Ethics and Freedom

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the Moroccan Supreme Court’s decision to reject an appeal by journalist Mustapha Hurmatallah and to force him to complete a seven-month jail sentence in connection with his story in Al-Watan Al-An newspaper that published extracts from internal government documents on security and terrorism. “We are outraged by this decision from...

The Supreme Court Wednesday asked Zee news scribe Vijay Shekhar to apologise once again for tricking an Ahmedabad court in 2004 into issuing an arrest warrants against former president APJ Abdul Kalam and former chief justice of India VN Khare, the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) has reported. A bench of Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan insisted that Shekhar apologise, while his counsel Arun Jaitley...

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today condemned a Maltese news web portal for its decision to ban political coverage and commentary. “We are shocked that a major media outlet would ban political reporting right before the general elections,” said EFJ General Secretary Aidan White. “It is a craven act of self-censorship at a critical time when the public needs reliable political...

An Afghanistan university student and journalist for daily newspaper Janan-e-Naw, Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh, faces the death penalty at his upcoming trial, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Parvez was detained on October 27, 2007, in the northern Afghan city of Mazhar-e-Sharif, accused of “insolence to the Islam” after he allegedly downloaded an article from a Farsi...

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today accused the Slovenian government of trying to spin its way out of trouble within the European Union over controversial claims that it is interfering in press freedom at home. EFJ said in a statement that political meddling with media in Slovenia cast a shadow over the country’s presidency of the European Union. It has criticised the government...

The commander of the Sri Lankan army, Major-General Sarath Fonseka has labelled some journalists and sections of the media as “traitors”. In an interview published in the state-controlled Sinhala daily Dinamina on January 2, Foneska said the “treachery” of the media was the only obstacle hampering the military’s fight to defeat the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). “The biggest obstacle is...

Press freedom organisations have condemned a recent court decision in Finland against a staff photographer who took pictures during the “Smash ASEM” demonstration during the Asia Europe meeting in Helsinki on September 9, 2006. Staff photographer Markus Pentikäinen of the Finnish weekly Suomen Kuvalehti was convicted for refusing police orders to move away from the scene while he insisted on his...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the detention of a newspaper editor in Chad, who was held illegally by authorities for four days in connection with an article he wrote accusing the President of ethnic cleansing, and called on authorities to drop charges against him alleging he has incited “tribal hate.” “The government has brought charges against our colleague to...

A European court has awarded damages to an investigative journalist whose home was raided and computers confiscated after he published articles alleging fraud within the European Union. In its ruling for the German reporter, Hans-Martin Tillack, the European Court of Human Rights said Tuesday that the right to protect the identity of sources is an essential pillar of freedom of the press. Though...

Supporters of Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, who has been held without charge by U.S. officials in Iraq for 18 months, marked the year-and-a-half anniversary Friday by presenting an online petition with 1,500 signatures to several top federal officials, organizers said. In a letter faxed Friday to the White House, U.S. State Department, the Speaker of the House of Representatives...