Index Index Archive in Full

Djibouti: Radio journalist threatened and tortured for 24 hours
A radio journalist was abducted and tortured by police last week in Djibouti, Africa. Farah Abadid Hildid of radio station La Voix de Djibouti, was forced into a car by one uniformed police officer and one plain clothed officer on Thursday morning. The journalist was blindfolded and taken to a cell, where he was forced to remove his clothes, and was beaten with pieces of rubber. Hildid’s abductors told him: “We’ve had enough of you. You must stop broadcasting information about us. You must stop bothering the police and the Department for Investigation and Documentation. It will be the worse for you if you continue.” (0)

Egypt: journalists attacked by security services
Two journalists were shot by security services, and another detained whilst covering the political unrest in Egypt over the weekend. Mahmoud al-Ghazali, Nile TV correspondent, was shot with pellets early on Saturday morning, whilst reporting on clashes between protesters and security forces. Al-Ghazali was shot in the eye, causing extensive damage. Online journalist Salma Said was shot around 1am on Monday by security forces while she filmed clashes in central Cairo. The journalist was hit in the face, legs and stomach. Mohamed Rabee from independent newspaper Al-Badil was forcibly detained by plain clothed officers yesterday, as he dictated a news story to his colleague via mobile phone. (0)

Cuba: blogger Yoani Sánchez's travel to Brazil denied
Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez has been denied permission to leave the island to visit Brazil. Last month, Sanchez formally appealed to the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to enter the country so that she could attend the screening of a documentary about press freedom in Cuba and Honduras in which she features. The blogger tweeted that this was the 19th time she has been denied the right to enter and leave the country. Migration rules that require Cubans to receive government permission to travel have prevented Sánchez from leaving the country since 2004. (1)

Iran: Press crackdown continues as elections approach
Ten Iranian journalists were arrested in January as the government continued its crackdown on dissent ahead of March’s parliamentary elections. Recent reports identified three previously undisclosed arrests. Critical blogger Mehdi Khazali was arrested by security forces in Tehran on 9 January and charged with “insulting the supreme leader.” Authorities arrested Paris-based journalist Saeed Razavi Faghih on 17 January as he arrived at a Tehran airport; and on the same day security forces in Tabriz arrested Payman Pakmehr, founder of Tabriz news website, which covers the arrests of local activists, and charged him with “propagating against the regime.” Seven other journalists were also arrested last month. (0)

Balochistan: Urdu-language TV stations suspended
Urdu-language television stations available via cable were suspended in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan province on Wednesday, after the Cable Operators Association received threats from nationalist groups. Babark Khan, president of the Balochistan Cable Operators Association, told the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) that he received a threatening letter in writing from the Baloch Student Organisation on 31 January calling for the transmission of Urdu-language television stations to be halted and threatening consequences. The fraught region has faced separatist insurgency carried out by Baloch nationalists, who claim their grievances have been paid little attention by Pakistan media.     (0)

UN: Philippines journalist defamation conviction a violation of free speech
The United Nations Human Rights Committee have found that the defamation conviction of a Philippines journalist violated the journalist’s right to free expression. In the landmark ruling, the UN committee said that the prison sentence handed to journalist Alexander Adonis of Bombo Radyo, following his reporting on an alleged affair between a Philippine congressman and a married woman, was “incompatible” with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UNHRC has given the Philippine government 180 days to provide “information about the measures taken to give effect to the Committee’s views”. (0)

Iran: BBC Persian staff face intimidation
BBC’s Persian TV service has faced further intimidation in Iran. It has been reported that relatives of BBC staff in London have been detained and threatened by Iranian intelligence agents; top presenters have been targeted by rumours; and one employee has subjected to an online interrogation in London after a family member in Iran was jailed. Since its launch in 2009 channel has suffered jamming and deliberate attempts to interfere with its signal. Tensions between Britain and Iran have worsened in recent weeks, with British regulator Ofcom revoking Iranian state broadcaster Press TV’s UK licence last month  for breaching the Communications Act. (0)

South Korea: Photographer indicted over North Korea propaganda tweets
South Korean prosecutors indicted a social media and free speech activist on Tuesday for reposting tweets from a North Korean government website. Photographer Park Jung-geun was detained last month on charges of violating South Korea’s National Security Law, which broadly bans “acts that benefit the enemy”. Park was interrogated by detectives following a police raid on his photo studio last autumn. Park has said the tweets — which included reposting North Korean propaganda messages such as “long live Kim Jong-il!” and links to North Korean propaganda songs — were intended to mock the North Korean regime. (0)

Egypt: Comic sentenced in "insulting Islam" case
Comic actor Adel Imam has been sentenced to three months in jail for “insulting Islam” after a case was brought against him by Islamist lawyer  Asran Mansour. Imam, an actor for more than 40 years, is well-known throughout the Arab word. It is widely believed the sentence was passed because Imam failed to attend the hearing, and that the sentence will be overturned.. He has one month to appeal, during which he will remain free. (0)

