State Control

Fear might be holding Jordanians from exploiting the margin of freedoms they have. On several occasions, the Jordanian regime, in the words of King Abdullah, reiterated the need for a free press. Jordan promulgated the only law in the Arab countries that allows access to information. However, journalists are still repressed, laws and regulations have not changed and the executive authority has not

Kenyan police arrested several journalists and a large number of civil society activists on December 12 as they broke up a protest against the passage of the Communications Act, which allows the government to interfere with the independence of the media, the Nairobi-based Media Institute has reported. The morning crew for Kiss FM radio station, led by Kenya'a top female presenter, Caroline Mutoko...

Journalists are frequently being summoned for questioning by the Special Services of Kyrgyzstan, Adil Soz has reported. On December 5, the founder of the local Buran radio station, independent journalist Rakhmanzhan Islamov, was summoned for questioning at the Department of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) in the city of Tokmok. The independent press agency 24.kg reported that...

The permanent secretary for information and publicity, George Charamba, and President Robert Mugabe's spokesperson have threatened to ban accredited foreign bureaus or local reporters working for foreign news organisations after accusing them of embarking on a propaganda assault on Zimbabwe, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has reported. In an interview during the Zimbabwe...

The chairperson of Namibia's Legislative body, the National Council, has called on the Ombudsman Office to investigate the Namibian's SMS readers' page and radio chat show programmes as to whether they are being used to demonise Namibian leaders. The Namibian publishes SMS messages from readers on various topics in Namibia. The call was made by Margret Mensah, chairperson of the National Council...

Authorities in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Syria have prevented four Arab journalists and human rights activists from attending the Arab Free Press Forum, an annual gathering in Beirut, Lebanon, that examines how independent media can be effective despite widespread repression in the region. The travel restrictions drew condemnation from the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), the organiser of...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has expressed concern over the sidelining of journalist Javier Molina of Ecuadorian TV station Cablenoticias, which has been state-run since July 2008. Molina was the host of the political programme 'Sobremesas de entorno'. The journalist received three warnings from the new government-appointed management after the station was taken over, ordering him to modify his...

The public outcry over the arrest and humiliation of the former managing editor of leftwing daily Libération, Vittorio de Filippis, may lead to the modification of libel laws in France. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, giving in to the simmering discontent, over the journalist’s arrest, has said that he wants to change the law and decriminalise defamation, thereby removing the threat of arrest

The Kazakh government's human rights record, including free speech issues, is inconsistent with standards embraced by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), whose chairmanship the former is to take over in 2010. This, says Human rights Watch, risks undermining the integrity of the institution's human rights principles. One of the key problem areas is the government's rigid

Israel has lifted a four-week ban on international journalists entering Gaza and temporarily eased a blockade on shipments of goods to the coastal strip, the Associated Press (AP) has reported. The announcement follows weeks of pressure from foreign governments and the leaders of major news organisations urging Israel to reopen Gaza to the media. Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said on...