Bahraini activist acquitted of Twitter charges but remains in prison

Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was today acquitted of insulting the Sunni citizens of the island of Muharraq on Twitter. Rajab was sentenced to three months in prison on 9 July for his remarks on the site. However, the activist remains in jail after being sentenced to three years in prison last week for his involvement in “illegal protests”. Rajab, who is also head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), has played in active role in condemning the government’s brutal crackdown on  anti-government protests and activists since the start of unrest during February last year. Rajab was presented with the Index on Censorship Advocacy Award earlier this year.

Italy: Two journalists jailed for libel

Two Italian journalists have been sentenced to four months in prison and fined 15,000 Euros (11,700 GBP) for libel. Orfeo Donatini and Tiziano Marson, of newspaper Alto Adige, were convicted in June of alleging in a 2008 article that local politician Sven Knoll had taken part in a neo-Nazi summit. The claim was based on a police report and appeared in weekly magazine L’Espresso. Knoll lodged a criminal defamation complaint, and although the journalists were acquitted, the case was reviewed by the court of cassation and referred back to the Bolzano city tribunal. In a statement, press freedom organisation Article 19 said criminal defamation provisions in Italy’s Penal Code were “incompatible” with international standards of freedom of expression.

UK: Leading musicians call for Pussy Riot release

Several leading musicians have called on Russian president Vladimir Putin to ensure the three members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot, in court on charges of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”, are given a fair hearing. In a letter to the Times (£) today, musicians including Alex Kapranis of rock band Franz Ferdinand, Johnny Marr of the Smiths and The Who’s Pete Townshend, said the charge against the trio was “preposterous”. “We believe firmly that it is the role of the artist to make legitimate political protest and fight for freedom of speech,” the signatories added.

Pussy Riot spoke to us exclusively in May, read the interview here.

Plus: Pussy Riot versus the religarchy – feminists punks take on Russia’s church and state

 

UK: Teenager given harassment warning over tweets sent to Tom Daley

Dorset police announced yesterday that a 17-year-old who was arrested in the Weymouth area on suspicion of malicious communication has been issued with a harassment warning in connection to tweets sent to Olympic diver Tom Daley. The teenager has been bailed to return to the police station at a later date while the force investigates other communications on his Twitter account.

UK: Paul Chambers wins Twitter Joke Trial appeal

Paul Chambers, the man at the centre of the Twitter Joke Trial who was found guilty in 2010 of sending a “menacing” tweet, has won his appeal against his conviction. At the Royal Courts of Justice this morning the appeal was allowed “on the basis that this tweet did not constitute or include a message of a menacing character.” Speaking to Index on Censorship, Chambers said he felt relieved and vindicated by the decision, adding that the case “should never have got this far”. Chambers’s solicitor David Allen Green said: “This shameful prosecution should never have been brought.” Comic Al Murray, who has been a vocal supporter of Chambers, was part of a large supportive crowd at the handing down of the judgment. Conservative MP Louise Mensch and science writer and free speech campaigner Simon Singh were also in attendance. Murray told Index he though the judgment was “a victory for common sense and proportion”. “If terrorism is such a threat, then surely it demands being dealt with coolly, rather than clamping down on mere mentions of it in a joke,” said Murray. “Paul’s tweet  was not a credible threat, and the courts’ reaction up until now has made them look incredible.”

Russia: Pussy Riot detention extended

Three members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot have had their detention extended by a further six months by a Moscow court, reports say [ru]. Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Semutsevic will remain in jail until at least January 2013, with their detention already being extended from 24 June to late July. The trio were arrested in March and face charges of hooliganism for allegedly staging an anti-Putin performance in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February. If convicted they face up to seven years in prison. Pussy Riot spoke to us exclusively in May, read the interview here.

India: Female journalist critically injured in shooting attack

A shooting attack in the Indian city of Itanagar left Tongam Rina, associate editor of the Arunachal Times newspaper, critically injured on Sunday. It has been reported that, as Rina arrived at the paper’s offices at 6:15pm, unidentified gunmen opened fire on her before fleeing the scene. She was rushed to hospital, where she remains in intensive care and is said to have sustained serious injuries to the spinal cord and intestines. The motive of the attack is unknown, though Rina has reportedly received threats in the past in connection with her campaigning against dam construction on the Siang River.

UAE: Activist deported to Thailand

The United Arab Emirates deported an online activist to Thailand yesterday, it has been reported. Ahmed Abdul Khaleq was stripped of his rights to live in the country as a result of his campaigning. His website included appeals for a greater public role in the UAE’s political affairs. Political parties are banned in the Gulf nation. Khaleq was among five other activists who were convicted last year of anti-state crimes for insulting the UAE’s leaders. They were later pardoned, but the charges against them were not officially dropped.