China: Several Tibetan-language sites offline
Several Tibetan-language blogs hosted in China are reported to have gone offline today, amid a period of severe unrest. AmdoTibet’s blog section has been temporarily shut down, a message on the site reads, “due to some of the blog users not publishing in accordance with the goal of this site.” Tense events of recent weeks have included a stream of self-immolations in Tibet protesting against Chinese rule, and more recently, deadly clashes between officials and demonstrators. (0)

Russia: opposition newspaper office destroyed in arson attack
The offices of weekly opposition newspaper Vecherny Krasnokamsk were ravaged in an arson attack on 28 January in the south-west Russian Perm region. The paper’s editor Olga Kolokolova has linked the attack to a series of investigative reports recently published by the newspaper on corruption, which implicated the town’s mayor’s office. (0)

Cuba: Journalist faces decades in prison
A Cuban journalist is facing more than ten years in prison for alleged corruption offences. José Antonio Torres, a correspondent for Granma, the party newspaper, in Santiago de Cuba, was detained on 11 March, 2011 after writing two articles criticising a major government infrastructure project. In the articles, Torres said experts undertaking the rebuilding of a key aqueduct intended to supply water to the city’s inhabitants, had claimed that “ineptitude” and “poor workmanship” had caused parts of the aqueduct wall’s veneer to fall off. The journalist also wrote that the project should have been “better planned.” Torres was initially charged with being an “agent of the CIA” and leaking confidential information abroad. (0)

Sudan: Publisher stops press to protest censorship
The publisher of an independent Sudanese newspaper has withheld an edition of the paper to protest censorship. National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) raided the offices of independent newspaper Al-Jaridah on Sunday, seizing all copies of the first edition of the paper since it was forced to close in 2011. Before the closure, the government had warned the publisher against columns by journalists who previously worked with Ahjras Al Hurriya, another independent newspaper that was banned. As a result of the confiscation, the newspaper’s publisher withheld the Monday edition of the paper in protest against the censorship. (1)

Somalia: Media network director gunned down outside home
The director of a media group has become the first journalist to be killed in Somalia in 2012. Shabelle Media Network director Hassan Osman Abdi was shot outside his home in Mogadishu at 6.30pm on Saturday. Five gunmen shot the father of three in the head and chest as he returned from work. The shooting is believed to be connected to the network’s recent radio coverage of government corruption. Abdi is the first journalist to be killed in 2012 in Somalia, and the third Shabelle Media Network director to be murdered, following Bashir Nur Gedi in 2007 and Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe in 2009. (0)

India: Media group targeted by violence
The offices of an Indian media group have been attacked by a group of right-wing Hindu nationalists in Mumbai. Dozens of supporters of right-wing nationalist group Shiv Sena attacked the building Times of India on Saturday, protesting against a local newspaper’s coverage of their internal politics. The article, which ran in the Maharashtra Times, a Marathi-language daily that is part of the news group, said Sena politician Anandrao Adsul was going to change allegiances and join the rival National Congress Party (NCP). Seventeen Sena activists were arrested, following the attack. (0)

Bahrain: Jailed activists begin hunger strike
Fourteen imprisoned activists have begun a one-week hunger strike in Bahrain. The activists, who have been imprisoned since March 2011, are protesting the continuous crackdown on demonstrations in Bahrain. The health of several of the activists is at risk –human rights defender AbdulJaleel AlSingace who suffers from poliomyelitis, a nerve disease, previously suffered a heart attack whilst on hunger strike. Many prisoners, including those held in Jaw and the central region prisons, have announced plans to join this hunger strike. (1)

Ethiopia: Jailed dissident blogger may face death penalty
Jailed Ethiopian dissident blogger Eskinder Nega will stand trial in March for terrorism charges, a federal high court judge ruled this week. He could face the death penalty if convicted. Nega and five other journalists were last November charged with providing support to Ginbot 7, a banned opposition movement that the government formally designated a terrorist entity under the 2009 anti-terrorism law last year. At this week’s hearing, the judge confirmed all six charges for two of those accused and dismissed all but one charge against three others. (7)

Uganda: Photojournalist shot at by security forces
A Ugandan photojournalist was shot at by security forces on Tuesday as he covered their attack on the motorcade of opposition leader Kizza Besigye. Isaac Kasamani, a photojournalist with the independent Daily Monitor, said men in plainclothes shot at him from a blue police van some 10 metres away as he kneeled to take a photo of an exploding tear gas canister thrown by the agents. He wrote that the bullet narrowly missed him (1)

Twitter to restrict tweets in specific countries
Micro-blogging site Twitter last night [26 Jan] announced it would begin withholding tweets in certain countries, sparking claims of censorship. Prior to this move, Twitter had to remove a Tweet from its global network if it received a government takedown request from a government, but it will now be able to restrict content in a specific country while keeping it available in others. In the interests of transparency, Twitter has also expanded its partnership with the Chilling Effects website, making it easier to find Twitter takedown notices. (0)

