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New York, June 30, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a bill before the Russian Parliament that broadens the definition of extremism to include media criticism of public officials. The draft legislation allows for imprisonment of up to three years for journalists, and the suspension or closure of their publication, if convicted of extremism, according to Russian press reports...

ABUJA (Reuters) - A decision to charge two Nigerian journalists with sedition for saying a new presidential jet was second-hand has outraged human rights activists who fear free speech is under threat ahead of next year's elections. Nigerian and foreign rights groups accuse the government of Africa's most populous country of intolerance towards critics and disregard for the law, arguing that...

Reporters Without Borders protested to the Lebanese government today after the authorities tore an article about the Prophet Mohammed out of 280 copies of the paper on arrival in Lebanon on 26 June. “We thought these practices of censorship were a thing of the past in Lebanon, but we were obviously wrong,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “We hope the authorities will find an...

ABUJA, 28 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - Human rights groups say that media harassment is on the rise in Nigeria following the arrest of two journalists charged with sedition after publishing critical news reports about President Olusegun Obasanjo's government. Rotimi Durojaiye of the Daily Independent newspaper and Gbenga Aruleba of Africa Independent Television were in an Abuja federal court on Tuesday...

MOSCOW, June 28 (Itar-Tass) - Editor-in-chief of the newspaper Parlamentskaya Gazeta /Parliamentary Newspaper/ Pyotr Kotov will be relieved of his duties in connection with the publication of an article that was severely criticized by the leaders of both chambers of the Russian parliament. "Kotov has already tendered his resignation," lower house speaker Boris Gryzlov said. Last week, speaker of...

The human rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday presented two Russian human rights activists and journalists with an award for their work in Chechnya and elsewhere in the North Caucasus. The “Journalism Under Threat” prize was awarded during a ceremony in London to Stanislav Dmitriyevsky and Oksana Chelysheva, both representing the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, Radio Free Europe...

ABUJA (Reuters) - A Nigerian court charged two journalists with sedition on Tuesday over stories critical of a new presidential jet, in what one of the men's employers called an assault on democracy in Africa's most populous nation. Gbenga Arulegba, presenter of a political show on African Independent Television (AIT), and Rotimi Durojaiye of the Daily Independent newspaper, risk two years in jail...

New York, June 27, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about Israeli government restrictions on journalists attempting to report from the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday that Israeli passport holders and dual nationals would be prohibited from entering Gaza. “Due to the current security assessments journalists with Israeli citizenship or those...

Robbers made off with tens of thousands of rands in cash during a daring daylight cash-in-transit heist at a Pretoria newspaper office. The four men, armed with assault rifles and handguns, attacked a Coin security guard as he was walking out of the second floor Arcadia Street office of Rapport in Hatfield at lunchtime on Monday. They grabbed the guard, forced him into a lift at gunpoint, and...

BUJUMBURA, June 27, 2006 (AFP) - The United Nations said Tuesday it was angered by the continued detentions of a Burundian journalist and a peace activist who it said were being held in violation of their rights. The UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) said the detention of the two men, both of whom were arrested last month for allegedly threatening state security, "was contrary to Burundi's legal...