Rwandan editor, jailed for opinion piece, fails in appeal
Nairobi, March 26, 2013–An appellate court judge in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on Monday upheld the criminal conviction of an editor who is serving a one-year prison sentence in connection with an opinion column, according to local journalists.
Russia steps up crackdown on rights groups, Internet
Recent statements by Vladimir Putin and Russian Member of Parliament (MP) Aleksey Mitrofanov, as well as raids on human rights organizations, signal that the threat hanging over civil society and freedom of expression in Russia has become reality. Since Putin returned to presidential office in May, the Kremlin has passed a series of restrictive laws…
CPJ condemns siege at Cairo’s Media Production City
New York, March 25, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the violent siege on Sunday of the Media Production City, a complex housing numerous private news outlets in Cairo, an episode that followed a series of inflammatory anti-press comments by President Mohamed Morsi and members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Zimbabwe frees prominent lawyer Mtetwa on bail
Beatrice Mtetwa, a tenacious lawyer who has won accolades for stubbornly defending journalists and others persecuted by Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe, regained her freedom today after a hellish week that began on March 17 when she was arrested and charged with the criminal offense of “defeating or obstructing the course of justice.”
In India, media gag order on rape trial lifted
In a welcome move, Indian media will finally be allowed to cover court proceedings in the rape case that shook India’s conscience. On Friday, the Delhi High Court lifted a gag order on media covering the ongoing trial of those accused of the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in Delhi in December.
Indian reporter who filmed attack on women free on bail
New York, March 25, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release on bail of Naveen Soorinje, a television reporter jailed for more than four months after documenting a large-scale assault on a group of young women in Karnataka state. CPJ considers the pending criminal charges to be baseless and retaliatory, and calls on authorities…
Jubilation, then tragedy, for Mogadishu press this week
“He’s free! He’s free!” a friend of mine from Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, shouted down the phone line on Sunday. For a fleeting second I did not know whom he referred to, given the high number of journalists imprisoned in the Horn region of Africa–but then it dawned on me: Abdiaziz Abdinuur had finally found justice.…
Zimbabwe must heed rule of law in Beatrice Mtetwa case
Dear Minister: We are writing to express our concern about the arrest on Sunday of award-winning human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and her subsequent detention by police in defiance of an order issued by a high court judge. We believe this invalidates the criminal proceedings instituted against her on Wednesday and constitutes an affront to the constitution and legal system of your country.
In Togo, court rejects repressive press law amendments
Lagos, Nigeria, March 21, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Wednesday’s ruling by Togo’s Constitutional Court to reject repressive amendments to a media law that granted the state-run media regulator sweeping powers of censorship.