Archive for February, 2011
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Chief editor Ram Pukar Raut, and editor Pravin Sharma Jha, of the New Times Today have been
arrested by police in the Southern Nepalese district of Rautahat. They were charged with having links with a militant underground group, and printing a press release from the group. Sources from the newspaper assert that the arrests were a response to an article in the newspaper alleging that the police had taken bribes from an animal smuggler.
Monday, February 28th, 2011
A new decree that places serious restrictions on the media became
effective on 25 February. The new decree forces media outlets to reveal their sources, with a fine of $1,000 for not revealing them. It also includes a fine of $2,000 for publishing any unauthorised information. The decree further allows for the government to censor any news due to national security reasons.
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Two Kurdish journalists have been
sentenced to ten months of imprisonment each, after attending a demonstration in 2008. Vedat Yilidiz, Dicle News Agency, and Lokman Dayan, Güneydoğu Ekspres, have been
convicted of “spreading propaganda for an illegal organisation”. They were among 25 defendants charged with “membership of an illegal organisation”. Both journalists attended the protests in their professional capacities, they said. The demonstration, at which the journalists were
beaten by police, concerned the alleged violence against Abdullah Öcalan, the detained leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Film blogger Michael Fleming was
prevented from attending Sunday night’s
Academy Awards ceremony. Fleming is the correspondent for entertainment news blog
Deadline.com, which
had published leaked details about the Awards. In response to these comments, the Motion Picture Academy officially revoked Fleming’s press pass. The Hollywood Reporter’s sources have confirmed that this
ban was “punishment for the breaches of secrecy surrounding the show”. The blog’s editor, Nikki Finke, has made a formal
complaint to Academy spokesperson Leslie Unger.
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Kyrgyz journalist Nazgul Kushnazarova was badly
beaten near her home on 22 February. None of her possessions were taken, which has given rise to speculation that it was motivated by her
professional activities. Kushnazarova is a journalist at the private radio station Almaz and anchor of a show called “Current Thoughts” about political, economic and social issues in Kyrgyzstan. She has been admitted to hospital with multiple injuries.
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Pro-reform demonstrators in the industrial town of Sohar have
clashed with police, leading to the
deaths of six protesters. The protesters, demanding political and economic reforms, had blocked roads, attacked government buildings, and tried to free detainees from the town’s police station.
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Index on Censorship interviews online activist Saeed Valadbaygi, who has come under attack from the Islamic Republic
Monday, February 28th, 2011
A Ghanaian journalist has filed a complaint with police against Kennedy Agyapong, an opposition MP, for
threatening to kill him. The MP’s threat against Bature Iddrisu, the managing editor of Bilingual Free Press, was reportedly delivered during a radio broadcast. Iddrisu had alleged that the Agyapong was involved in drug trafficking, something that the MP denies.