Dominican Republic: Radio reporter becomes first journalist facing jail for libel
Radio journalist Johnny Alberto Salazar has been found guilty of libelling a lawyer, he is the first journalist to be jailed for defamation in the Dominican Republic. Salazar made comments on his radio station about local murders and said that lawyer Pedro Baldera Gomez, who works for the Human Rights Commission of Nagua, had defended a number of thieves in the area. Salazar has been ordered to pay a one million Dominican Peso (approx. 16,705 GBP) fine and spend six months in jail. (0)

Azerbaijan: newspapers fined for damaging businessman's honour
Azerbaijani newspapers Yeni Musavat and Azadliq were fined 2000 manats (1,634 GBP) this week, they had been accused of damaging businessman Anar Mammadovov’s honour and business image. Mammadov, the son of Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov, appealed to the court citing articles two articles — one headlined “Kamaladdin Heydarov’s Bear Eaten” and the other “Sheikh drives Anar Mammadov out of Dubai”  — published in July and September 2010 respectively. (0)

Kazakhstan: newspaper editor detained in media crackdown
Igor Vinyavsky, editor of the Almaty-based independent weekly Vzglyad, was detained on Monday evening in an ongoing crackdown by Kazakhstan‘s National Security Committee (KNB) on critical media and opposition activists. Two groups of KNB agents simultaneously raided Vinyavsky’s apartment and Vzglyad’s offices, confiscating all reporting equipment. Vinyavsky was detained following the newsroom raid. The crackdown has also involved a raid on independent broadcaster Stan TV. (0)

Burma: Censors tighten grip ahead of by-election
New restrictions are being imposed on the Burmese media, despite earlier calls from the country’s censor chief to ease restrictions. Ahead of April’s by-elections, Tint Swe, director of the Burmese Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, warned newspaper editors that “action will be taken” against publications which do not adhere to guidelines from the censorship board. In October, Swe made calls for greater media freedom and the abolition of censorship. (0)

UK: Three Muslim men convicted over gay hate leaflets
Three Muslim men have been convicted of inciting hatred on the grounds of sexuality, in the first conviction of its type in the UK. Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed were found guilty of breaching hate crime legislation after handing out a series of leaflets calling for gay people to be killed. The leaflets saying Death Penalty? God Abhors You, and Turn or Burn, were distributed outside a mosque in Derby in 2010, and were also posted through letterboxes nearby. The CPS said it had established that the leaflets were not only insulting and abusive, but also that they had been distributed with intent to stir up hatred.   (0)

Egypt: Shafiq campaign confiscates BBC Arabic interview
Campaign staffers for Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq confiscated tapes from the BBC on Saturday. The broadcasters had conducted a 40 minute interview with Shafiq, but the presidential candidate objected to some of the questions he was asked. Staff refused to let BBC reporters leave his house until the tapes had been handed over. According BBC journalist Mahmoud Abou Bakr, Shafiq said he was the only one who could decide whether the interview should be aired, whilst his campaigners insisted on editing out footage which affected their candidate “negatively.” (0)

Senegal: Suspended prison sentences for journalists
Two Sengalese journalists have been given suspended prison sentences after been convicted of criminal libel. Editor Mamadou Biaye and reporter Mamadou Ticko Diatta of private daily newspaper Le Quotidien were given a three month suspended sentence after the publication of an article alleging that Bakary Diémé, deputy mayor of the district of Goudomp, had links to armed separatists of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC). Le Quotidien told the court their information came from military sources, but Diémé rejected the allegations. Diémé was awarded 2 million CFA francs (US$3,500). (0)

Ofcom revokes Press TV's UK licence
Ofcom has revoked the UK licence of Iranian broadcaster Press TV. In December Press TV was fined £100,000 for broadcasting a 2009 interview with journalist and filmmaker Maziar Bahari, who was then being held in Evin Prison. Press TV has failed to pay the fine. Ofcom also concluded that the station, which featured shows presented by figures such as George Galloway, Yvonne Ridley and Ken Livingstone, was controlled from Tehran, a breach of UK broadcasting regulations. (4)

Cuba: Jailed dissident dies after hunger strike
Dissident Wilmar Villar Mendoza, has died in a hospital in eastern Cuba following a 56-day hunger strike. Villar launched his strike shortly after his November arrest, after which he was put on trial and sentenced to four years in prison for crimes including disobedience, resistance and crimes against the state. Fellow opposition activists have claimed mistreatment by the Cuban government contributed to Villar’s death. (0)

Honduras: lawyer murdered after police torture accusations
Honduran lawyer Jose Ricardo Rosales was shot dead by three hooded gunmen on 17 January, three days after he was quoted in newspaper Diario Tiempo, accusing police officers in the northern town of Tela of torturing prisoners. The Honduras College of Lawyers claim that 74 lawyers have been killed in the past three years in the country. (0)

Malaysia: Political cartoonist takes government to court
Political cartoonist Zunar (Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque) appeared at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this week for the first hearing of a civil suit in which he challenges the Malaysian government and police for his arrest and detention on 24 September 2010. Zunar is seeking the return of confiscated property as well as aggravated losses and damages incurred in the raid of his office, during which police seized copies of his latest work, Cartoon-O-Phobia, and arrested him for sedition. The raid occurred just hours before the book’s launch. (0)

