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The editor of the official weekly of Turkmenistan has been convicted of treason and sentenced to eight years in prison by President Separmurad Nyazov. Khudaiberdy Kurbandurdyev, the editor of Adalat, is alleged to have illegally employed two people suspected of contacts with terrorists who tried to assassinate Nyazov in 2003. SELF PREZ: Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov seen at a meeting

Sierra Leone's Attorney-General and Justice Minister has declared null and void, the conclusion of an inquest into the death of journalist Harry Hasan Yansaneh, on grounds that the investigation panel did not follow the law. PAYING A HEAVY PRICE: Harry Yansanneh was assaulted on May 10, 2005 by thugs allegedly acting on the orders of ruling party MP Fatmata Hassan Komeh. He died in a freetown

The killings of two journalists over consecutive days in the Philippines have bolstered the country's dubious claim of being the most dangerous country for journalists after Iraq. GROWING OPPOSITION: A Philippine protester marches with banners and posters of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during a protest outside the presidential palace in Manila January 24, 2006. The protest calls for Arroyo's

A series of criminal cases against the Moroccan press, including criminal prosecutions of newspaper editors and the imposition of excessive fines, is posing a serious threat to the existence of independent publications in the North African country. Three journalists face possible imprisonment as a direct result of news or opinions published in their weeklies. In each case the monetary penalties

Pushed into a tight corner by the international outcry over the crackdown on its critics, the Ethiopian government has now begun targeting foreign journalists. On Saturday last, the country's Ministry of Information ordered a British journalist to leave the country for tarnishing its image worldwide. WHAT A THREAT: Associated Press correspondent Anthony Mitchell arrives at Jomo Kenyatta airport in

The owner-editor of a weekly in a remote town in Colombia has suspended publication of his newspaper and has been forced to flee the region after receiving death threats, probably from right-wing rebels. KILLING THE FIELDS: Anti-narcotics police walk in the middle of a coca field as they secure the area at the Sierra Macarena National Park, Monday, January 23, 2006. Some 3,000 armed troops are

Zimbabwe is reportedly mulling over a review of the controversial Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), following a hardhitting report by the African Union's human rights watchdog that criticised the law for suppressing freedom of expression, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). STILL DEFIANT: Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is seen in Rome, October

Uganda will be investigating all foreign journalists entering the country since they have become "security concerns" for the government, the Monitor has reported. THE CHALLENGER: Uganda opposition presidential candidate Kizza Besigye raises his handcuffed hands in the air to acknowledge his supporters as he leaves the High Court surrounded by policemen in Kampala, December 28, 2005. (James Akena

SANA’A – Results of the first ever study into working conditions for women working in the media are to be announced this week at a workshop organized by the Yemeni Female Media Forum (YFMF). The workshop, which will run from January 22-23, will present the results of the first public survey concerning the status of the media in Yemen media - and the obstacles they face in the society and in their...

TEHRAN: A reformist daily newspaper called Etemad Melli (National Confidence), published by the party of the same name, appeared on newsstands yesterday, a month after the party’s satellite channel was banned. The party is headed by Mehdi Karoubi, a former parliament speaker who came third in the first round of last June’s presidential elections. He protested against the handling of the poll by...