Archive for April, 2010
Monday, April 26th, 2010
The former editor of the Cameroon Express
Germain Ngota, died in a Yaoundé prison last Thursday. Henriette Ekwee, a local union official, said Ngota suffered from high blood pressure and had not received adequate medical attention while in jail. He had been incarcerated since February with two other journalists accused “
jointly forging a document with the signature of the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, Laurent Esso, with the aim of discrediting him”. Before his arrest, Ngota was investigating corruption allegations involving the state-run oil company and a presidential aide. Local sources claim officials used
psychological and physical torture to force Ngota to expose his sources.
Monday, April 26th, 2010
Tibetan monks were amongst the first to reach remote areas such as Yu Shu after the Qinghai earthquake. Their role in the
massive relief effort has gone unrecognised by Chinese media and now they have been
told to leave the area by the Chinese authorities. A statement issued by the Chinese State Council recommends the monks
“return to their monasteries to ensure the high effectiveness and order of quake relief work.” The Dalai Lama, denied access to visit the disaster area has posted a
message of mourning on his Facebook page.
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
The Belarusian Prosecutors Office has said that
violent interrogation of journalists is legitimate, report Charter 97, Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award nominees.
The Belarusian Association of Journalists wrote an open letter to the Prosecutor in March condemning the use of violent interrogation and beatings of journalists as part of the investigation into an alleged case of slander against the former head of the KGB in the Gomel region, Ivan Korzh.
Internet reports alleged that KGB officers had fabricated a case against a police officer, and abused him. In early March, the
offices of Charter 97 and
European Belarus were raided by the police who confiscated equipment and assaulted staff.
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
Judges says Azerbaijan should free journalist Eynulla Fatullayev — Azeri officials announce they will appeal the ruling. Vugar Gojayev reports
(more…)
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Two Chinese lawyers who defended a
Falun Gong practitioner in court could have their
licences revoked permanently in a hearing today. According to their press release, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice are charging Tang Jitian and Liu Wei with
“disrupting courtroom order and interfering with the regular litigation process”.
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Journalist and artist,
Maung Zeya, and his son were arrested in Burma on 17 April. Its believed they are being held for taking photos of the sites where last weeks deadly bombings occurred near Rangoon. Zeya’s son took photos of three locations where bombs would explode two days later. The Burmese authorities have blamed the attacks on opposition groups. At least
nine people died in the bombings during the water festival celebrating the Lunar New Year and another 75 were wounded.
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
The publicly-owned television channel
TSR last week agreed to remove a series of cartoons which satirised child sex abuse by Catholic priests from its website, after protests from the Vatican. Some of the pictures were broadcast on an edition of TSR’s Infrared programme, which
tackled the issue of paedophile priests. However, a number of the more controversial images – one of which features Jesus Christ having sex with a child – were felt to be too sensitive and
published only online.
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Ilham Tohti, Uighur academic and
PEN member has been
banned from attending a Turkic Culture conference in Izmir, Turkey. Reports claim police officials arrived at his Beijing home on 15 April and warning him against making the trip. Tohti had already received his Turkish visa, and permission to attend the conference from Beijing’s Central Nationalities University, where he is the associated professor of Economics. He was previously
detained during the Xinjiang riots last year.