Ethiopia: Journalists and blogger convicted of terrorism
Two journalists and a US-based blogger (tried in absentia), were convicted on charges of terrorism in Addis Ababa yesterday. They may face the death penalty. Reeyot Alemu, a columnist with the independent weekly Feteh, deputy editor Woubshet Taye of the now-defunct weekly Awramba Times, and Elias Kifle, exiled editor of the Washington-based opposition website Ethiopian Review, were charged with lending support to an underground network of outlawed opposition groups. (2)

Iran: Two journalists detained in new wave of arrests
Two journalists have been arrested in Iran following a  new crackdown on journalists and women’s rights activists. Blogger and activist Parastou Dokouhaki, was arrested on Sunday, while journalist Marzieh Rasouli was arrested on Tuesday. Dokouhaki, who used to work for feminist magazine, was arrested after security agents entered her home, confiscated her computer and personal effects, and detained her. She is charged with “propaganda against the state”. Rasouli, who has written for a number of Reformist and independent publications, is charged with acts against national security. (0)

Colombia: Bogota mayor accused of press censorship
A Colombian news network has accused Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro of operating a “totalitarian” approach to the press. In a web article published on Tuesday, CM& said Petro handling of the press was on an “alarming and disturbing” slope. The allegations followed a recent press conference on a bullfighting ban, where Petro allegedly refused to allow journalists to use their own equipment CM& claims the Mayor’s team provided their own, edited footage instead. The Mayor claimed the allegations were “insulting”.

Pakistan: Journalist shot dead in mosque
A senior reporter was shot dead in a Pakistan mosque yesterday. Mukarram Khan Atif, a correspondent for Washington-based Deewa Radio and a reporter for the Pakistani television station Dunya News, was shot by two unidentified gunmen during evening prayers. Atif was shot in the chest and head, and was taken to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Another reporter, Rasool Dawar, claimed to have received a phone call from Ehsanulah Ehsan, the spokesman for banned militant organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, who claiming responsibility for the attack. (0)

Malta: Censorship laws revamp announced
The Maltese government have announced plans to over-haul censorship laws which affect stage performances and films. A three week consultation process has been launched with regards to newly proposed laws which aim to “fulfil the aspirations of the artistic community.” Tourism and Culture Minister Mario de Marco explained that the proposed amendments will move towards a system of self-regulation. The amendments also propose that the cinema and stage regulations will be transferred from the police laws to the law which regulates the Malta Council for the Arts. De Marco regretted that current laws may have failed some people. (0)

Iran: Canadian web designer sentenced to death
Iran’s Supreme court has upheld the death sentence against a Canadian web designer. Saeed Malekpour was sentenced to death last January for “anti-government agitation and insulting Islam,” following his arrest in October 2008. He was accused of creating a site Iran claims was used to post “pornographic” images. Malekpour, whose sentence was upheld yesterday, was arrested whilst visiting his ailing father. The designer’s family confirmed the sentencing after the Revolutionary Guard pressured for him to be executed. Malekpour has reportedly been singled out for especially harsh treatment during his time at Evin Prison. (0)

China: Dissident charged with subversion
A veteran Chinese dissident is facing subversion charges for writing a poem urging people to defend their freedoms. Zhu Yufu was arrested last April for “inciting subversion of state power” but no trial date has yet been set. Authorities decided to prosecute the activist almost a year after the poem “It’s time” was published online. One verse reads “It’s time, Chinese people!/the square belongs to everyone/the feet are yours/it’s time to use your feet and take to the square to make a choice.” Yufu’s lawyer said the poem was written around the “time of chaos” in the Middle East. (0)

Venezuela: Journalist threatened via Twitter
A Venezuelan journalist has received threatening messages via Twitter. Luis Carlos Díaz, Communication Networks Coordinator of the Gumilla Center, a Jesuit-run research institution, received a number of intimidating direct messages on Twitter. The attackers insisted Díaz  was “going to be taught a lesson” for his remarks on previous cyber attacks which took place late last year, his activity on social networks, and “working with priests”. The so-called hacker group N33 are believed to be responsible for these latest threats. (0)

UK: Police move in on Parliament Square protesters
Police began to clear tents from London’s Parliament Square yesterday, after a new bill allowing for their removal went into effect this year. Metropolitan Police arrived at the camp at around 7.30pm on 16 December, and began to move on those campaigning on issues such as the war in Afghanistan. The police reform and social responsibility bill, outlaws the setting up in Parliament Square of “any tent, or any other structure that is designed, or adapted … for the purpose of facilitating sleeping or staying in.” Protesters set up camp in “Democracy Square” in May 2010. (0)

