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The South Asia Press Commission (SAPC) has described the Maldives as a “journalists’ prison” in its 2006 annual report, after sending a mission to the country to analyse the situation. An ‘International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission to the Maldives’ visited the country in May last year to assess the freedom of the media. Since then much has changed, but the basic situation...

(Mizzima/IFEX) - Burma's military junta has banned an increasing number of websites since 8 January 2007, which is causing more difficulties for Burmese citizens trying to access free email and messenger services. Since 8 January, the junta banned proxy sites such as http://www.polysolve.com , http://www.glite.sayni.net , http://www.3proxy.com , and http://www.unipeak.com , among others, which...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of Agnès Uwimana Nkusi, the editor-in-chief of the privately-owned bimonthly "Umurabyo", who has been held at the Muhima district police station in Kigali since 12 January 2007 for publishing an open letter condemning press freedom violations. "The government cannot dispute claims that it does not tolerate criticism and at the same...

The Information Ministry of Bangladesh imposed censorship on Bangladesh media immediately after president declared state of emergency in the country suspending all political activities and postponed the national election slated for Jan. 22. The Press Information Department (PID) under the Information Ministry, when asked late on Thursday night, told Xinhua that all private television channels have...

ISLAMABAD: Despite remaining independent, the media in Pakistan continued facing outbursts of intolerance by the security agencies and a section of the establishment and Pakistan topped the list of abductions and killings of journalists during the year, according to a report released by South Asia Free Media Association on Thursday. The tribal areas have been turned into no-go areas for...

(CMFR/IFEX) - The journalists suing First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo for abuse of right and for violating their right to the free exercise of their profession, shrugged off Arroyo's motion to dismiss their complaint, and maintained that their suit is meant to defend press freedom and democracy against Arroyo's efforts to undermine both. Speaking through their lawyer, University of the...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the jailing of Rigobert Kakwala Kash, the editor of the privately-owned weekly "Le Moniteur", on 11 January 2007 in Kinshasa, and the 11-month prison sentence he has received as a result of a libel suit by the governor of the western province of Bas-Congo. He is the first journalist to be imprisoned since Joseph Kabila's election as president...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed the release of academic and cyber-dissident Ali Sayed al-Shihabi on 9 January 2007 after five months in detention. Arrested on 10 August 2006 for articles posted on a far-left website, he was freed under a presidential amnesty marking the Muslim Eid celebrations. "We hope this pardon will open the way for more releases, because we have not...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the interim government head's decision to impose general censorship on the news media following an 11 January 2007 verbal order to radio and TV stations to stop broadcasting news programmes. Journalists have also been prevented from circulating freely in Dhaka. "The desire to extricate Bangladesh from the current political crisis in no way...

(CPJ/IPYS/IFEX) - Caracas, Venezuela, January 12, 2007 - A joint delegation of the Committee to Protect Journalists and Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS) said today it is alarmed about the lack of transparency in President Hugo Chávez Frias' decision not to renew the broadcast concession of the privately owned television station RCTV. This week, as Chávez was inaugurated for his third term, the...