Archive for August, 2010
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
The High Court has granted another injunction to an England footballer to prevent the media reporting aspects of his private life. The order banned the publication of allegations about a “
sexual liaison, encounter or relationship“, after personal
photographs stored on a stolen mobile phone were offered to national newspapers. This is the third injunction issued to an England footballer in the past few weeks.
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
A
journalist was killed on 21 August while covering clashes between two villages in one of Indonesia’s southern islands. Police watched the attack but did nothing to intervene. According to International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), journalist Ridwan Salamun was hacked to death by angry villagers. A group of 70 journalists staged a
demonstration to express their outrage over his death.
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
The government has
banned the works of prominent artist Owen Maseko which depict 1980s atrocities committed by a Zimbabwean army unit. An estimated 20,000 civilians, mostly supporters of opposition movement the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), were killed by the notorious Fifth Brigade. Maseko’s paintings were banned under the Censorship and Entertainment Act because the censorship authority claimed they were “offensive” and “tribal”.
Police stormed the Zimbabwe National Gallery, where the works were on display, covered them in newspaper, and arrested Maseko. The artist was arrested and charged under laws that prohibit insulting or demeaning President Mugabe.
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
A reporter for Dunya News was assaulted outside his residence on 29 August and has received death threats after he filmed two brothers being lynched by a mob in Sailkot earlier in the month. Hafiz Imran was reportedly pushed against a wall by unidentified men on motorcycles and sustained fractures to his shoulder. On 15 August he witnessed the brutal killing of two teenage brothers. The boys were beaten to death with sticks after being accused of robbery. A number of police officers witnessed the killings but failed to intervene.
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
A criminal court judge in Togo has moved to
ban the distribution of Tribune d’Afrique, a bimonthly Benin newspaper, that had raised questions about the alleged involvement of a half-brother of President Faure Gnassingbé in drug trafficking. The ban was placed because of an article titled “Drug trafficking at top of the state, Togo in the network, Mey Gnassingbe fingered.” Togo-based editor Aurel Kedoté, reporter Cudjoe Amekudzi and chief executive officer Marlène de la Bardonnie have been
fined and a judge has ordered the newspaper to pay 60 million CFA francs.
On 25 August, President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé filed a separate defamation lawsuit against the Indépendant Express. The weekly newspaper published articles that the president has
deemed insulting. President Gnassingbé demanded 100 million CFA (approx. US$200,000) in damages over the “
enormous harm” to his reputation.
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
Footballer Wayne Rooney is
launching a libel claim against The Sun newspaper over stories that suggest he booked a holiday which would take place during the closing stages of the
World Cup before England was knocked out. The two articles, published in June and July, alleged that Rooney confirmed a holiday two days before the team’s last match in the competition. The player denies this and argues the stories damaged his personal and professional reputation. Rooney is seeking an injunction against any repetition of the allegations.
Friday, August 27th, 2010
Singer Lily Allen’s half-sister has launched
legal action against Now magazine over an article about her famous relative. Gala Talbott is suing the publication’s owner IPC Media, seeking libel damages of up to £15,000.
The nineteen-year-old claims that an article entitled “
Lily’s Heartache over Secret Sister” made false allegations about the relationship between the two women. She said the story was distressing and embarrassing, and that it had damaged her reputation. In addition to her libel claim Talbott is seeking an injunction banning any repetition of the same allegations.
Friday, August 27th, 2010
Little Britain actor Matt Lucas is
taking legal action against the Daily Mail over a story that he claims breached his privacy. Entitled How Matt Lucas learned to laugh again, the article detailed how the actor was affected by the suicide of his former civil partner, Kevin McGee. Lucas said the story that appeared in March was “a very serious invasion of privacy” and an “intrusion into grief”. He claims the article included false information, such as the suggestion that he blamed himself for McGee’s death.