Somalia: TV station raided, journalists detained
21 journalists were detained by security forces in Somalia over the weekend, following demonstrations against ongoing media crackdowns. Police stormed the main headquarters of HornCable TV and two production studios of the television network, in the capital town Hargeisa on Saturday. The following day, at a peaceful protest organised by the journalists, the presidential guard attacked protesters, and arrested 18 staff members from HornCable TV. Police hunted down other journalists who took part in the protest and arrested them. All 21 detained journalists were released yesterday. (0)

Kuwait: Government backs crackdown on stateless protests
The Kuwait government has supported the suppression of “stateless” protesters by security forces over the weekend. Protests demanding citizenship rights turned violent, and riot police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse protesters. A statement issued after Kuwait’s weekly cabinet meeting said: “The council of ministers expresses its backing and support for the measures being taken by the interior ministry to … confront all forms of violence.” The statement also said that only ”enemies of Kuwait” benefited from such unrest. Dozens were wounded and over 100 arrested during the protests. (0)

Belarus: Police seize entire print run of private local newspaper
A 10,000 copy print run of a private Belarusian newspaper has been seized by police. Copies of Vitebsky Kuryer were seized by officers on Friday night, as a car carried them from the print house in Smolensk. Police pulled over the car, and ordered the driver to a nearby police station, where the print run was impounded. Yuliya Kanaplyova, a journalist from the  newspaper, who was driving the car was charged with having dirty license plates. The newspaper was apparently seized following the article  ”Ten Facts about the Case of Ales Byalyatski,” detailing the proceedings against the prominent human rights defender.   (0)

Burma: Journalists, freelancers, and blogger freed under amnesty
A number of journalists and bloggers have been released from prison under amnesty in Burma. Hla Hla Win, Ngwe Soe Lin, Win Maw, Sithu Zeya from exile radio and TV station Democratic Voice of Burma, freelance journalists Thant Zin Aung and Zaw Thet Htwe and the blogger Nay Phone Latt have all been released. Throughout their imprisonment, DVB ran the “Free Burma VJ” campaign, calling for the release of the journalists. Around 600 other prisoners were also freed in the amnesty on Friday. The move is the latest in a series of increasingly radical reforms over recent months. (0)

Saudi Arabia: Shia protester 'shot dead'
One person has been killed and at least three others have been injured in clashes between security forces and Shia protesters in Saudi Arabia. 22 year-old Issam Mohammed died in al-Awamiya on Friday, after live ammunition was fired into the crowd by troops.  The troops began firing after protesters threw stones at them. Officials  also said a security vehicle was shot at and attacked with petrol bombs. Meanwhile, a Saudi Arabian man has been arrested by the country’s religious police for allegedly using Facebook to arrange dates with other men. If charged with being gay, the man could face massive fines, flogging, jail or death. (0)

Turkey: Art exhibition caught in censorship debate
An art exhibition in Turkey has been cancelled by organisers after municipal officials were accused of censorship. Three photographs were removed from the exhibit titled “Aykırı” (Contrary) by officials from the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality after newspaper reports suggested some photographs contradicted religious and social values. Another report said that the exhibition insulted “religious values has alarmed the country.” Following the removal of the images by authorities, organisers İzmir Photography Art Association (IFOD) pulled the exhibition. Among the photos that caused controversy were two headscarfed women kissing each other, two men kissing each other, and a headscarfed woman wearing a bikini. (0)

India: Court threatens Facebook, Google with censorship "like China"
The Delhi High Court has threatened Facebook and Google with web blackouts, unless they agree to censor objectionable content. Following last month’s meetings between Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook and the Indian government to discuss content management on their sites, Justice Suresh Kait warned that if the internet giants refuse to filter content, their websites will be blocked “like China“. Mukul Rohatgi who testified on behalf of Google India said that the search giant cannot filter “obscene, objectionable and defamatory” content. (0)

USA: Bradley Manning moves step closer to full court martial
Bradley Manning, the US solider  accused of the largest intelligence breach in American history, is moving closer to the possibility of spending the rest of his life in military confinement.The presiding officer over Manning’s pre-trial hearing recommended he be sent to a full court martial, following his alleged involvement in the WikiLeaks dump of state secrets. Colonel Paul Almanza, the investigating officer at last month’s hearing is believed to have written to his superiors recommending that all 22 charges against Manning be referred to a general court martial. (0)

DRC: Further blows to press freedom, despite new regulation body

Honduras: "Journalism for life" demonstrator receives death threats
An independent journalist and human rights campaigner in Honduras has received several death threats following her involvement in a free expression march last month. Itsmania Pineda Platero was told “We’ll skin you alive, bitch!” in one of four death threats over three days. During one of the calls, there was the sound of a gun being loaded in the background. Platero walked at the forefront of the “Journalism for life and free expression” march on 13 December, which was violently dispersed by soldiers and members of the presidential guard. (0)

Syria: French journalist killed in Homs attack
A journalist from France 2 TV was reportedly killed and another wounded today in an attack in the Syrian city of Homs. The rocket-propelled grenade blast killed journalist Gilles Jacquier during a pro-government rally, which also resulted in the deaths of eight civilians according to a state-owned television station. The attack came on the same day that a member of the Arab League group sent to monitor the country’s peace plan resigned, claiming the mission was a “farce”.  According to the UN, 400 people have been killed in Syria since the humanitarian mission began in late December. (0)

