State Persecution

The process to award four community radio licences, approved by the Swazi government in October 2008, has plunged into controversy and uncertainty, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). This follows a statement issued on February 5 by the Swaziland Radio Regulator stating that the four applicants short-listed for the licences have been disqualified as opposed to having their...

ARTICLE 19 has written to Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, King of Bahrain, asking him to ensure that women's rights activist Ghada Jamsheer is protected from harassment and guaranteed her right to free expression. Jamsheer is leader of the Women's Petition Committee, which works to protect women and advocate for improved women's rights in the country's sharia courts. She has been repeatedly...

Supporters of Namibia's ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) party, under the umbrella body of the SWAPO Elders Council, have criticised the Namibian newspaper and radio stations for what they allege to be insults and criticism levelled against the party's leaders, current President Hifikepunye Pohamba and former president Sam Nujoma. Party supporters say they want the Namibian...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has demanded the release of four journalists imprisoned in Cameroun on libel charges. The four Cameroonian journalists have been in prison since last September following allegations of "critical reports" against President Paul Biya and the Cameroonian authorities. "We demand the immediate release of the detained journalists and the...

A journalist from the pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiyya has been expelled from the Gaza Strip to Egypt, allegedly because of his coverage of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, and its aftermath, Media Line website has reported. Police belonging to the Interior Ministry in the Hamas’ Gaza-based deposed government ordered Al-Arabiyya correspondent, Wa'il Issam, to leave the Gaza Strip...

Baku appeal court judge Rizvan Safarov on Thursday rejected a request for the conditional release of Azadlig reporter Sakit Zahidov, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) had reported. The request was submitted by his lawyer, Isakhan Ashurov, on December 19 on the grounds that Zahidov has served half of his three-year jail sentence and, under Azerbaijani law, qualifies for early release. “We regret that...

An appeal court in Gafsa (400 km south of Tunis) has confirmed the six-year prison sentence that was imposed on reporter Fahem Boukadous of the satellite TV station el Hiwar el Tounissi in connection with his coverage of last year’s demonstrations in the Gafsa mining region. Boukadous is still in hiding. His sentence was upheld as part of a ruling concerning all of the 38 people who were convicted...

The Iranian ministry of culture and Islamic guidance Wednesday suspended Hemat, a weekly that supports allies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The ministry said a spoof movie poster on the front page of the latest issue, on February 1, had insulted senior government officials, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. “There would be something comic about this suspension if it did not...

Boussada Ben Ali, the managing editor of independent Nigerien weekly L’Action, was Friday sentenced to three months in prison and fined 50,000 CFA francs (about 76 euros) for “publishing false information”. The journalist immediately appealed against the sentence but will remain in custody at Niamey prison where he has been since January 26 while awaiting the outcome of the appeal, Reporters sans...

Gambian authorities are continuing to to hound the Point, a privately-owned daily based in Banjul. Its editor, Pap Saine, was charged with publishing false information yesterday, two days after being arrested and then freed on bail for reporting the arrest of a Gambian diplomat, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. Saine is to appear in court again on February 19. “Saine’s arrest comes...