State Persecution

Gustavo Azócar Alcalá, a journalist based in the western Venezuela state of Táchira who had been detained since July 9, 2009, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on March 26 on a charge of “administrative corruption” but was granted a conditional release, according to Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). The court acquitted him on charges of embezzling public funds and fraud. The charges...

There were a number of press freedom violations in March by the Israel Defence Forces, which routinely fire on Palestinian journalists, according to Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). Eight journalists were injured by shots fired by Israeli soldiers during March in the West Bank and Jerusalem. “The incidents continue with complete impunity,” Paris-based RSF said. “The IDF soldiers involved are...

A number of Turkish journalists are facing sentences for doing their job. Since an amendment to the anti-terrorism law took effect in 2006, media personnel have been exposed to the possibility of long spells in jail just for covering ordinary news developments including judicial proceedings, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has said. One of the latest victims is photographer Nurettin Kurt of the...

Igor Larra, a correspondent for the Almaty-based independent weekly Svoboda Slova (Freedom of Speech), was attacked in the city of Aktobe that left him with a concussion and other head injuries, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said. Larra (a pen name for the journalist Igor Kim) had extensively covered a strike by workers for the national oil producer KazMunayGas in the southwestern...

An Ecuadoran appellate court should overturn the libel conviction of editor Enrique Palacio, and the country’s legislators should reform archaic defamation laws that do not meet international standards for freedom of expression, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said. Palacio was sentenced Friday to three years in prison in connection with a commentary about a senior government...

A Bishkek court has ordered the temporary closure of two newspapers, Achyk Sayasat and Nazar, and fined them 5 million som (82,000 euros) for publishing an opinion piece by a government opponent in exile accusing President Kurmanbek Bakiev, who became president after a coup d’état, of lacking legitimacy, according to Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). In a ruling issued on March 18, the court found...

The Belarusian Supreme Court has upheld a government order that will obstruct the work of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), the country’s most prominent press freedom and media support organisation, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The court backed a directive issued in January by the Ministry of Justice that orders the association, known as BAJ, to halt...

A Turkish appellate court should overturn the unjust convictions of publisher and editor Haci Bogatekin, who faces several years in prison on various “insult” charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said. Bogatekin, owner of the biweekly Gerger Firat and editor of the news website Gergerfirat, was convicted March 2 on charges of “insulting” state prosecutors and “offending the...

Azerbaijani editor Genimet Zakhidov, who served more than half of a four-year term on fabricated “hooliganism” charges, was released from prison on Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported. “We're relieved Azerbaijani officials released our colleague Genimet Zakhidov, who served 28 long months in prison in retaliation for his critical journalism,” CPJ Europe and Central...

Ethiopia is preparing to jam the Amharic-language broadcasts of the US government-funded Voice of America (VOA), Prime Minister Meles Zenawi declared Thursday in a press briefing with international media correspondents based in the capital, Addis Ababa. The prime minister accused VOA’s Amharic service of “engaging in destabilising propaganda,” comparing it to Radio Télévision Libre des Mille...