Belarus: Reporter jailed for covering protest
A freelance reporter was sentenced to 11 days in prison following his coverage of an unsanctioned protest in Belarus. Aleksandr Borozenko, who was working for Poland-based satellite broadcaster Belsat at the time, was detained on 8 January, along with human rights activist Nikolai Kovalenko. Borozenko was reporting on a one-person vigil which was being staged by Kovalenko. The journalist was arrested by KGB security forces minutes after he began filming the activist’s protest, which took place in front of the KGB headquarters in Minsk. Borozenko reportedly began a hunger strike after hearing the verdict. (0)

Mexico: Journalist killed by armed gang
A Mexican journalist has been murdered by an armed gang during a high-speed car chase. Raúl Régulo Garza Quirino, from local weekly newspaper La Última Palabra, in Nuevo León, was killed as he tried to escape the bullets of an armed gang who were firing at him from two pursuing vehicles. Quirino’s body was discovered in front of a mechanic shop, owned by a relative. Quirino is the first journalist to be killed in Mexico in 2012. In 2011, the country was named the world’s most dangerous country to practice journalism, by the International Press Institute (IPI). (0)

Bahrain: Policeman jailed for joining protests
A Bahraini policeman has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for his involvement in protests against the government last year. 25 year-old Ali al-Ghanami left his guard post during protests on 17 February 2011, which left two protesters dead and more than a hundred injured. Speaking to the BBC, al-Ghanami’s brother said after witnessing dead and wounded being moved to a nearby hospital, Ali told crowds he could not work for a “killer institution.” Over the next month, Ali al-Ghanami spoke openly at rallies against the government of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. (1)

Malaysia: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim acquitted of sodomy charges
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been acquitted of charges of sodomy after a two-year court battle. A judge ruled today that DNA evidence used by prosecution was unreliable. Anwar was first prosecuted after a former male aide accused the politician of sodomising him in 2008. Anwar has long denied the charges, calling them ”a vile and desperate attempt at character assassination” in a statement to the High Court in August of last year. (0)

Bahrain: Human rights defender attacked
Prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was severely beaten by security services in Bahrain during a demonstration on Friday. Rajab was beaten on the back, head and neck and was taken by ambulance to Salmaniya hospital after participating in a peaceful protest in Manama. The activist, who is President of The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) told his lawyer that policemen gathered around him and began to beat him. Rajab has been released from hospital following treatment for concussion, back pain and bruises to his back and face. (2)

Author of discredited vaccine-autism report sues for libel
The author of a discredited report linking autism to the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine has filed a defamation suit against the British Medical Journal. Andrew Wakefield launched his libel case against three defendants in the United States last week. The gastroenterologist is suing investigative journalist Brian Deer for a BMJ article which analysed his data and accused him of fraud; BMJ editor Fiona Godlee who supported the accusation in an editorial, and the BMJ as a whole. Wakefield claims that the journal acted with malice and suggests a conflict of interest because the BMJ receives money from vaccine makers GlaxoSmithKline and Merck.   (1)

Philippines: Journalist murdered during car chase after receiving death threats
A Filipino journalist was murdered on 5 January, local reports suggest he was chased down by unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle. Christopher Guarin, publisher and editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Tatak News Nationwide, died in front of his wife and two children. Guarin’s colleagues claim that the journalist received an anonymous threat during his radio programme warning Guarin that he would be killed when leaving the station shortly before his murder. (0)

Tunisia: Two female journalists covering protest assaulted by police
Two female journalists have been assaulted by police whilst covering protests in Tunisia. Sana Farhat of French-language daily Le Temps and Maha Ouelhezi from news website Web Manager Center were assaulted by plain clothed officers  as they covered a demonstration by university teachers outside the ministry of higher education in Tunis yesterday. Farhat had her press card and camera seized, and was dragged along the ground by her hair after she demanded her equipment be returned. The video Farhat was making was wiped by officers. Ouelhezi’s camera was also seized and smashed by an officer. (0)

Cuba: Blogger appeals to Brazilian president for help to leave island
Dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez has appealed to Brazil’s president to help her leave the Caribbean island. A strong critic of the country’s Communist regime, Sánchez has been accused by authorities of conducting a “cyberwar” against the government. Sánchez’s video appeal to Dilma Rousseff follows her invitation to Brazil to attend the screening of a documentary about press freedom in Cuba and Honduras in which she features. The blogger said she did not expect to be able to leave Cuba without ”high-level intervention”. Migration rules that require Cubans to receive government permission to travel have prevented Sánchez from leaving the country since 2004. (1)

