Iranian journalist Issa Saharkhiz sentenced to three years in jail
New York, August 10, 2016–A revolutionary court in Tehran sentenced the prominent Iranian journalist Issa Saharkhiz to three years in jail on August 8 for “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “propagating against the state,” according to his lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, and news reports.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 7, 2016
Police detain 42 employees of state broadcaster The official Anatolia News Agency reported today that police detained 42 employees of state broadcaster TRT on suspicion of affiliation with the Hizment movement, which the Turkish government alleges orchestrated a July 15 failed military coup. Anatolia did not named the detainees or their positions at TRT but…
Omani journalist jailed over article on judiciary
New York, August 2, 2016 – An Omani journalist has been jailed for nearly a week under investigation of multiple charges after the daily newspaper Azamn published an article questioning the independence of the judiciary, according to his outlet and human rights groups.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 31
Court indicts 12 media workers on terrorism charges An Istanbul court last night indicted 12 journalists on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization — the Hizmet movement, which the Turkish government classes as a terrorist group and alleges orchestrated a failed military coup on July 15 – Turkey’s official Anatolia news agency…
Mission Journal: Morocco’s new press law undermined by draft penal code
In the small, polished Moroccan capital of Rabat, pictures of King Mohamed VI, who took the throne in 1999, hang in many shops, offices, and hotels. In most of these, he is clean-shaven, smiling, and wearing a suit: a modern monarch. His image is part of the official narrative of the country as a place…
China shuts down internet reporting as Xi’s sensitivity begins to resemble lèse-majesté
On July 1, popular internet portal Tencent, in its original news reporting section, published an article on a speech that President Xi Jinping gave the same day at a conference celebrating the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. One line of the article read, “Xi Jinping outburst an important speech.” To…
China sentences Hong Kong publisher, editor
New York, July 26, 2016-The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the convictions and prison sentences by a mainland Chinese court of Wang Jianmin and Guo Zhongxiao, the publisher and editor, respectively, of two Hong Kong magazines, alongside an editorial assistant and the publisher’s wife.
Two Congolese journalists held by police for critical reporting on military
New York, July 15, 2016 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arbitrary detention of two radio journalists in the Ituri district of Oriental Province in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and calls on Congolese officials to release them both immediately.
China’s information and internet controls will only tighten under Xu Lin
When the new director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, Xu Lin, issued on July 3 a warning that websites not report unverified content drawn from social media without facing possible punishment, it was clear that Beijing would move quickly beyond the Lu Wei era of information control. The announcement demanded that news websites provide…
CPJ calls on Merkel to use Kyrgyzstan visit to secure Askarov’s release
CPJ calls on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to use her upcoming visit to Kyrgyzstan to call on officials there to release the imprisoned journalist and human rights defender Azimjon Askarov. The U.N. Human Rights Committee found in April 2016 that Kyrgyzstan is obligated to free Askarov, quash his conviction, and pay him compensation for unjust imprisonment. Chancellor Merkel is scheduled to visit Kyrgyzstan on July 13 and 14.