In Zimbabwe, business news agency’s offices raided
The telecommunications company Econet Wireless and its affiliated bank, Steward Bank, obtained a court order on March 16, 2015, that compelled the Source, an independent online business news agency, to withdraw two of its stories and allowed police and technology experts to search the premises, news reports said.
In Turkey, photographer denied entry and freelance journalist goes on trial
Istanbul, April 8, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkish authorities to improve conditions for international reporters after news reports said German freelance photographer Andy Spyra, who flew to Istanbul to cover the anniversary of the Armenian massacre, was denied entry to the country. Separately, the trial of Dutch freelance journalist Fréderike Geerdink, who…
Russian blogger beaten and warned to leave Dagestan
New York, April 8, 2015–A Russian blogger is under police guard in hospital after being abducted and attacked by at least three masked men in Derbent, in the southern republic of Dagestan, on Sunday, according to news reports citing his account. Vyacheslav Starodubets was forced into a car and taken to the outskirts of the…
Authorities arrest Shabelle Media Network journalists, close station again
Nairobi, April 7, 2015–Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency raided the Shabelle Media Network offices on April 3, arrested staff and shuttered the privately owned stations Radio Shabelle and Sky FM, according to local journalists. The raid came after the network aired a clip of the militant group Al-Shabab claiming responsibility for the attack on…
Morocco jails press freedom advocate Hicham Mansouri
New York, April 7, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the sentencing of Moroccan press freedom advocate Hicham Mansouri, who was handed a 10-month prison term and $4,057 fine over adultery charges by Rabat’s Court of First Instance on March 30, according to local and international news reports.
Malaysia charges cartoonist with nine counts of sedition for critical tweets
Bangkok, April 3, 2015–Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, also known as Zunar, was charged in court today with nine counts of sedition for critical tweets he wrote in February about a politically sensitive court decision, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malaysian authorities to drop the charges and to cease…
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, March 2015
Press Uncuffed: Free the Press On March 26, CPJ partnered with students at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism and Knight chair and Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Dana Priest to launch the Press Uncuffed: Free the Press campaign at the Newseum in Washington. The campaign aimed to raise awareness about nine…
CPJ concerned by arrest of Bangladeshi journalist and his treatment in custody
New York, April 1, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists today calls on Bangladeshi authorities to release a detained journalist and probe allegations that he was mistreated in custody. Mizanur Rahman has been in jail since March 17, according to news reports and Rahman’s coworker.
Evolution of Pakistan’s proposed cybercrime law
A pointer to our colleagues at Bolo Bhi, Pakistan’s independent Internet freedom and electronic privacy watchdog (it’s involved in gender issues too). The watchdog has been tracking the evolution of Pakistan’s attempts at cybercrime legislation since 2007.
Media restrictions in Papua underscore Indonesia’s wider problems
With more than 50 years of restricted media access, one of the least covered armed conflicts in the world is the long-simmering struggle between Indonesia’s military and the secessionist Free Papua Movement. Under Indonesia’s seven successive post-independence governments–the early ones led by autocratic strongmen, the recent ones more or less democratically elected–the world has been…