News

(CIHRS/IFEX) - Cairo,16 January 2007 - The prosecution released, the day before yesterday, the Egyptian journalist Howeida Taha on bail of LE 10,000. Authorities had formerly held her under custody for interrogation, based on the fact that she had prepared a documentary program on citizens' complaints about the Egyptian police machinery. She was accused of being involved in acts harming Egyptian...

Suspended sentences of three years in prison and fines of 80,000 dirhams (7,200 euros) were handed down by a Casablanca court on 15 January 2007 on Driss Ksikes, editor of the Arabic-language weekly “Nichane”, and one of his journalists, Sanaa Elaji, for attacking Islam and traditional morals in a feature about Moroccan humour. The court also ordered “Nichane” to be closed for two months. “We are...

The South Asia Press Commission (SAPC) has described the Maldives as a “journalists’ prison” in its 2006 annual report, after sending a mission to the country to analyse the situation. An ‘International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission to the Maldives’ visited the country in May last year to assess the freedom of the media. Since then much has changed, but the basic situation...

2006 WAS A ROUGH YEAR for four of the top five magazine publishers--as measured by total ad pages. With the exception of Conde Nast, which saw total ad pages at its publications rise 3.5%, all the big names experienced modest or substantial declines. Time Industry leader Time Inc. suffered a 4.8% drop in ad pages, with some of its most important properties stagnant or in decline. Eponymous...

(Mizzima/IFEX) - Burma's military junta has banned an increasing number of websites since 8 January 2007, which is causing more difficulties for Burmese citizens trying to access free email and messenger services. Since 8 January, the junta banned proxy sites such as http://www.polysolve.com , http://www.glite.sayni.net , http://www.3proxy.com , and http://www.unipeak.com , among others, which...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders expressed its horror at the murder of freelance journalist Khoudr Younes al-Obaidi, who was shot dead as he returned to his home in Mosul, northern Iraq, on 12 January 2007. The killing comes eight days after the discovery of the body in Baghdad of Ahmed Hadi Naji, 28, an occasional cameraman for the Associated Press, who went missing on 30 December 2006...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of Agnès Uwimana Nkusi, the editor-in-chief of the privately-owned bimonthly "Umurabyo", who has been held at the Muhima district police station in Kigali since 12 January 2007 for publishing an open letter condemning press freedom violations. "The government cannot dispute claims that it does not tolerate criticism and at the same...

When it launched its first Web sites a year and a half ago, Backfence held the promise of creating a collection of virtual town squares. By letting residents post news about their communities, it joined the emerging citizen journalism movement and was the first such start-up to land a sizable amount of money from private investors who shared its vision. Now Vienna-based Backfence has lost three...

Imphal, jan 13: Nameirakpam Biswajit, reporter of the Imphal Free Press, was severely beaten up by police commandos of the Imphal West district police while covering the chaos in front of Congress Bhavan today. Our reporter was kicked and beaten with lathis despite identifying himself as a journalist. The incident took place at around 2 pm in front of the Congress Bhavan at BT Road amidst police...

From his slurred babbling to his dumbstruck appearance, every sign of High Court Judge Nkola Motata's alleged inebriation was captured for posterity - not by a journalist, but by a member of the public using a cellphone. Motata's case is a classic example of citizen journalism, in which ordinary members of the public take on the role of journalists, and cover an unfolding story themselves. Their...