Nigerian publisher charged with defamation
Abuja, Nigeria, July 18, 2014–Nigerian authorities should drop the charges against a publisher who has been held in police custody since Tuesday on accusations of defaming a state governor, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police on Tuesday detained Oga Tom Uhia, publisher of the monthly independent Power Steering magazine, Alexander Oketa, his lawyer,…
Ethiopian authorities charge nine journalists with terrorism
Nairobi, July 17, 2014–An Ethiopian court charged nine Ethiopian journalists arrested in April with inciting violence and terrorism, according to local journalists and news reports. The nine arrested include six bloggers from an independent collective called Zone 9, which publishes critical news and commentary.
CPJ meets with Kyrgyz prosecutor-general, calls for reopening Askarov case
This month, the prosecutor-general of Kyrgyzstan, Aida Salyanova, told the Committee to Protect Journalists that her office is working hard to fight corruption and ensure transparency in government activities. We are not convinced.
Pakistani reporter sentenced to 4-year prison term in Afghanistan
New York, July 14, 2014–A Pakistani television journalist was convicted on charges of travelling to Afghanistan without travel documents and sentenced to four years in prison, Pakistani officials said on Sunday. He had initially been accused of spying by Afghan authorities, according to news reports.
Burma takes another step toward repressing its media
New York, July 10, 2014–Donor countries should bring diplomatic pressure on Burma’s government and reconsider their economic support for the country following Thursday’s sentencing of four journalists of a magazine and the publication’s chief executive to 10 years of hard labor in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Turkish cartoonist jailed for insulting religious leader
On June 12, 2014, Mehmet Düzenli, a cartoonist, was taken into custody to begin serving a three-month prison term he was given after being convicted of insulting controversial religious leader and TV figure Adnan Oktar (also known as Harun Yahya) in his drawings. The daily pro-opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet reported that Düzenli was convicted by the…
In China, journalist released after weeks in jail
Shi Ping, a Henan-born Time Weekly journalist who wrote under the penname Shi Yu, was arrested on May 26, 2014, in connection with his alleged attendance at small-scale Tiananmen memorial events, the journalist said on his Weibo microblog page. He was accused of “gathering a crowd to disturb social order.”
China releases journalists from prison
As in past years, China in 2014 arrested some journalists and activists in the run-up to the anniversary of the massacre of protesters in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. This year, journalists were also arrested in possible connection to an ongoing police probe into prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang and for reporting on…