2009, the CERIGUA website was hacked into, though personnel within the organisation were able to...

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Belarusian authorities to renew work credentials for Andrzej Poczobut, a local correspondent for Poland's largest daily, Gazeta Wyborcza, and to investigate recent harassment of him and his family in the western city of Hrodno. Poczobut's credentials were pulled off after he reported on the policies of President Aleksandr Lukashenko and the...