Uncategorised

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on the government of Senegal to put an end to "oppression" of journalists after the arrest of an editor this morning. This is the fourth arrest of a reporter or editor in the last month for allegedly offending the President or endangering national security. El Malick Seck, editor of the news website Rewmi.com was arrested this morning...

Reporters Without Borders hopes that basic freedoms, especially free expression, will be discussed at the 18th Ibero-American summit, a three-day meeting of heads of state and government from Latin America, Spain and Portugal that begins tomorrow in the Chilean capital of Santiago with the official theme of “Social cohesion and public policies for fairer societies.” The summit’s discussions will...

Reporters Without Borders today urged the Turkish authorities to move to ‘deeds not words’ on reform of Article 301 of criminal law allowing prosecution for “insulting Turkish identity” after the justice minister yesterday made a new statement of intent. “It’s been two years now since, alongside Turkish journalists and press freedom organisations, we have called for the law to be amended and...

(MISA/IFEX) - On 29 October 2007, the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) ordered Joy TV to immediately stop all television broadcasts until the station is issued appropriate radio and broadcasting licenses. Joy TV- a sister company to Joy Radio - has been held up in a wrangle with the country's communications regulator after it challenged the Macra Board in court, describing it as...

(FMM/IFEX) - 7 November 2007, Colombo, Sri Lanka - We express our deep concern and condemn the banning of photojournalists from covering the important budget speech in Parliament today. Although all media institutions were invited to cover the event, it is regrettable that only photojournalists from State-controlled media were allowed to cover the event. Protesting this arbitrary censorship, all...

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 28 and 29 October 2007, the manager of Radio Panorama, Armandina Casafranca Montes, reported to IPYS that unidentified individuals phoned the radio station and threatened to burn and destroy its broadcasting tower situated on the San José hill, in the city of Andahuaylas in the Apurímac region, southeastern Peru. Casafranca Montes accused the mayor of Andahuaylas, Manuel Molina...

(PPF/IFEX) - Police in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, raided and threatened to seal the printing press of the Jang Group, Pakistan's largest media house, on 5 November 2007, after the management refused to follow verbal orders from government officials to stop printing the daily "Awam", one of the group's evening newspapers. According to the Jang Group, "Awam" managers had decided to print an...

Reporters Without Borders firmly condemns a crackdown by the security forces on the privately-owned news media. Dozens of journalists have been detained, attacked or prevented from working. Transmission equipment has been seized from several broadcast media. New regulations on newspapers and broadcast media promulgated on 3 November are a death warrant for some of the privately-owned TV and radio...

(IPI/IFEX) - The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is deeply concerned about the worsening situation for journalists in the South Eastern European (SEE) region. SEEMO is alarmed at the activities of the Croatian police against...

Reporters Without Borders said today that recent developments and statements made it fear that the authorities in Kyrgyzstan lack the will to properly investigate the murder of journalist Alisher Saipov, against whom a campaign of vilification has been launched. Saipov was shot dead on the evening of 24 October 2007, close to the premises of Radio Free Europe in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh. He...