Iran: Clampdown on internet use
Police in Iran have begun a heavy clampdown on internet freedom ahead of parliamentary elections in March, as tighter regulations on internet cafe use are introduced. Under the new rules, cafe owners will have to take the forename, surname, paternal name, national identification number, postcode and telephone number of each customer, along with the date and time of internet use and the addresses of sites visited. Newspaper reports have also suggested plans to launch a national internet network are underway, prompting fears that Iranian web users could be cut off from the World Wide Web. (0)

DRC: Radio broadcasts shut down
A French government-funded radio station has been shut down by authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Council of Ministers had ordered the “temporary” measure of switching off the six frequencies of Radio France Internationale, following its coverage of the violent aftermath of the November 2011 presidential elections. The frequencies will be suspended until the Congolese Broadcasting and Communications Superior Council, the new state-run media regulatory agency, has issued a decision on its reinstatement. (0)

Tibet: Writer imprisoned
A Tibetan writer  has been sentenced to four years in jail by a Chinese court in eastern Tibet. Kalsang Tsultim, also known as Gyitsang Takmik, was first arrested in July 2010 for committing what the Chinese authorities termed “political error.” He had widely circulated a Video Compact Disc (VCD) in which he urges the international community to “act swiftly on behalf of the Tibetan people” to end repression in the tense region, while calling for the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. (0)

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood plans to sue independent newspaper for libel
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood today announced plans to sue an independent newspaper for allegedly insulting the leader and its female members. Newspaper Al-Fagr published an article on 29 December by Mohamed al-Baz in which he reviewed a book written by Entissar Abdel Moniem, a female ex-member of the Brotherhood who slammed the organisation for their position on women. Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghazlan said that al-Baz slandered the group’s leader and its female members, and they would not tolerate defaming “honourable people under the veneer of free opinion.” The paper has also come under fire recently for printing articles against the ruling military leadership. (0)

Syrian journalist dies after being shot by gunmen
A Syrian journalist with gunshot wounds in the head died on 2 January after three days in a Damascus hospital. Shukri Ahmed Ratib Abu Burghul was reportedly shot in the face deliberately on 30 December after hosting his weekly programme on Radio Damascus. Burghul was also deputy director of the censorship department of Al-Thawra, a state-owned newspaper. (0)

Vietnam: Journalist who exposed corruption arrested
Vietnamese journalist Nguyen Van Khuong was arrested this week on suspicion of bribery after he ran an expose on corruption among traffic police in his newspaper, Tuoi Tre. The reporter is said to have paid a bribe of 15 million dong (458 GBP) to a police officer to secure the release of an impounded vehicle. The officer in question was arrested after Khuong’s story was published, and Khuong was suspended by the paper on 3 December. Tuoi Tre quoted him as saying he had made an error in gathering evidence for a series of stories about police corruption, but he did not say he had provided the bribe. (0)

India: Anti-corruption cartoon website suspended
Cartoons Against Corruption, the website of Indian cartoonist Aseem Trivedi has been suspended  by its internet host after complaints that it illegally showcased content mocking India’s constitution. The complaint by a Mumbai-based lawyer described the cartoons as “defamatory and derogatory”. One of the disputed works replaced the lions on India’s national emblem with wolves and changed the emblem’s inscription from “Bhrashtamev Jayate” [Long Live Corruption] to “Satyamev Jayate” [Long Live Truth]. Trivedi told the Wall Street Journal’s India Real Time his intention was to “depict the ailing truth of the nation and send across a strong message to the masses.” (6)

Brazil: Radio reporter shot dead
Brazilian radio reporter Laécio de Souza was shot dead by two men yesterday in Salvador, in the north east of the country. Police said the journalist, a local news reporter for radio station Sucesso FM, had been receiving threats on his mobile phone in the lead up to his murder. Police have not released a motive for the crime, although it has been suggested local drug traffickers were upset with the journalist’s plans to construct a social project on his land. (0)

Ivory Coast: TV presenter released on bail after five months in prison
Ivorian television presenter Hermann Aboa was released on bail on 30 December after five months in prison. Aboa, a presenter with national state-run public broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI), continues to face prosecution on a range of charges, including threatening the nation’s defences, attacking and conspiring against state authorities, undermining national territorial integrity and attacking public order. Aboa’s lawyer said he is due to be examined on the substance of the charges in the coming days. In July the presenter was detained for moderating a TV talk show series, launched during the crisis that followed the disputed November 2010 elections, which lauded former leader Laurent Gbagbo, who controlled the station before he was ousted in April by forces loyal to his opponent, current president Alassane Ouattara. (0)

Argentina: Two reporters detained, stripped during human trafficking investigation
An Argentinian TV reporter and cameraman were beaten, ordered to strip and threatened with death while investigating reports of human trafficking on 29 December. Journalist Julián Chabert and cameraman Raúl Zalazar, of Channel 7 of Mendoza, said they were investigating reports of Bolivian immigrants suffering labour exploitation at an olive producing plantation when the farm’s owner locked them in the kitchen and threatened to kill them. Chabert used his mobile phone to contact the police, who rescued the pair and arrested the landowner. (1)

