ARCHIVES: Follow-up
Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reiterated its call to the judicial authorities to drop all charges against BBC correspondent Urinboy Usmonov, whose trial began on August 16 in the northern city of Khujand. “Usmonov’s claims of being tortured while in detention are shocking,” RSF said. “They must be the subject of a serious investigation and those responsible should be punished. Unfortunately this is just the latest in a long list of irregularities since his... MORE
Haileyesus Worku, the editor of the state-owned Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency (ERTA), and one of his reporters, Abdulsemed Mohammed, were finally released on bail of 5,000 birr (205 euros) on July 22 after being held for 15 months on charges of illegally selling state-owned news content for personal gain, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). The court has scheduled a hearing for 12 November to hear defence arguments. The two journalists are... MORE
An Istanbul court for minors on July 25 passed a sentence of 22 years and 10 months in prison on Ogün Samast after convicting him of being the trigger-man in the January 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor Hrant Dink. Aged 17 at the time of the shooting, Samast was also ordered to pay to a fine of 600 Turkish lira (300 euros), Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) reported. “By imposing almost the maximum sentence on the leading suspect in Dink’s murder,... MORE
Two close associates of Syed Saleem Shahzad, an Islamabad-based investigative reporter for the Asia Times online newspaper whose dead body was found in Punjab province on 31 May, have given interviews to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) in which they accuse the authorities of showing little interest in investigating his murder. “We voice our support for Shahzad’s relatives and colleagues and we urge the authorities to guarantee their safety,” RSF said. “Several of... MORE
The Belarus information ministry has withdrawn two complaints against independent dailies Nasha Niva and Narodnaya Volya under which they had been threatened with closure since April 25. The complaints were withdrawn during hearings before the Supreme Economic Court on July 12 and 13, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). The move was a “rare example of good sense,” Nasha Niva editor Andrei Skurko said. “The pressure of public opinion on the authorities... MORE
Authorities in Tajikistan have released BBC correspondent Urinboy Usmonov, although they have placed him under judicial control. He had been held since June 13. His release was announced yesterday by prosecutor general Sherkhan Salimzade. “We are pleased that Usmonov has been freed and is now back with his family after a month in detention, but we reiterate our call for the withdrawal of all the charges against him,” Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said. His... MORE
A risible fine of 15,000 vatu (120 euros) has been imposed by a court in Port Vila, the capital of the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, on infrastructure and public utilities minister Harry Iauko on July 8 for a physical attack on Daily Post publisher Marc Neil-Jones in March, Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. “It is unacceptable that a government minister should get off with such a small fine for assaulting a journalist who criticised him,”... MORE
Bangui judge Jules Gaveaux has ordered the release of news media editors Faustin Bambou and Emmanuel Cyrus Sandy after dismissing criminal charges of “inciting violence and hatred” in a case involving defence minister Jean-Francis Bozizé, Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. The judge did however on July 11 fine them 300,000 CFA francs (458 euros) on a lesser charge of libelling the minister. In a phone call after his release, Bambou thanked RSF and the... MORE
Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has joined a renewed call by BBC staff worldwide for the immediate and unconditional release of the BBC’s correspondent in Tajikistan, Urinboy Usmonov , who has been held since June 13 in the northwestern town of Kujand and said it was very concerned about his plight. “The apparent dropping of the charge of belonging to an illegal political party, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, shows how very flimsy the accusations against him are,” the... MORE
French journalists Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier and their Afghan interpreter Reza , who were abducted by a Taliban group on December 29, 2009 in the northeastern province of Kapisa while doing a report for the French TV station France 3, were released June 29. Kapisa governor Abdol Hakim Akhonzadeh, who was reached in the town of Tagab, told Reporters Without Borders that the journalists were freed at around 5 p.m. The Elysée Palace immediately notified their families, who were... MORE
Pages
