Ethics and Freedom

Legal action has been taken by Portugal’s prosecutor-general Fernando Pinto Monteiro against Lisbon-based weekly Sol, its director José Antonio Saraiva and two of its journalists who allegedly infringed his “credibility, reputation and intellectual property rights.” The action, in the form of a private prosecution in a civil court on March 10, concerns an article published on the front page of the...

On March 19, a large crowd in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, prevented Arsène Evariste Kabore and Issa Kafando, editor-in-chief and cameraman, respectively, of the state-owned Burkinabe Broadcasting Corporation (RTB), from covering a meeting between Burkinabe labour unions and the government. The Media Foundation for West Africa's (MFWA) correspondent reported that the RTB crew were singled...

Internet user Vikas Mavhudzi has been detained for the past month on a charge of advocating the government’s overthrow in a message he posted on Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Facebook page. He is to remain in prison until his trial, for which no date has yet been set, Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported Mavhudzi, 39, posted a message...

Gatot Machali, the manager of Radio Era Baru, a radio station based in Batam (in Riau province), appeared before a Jakarta administrative court Tuesday on a charge of “broadcasting without authorisation and disrupting neighbouring frequencies” under the Telecommunications Law He could be sentenced to six years in jail if found guilty. The court has not yet issued a verdict. Paris-based press...

On March 10, most privately-owned radio stations and newspapers in Lome, capital of Togo, suspended their normal activities in protest against the continued closure of three radio stations since December 2010. The Media Foundation for West Africa's (MFWA) correspondent in Togo reported that while the radio stations played music throughout the day, the newspapers, with the exception of state-owned...

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia has regretted yet another reprimand was issued by the Home Ministry to the press, this time to The Star newspaper. The Star stated that it was reprimanded for a March 9 article on the impounding of 5,000 Bibles in the national language, Malay. The Star was reportedly reminded by the Home Ministry's chief secretary Zaitun Abdul Samad that...

ARTICLE 19 has provided comments to the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts on New Media, calling on it to fully ensure internet users' right to freedom of expression when developing guidelines on managing search engines and social networks. "The Council of Europe needs to ensure that individuals' rights to freedom of expression, including the right to access information, are not restricted...

The owner and editor of the weekly Notillanos Plus, Vladimir Hidalgo, has said that since March 14 the distribution and sale of his newspaper has been prohibited within the municipality of San Fernando, in the southwestern Venezuelan state of Apure. Hidalgo said he did not receive any official notification of the measure, but rather found out via a notice published on March 14 in the regional...

Police in Buwama, Mpigi district (80 km south of Kampala), have arrested and detained Central Broadcasting Service (CBS FM) correspondent Yoweri Musisi over a story which alleged increased lawlessness in the area. CBS FM is owned by the Buganda Kingdom. Musisi was arrested on March 19 by armed policemen at Buwama trading centre on the orders of the officer in charge of the station, Abbey Ngaho...

Disputes over the use of an Associated Press photograph of Barack Obama were reported to have reached a final resolution this week, as a settlement was announced between the agency and clothing firm Obey Clothing. AP and Obey Clothing, an apparel company and exclusive licensee of Shepard Fairey, agreed to settle their high-profile copyright infringement lawsuit over Obey Clothing’s sale and...