Harassed

The two American women journalists who were arrested at the border between North Korea and China on March 17 have been transferred by the North Korean authorities to Pyongyang for questioning, according to Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). The detention of Euna Lee (who is of Korean descent) and Laura Ling (who is of Chinese descent) was confirmed by the North Korean press on March 21. The fact...

Mauritanian writer and journalist Abou Abbass Ould Braham, the editor of the news website Taqadoumy, was released on March 18 after being held for three days in the Mauritanian capital and that the website was allowed to reopen 24 hours after the Nouakchott prosecutor’s office ordered its closure, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. “The closure of a website and the arrest of one of its...

Qatari authorities have hardened their stand towards the Doha Centre for Media Freedom. Hajar Smouni, head of research at the Centre and a former member of the Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) staff, was prevented from leaving Qatar Tuesday. “The Doha Centre has for months been struggling to keep its independence and is under pressure from the Qatari authorities,” RSF secretary-general...

Two commercial TV presenters, Fahim Kohdamani of Emroz and Ajmal Alamzai of Ariana TV, were arrested in Kabul on Monday. Alamzai was released late Monday night but Kohdamani is still being held, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. “We call for Kohdamani’s immediate and unconditional release,” Paris-based said. “The Afghan government has again failed to respect press freedom, arbitrarily...

The Ankara bureau chief of Cumhuriyet Daily, Mustafa Balbay, and online Toplumsal Haber columnist, Nerima Aydin, were taken under custody for a second time in relation to the Ergenekon case, involving accusations of overthrowing the government. Both were sent to Metris prison, IPS Communication Foundation (BIANET) has reported. Turkey's Society of Journalists (TGC), Contemporary Journalists'...

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Belarusian authorities to renew work credentials for Andrzej Poczobut, a local correspondent for Poland's largest daily, Gazeta Wyborcza, and to investigate recent harassment of him and his family in the western city of Hrodno. Poczobut's credentials were pulled off after he reported on the policies of President Aleksandr Lukashenko and the...

Christoph Müller, a leading Swiss TV reporter and producer, was handcuffed and arrested on arrival in Thailand on February 27, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. He was freed on bail 24 hours later but the police confiscated his passport and he is not allowed to leave the country until further notice. His employer, the German-language Swiss TV station SF, has described the measures as a...

A TV production company in a Parisian suburb was raided on March 2 in connection with a documentary about Martinique in which a member of the French Caribbean island’s white business elite, Alain Huyghues-Despointes, made racist comments, according to Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) The comments sparked a controversy after the Tac Presse documentary, called “The Last Masters of Martinique” and...

Christoph Müller, a leading Swiss TV reporter and producer, was handcuffed and arrested on arrival in Thailand on February 27, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. He was freed on bail 24 hours later but the police confiscated his passport and he is forbidden to leave the country until further notice. His employer, the German-language Swiss TV station SF, has described the measures as a...

Freelance US journalist Roxana Saberi is being held at Tehran's Evin prison, where political prisoners are routinely detained, according to international news reports. Saberi is an American citizen as well as an Iranian national. Detained in late January, Saberi has not had access to an attorney, and has been incommunicado for over a month. Reuters quoted Alireza Jamshidi as saying that Saberi is...