Egypt: NGO offices raided by security forces
Egyptian security forces reportedly raided the offices of at least seventeen local and international NGOs yesterday. Authorities confiscated files, computers and records from the human rights and pro-democracy organisations. The raided organisations all allegedly receive foreign funding, and are now under investigation for violating Egyptian law. Staff of the organisations were confined to their officers during the raid, and prevented from using their mobile phones or computers. US officials have condemned the attacks, and demanded that the Egyptian government “resolve this issue immediately and to end harassment of NGO staff as well as return all property”. (0)

Azerbaijani activist freed
Azerbaijani Facebook activist Jabbar Savalan was released on 26 December after almost 11 months in prison. The teenager was released by presidential pardon along with 91 other political prisoners. Savalan was arrested in early February after posting messages on Facebook calling for people to take part in anti-government protests. As with former prisoner Eynulla Fatullayev, he was sentenced on fabricated drug charges not directly related to his activism — a tactic increasingly used by authorities in Azerbaijan. (0)

Ethiopia: Swedish journalists jailed on terrorism charges
An Ethiopian court has sentenced two Swedish journalists to 11 years in prison on charges of supporting terrorism after the pair illegally entered the country with an ethnic Somali rebel group. Photojournalist Johan Persson and reporter Martin Schibbye were detained by Ethiopian security forces in July while travelling with the outlawed separatist group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, and were put on  trial in October. The chairman of the Swedish Union of Journalists, Jonas Nordling, has been reported as saying that the sentence is aimed at deterring journalists from investigating alleged human rights abuses in the tense Ogaden region, adding that there is no evidence to support the pair’s conviction on terror charges. (0)

China: activist jailed for nine years for "subversive writing"
Chinese pro-democracy activist Chen Wei has been sentence to nine years’ imprisonment for inciting subversion over four essays he wrote and published online calling for freedom of speech. He was detained in February this year amid an intense government crackdown in response to anonymous online calls for protests in China inspired by the uprisings in the Middle East. Chen has previously served time in prison for participating in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations in Beijing. (2)

UK: Nancy Dell'Olio's Daily Mail libel action struck out
Strictly Come Dancing star Nancy Dell’Olio has had her libel action against the Daily Mail struck out by the high court. Dell’Olio attempted to sue the tabloid after an article, headlined “Return of the man-eater” appeared, referring to her relationship with 71-year-old theatre director Sir Trevor Nunn. The article, which was published in April, described Dell’Olio as ”a woman who hunts men but, rather than kill them and eat them, uses them for her own selfish ends”, which she believed presented her as a “predator”, and a “serial gold digger“. (0)

Hungary: Watchdog takes away frequency from opposition radio
Hungary’s national media council have taken the radio frequency from the country’s largest opposition radio station, Klubradio. Three frequencies were reassigned by the media council, and Klubradio’s frequency was awarded to Autoradio Musorszolgaltato Kft. In a statement issued by email yesterday, the watchdog claimed Autoradio bid “significantly above” the asking price and promised to broadcast more Hungarian music. The decision from the national media council has been described as a “de facto ban” by Andras Arato, Klubradio’s chairman. Read Mike Harris on Hungary’s alarming new media regulations (0)

US: Govermnent asks scientific journals to censor bird flu studies
The US Government has asked two scientific journals to censor data on bird flu. Nature and Science were asked by the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity to publish redacted versions of studies by two research groups that suggests the H5N1 avian flu could spread quickly among humans. The laboratory-made version of bird flu covered in the data could easily jump between ferrets — a sign a mutated form of the virus could spread among humans. The journals are objecting to the request, saying it would restrict access to information that might advance the cause of public health. Read more about censorship and science in “Dark Matter,” the latest issue of Index on Censorship magazine. You can also read the entire issue for free (until 22 December) on our Facebook page (0)

Turkey: 40 journalists arrested in alleged terror plot

UK: Virgin Media programme guide censors Hitchc**k and D***ens
Virgin Media’s electronic programme guide took offence at a range of inoffensive words at the weekend. Alfred Hitchcock became Alfred Hitchc**k, as Jarvis C**ker was subject to the same treatment. A**enal and Charles D**kens were also deemed too offensive for viewers. A Virgin Media spokesperson told the Guardian: “Over the weekend a temporarily over-zealous profanity checker took offence at certain programme titles. The altered titles have been swiftly an*lysed and we’re fixing any remaining glitches.” Viewers were quick to notice, posting pictures of the c**k up online. (0)

Malawi: Police arrest playwright over sensitive play
A playwright has been arrested whilst performing a play which was deemed critical of the government in Malawi. Thlupego Chisiza was arrested on Sunday after armed police stormed the Lions Theater  in Blantyre, where he was performing the play SEMO. The play, which was co-written by student activist Robert Chasowa, who died in mysterious circumstances, criticises the governments handling of laws which are believed to have regressed the country back to dictatorship. The authorities claimed Chisiza failed to send the play to the board of classification for vetting, which the playwright denies. (0)

Jerusalem: Advertising firm refuses to run ads showing women on buses
An advertising company in Jerusalem has refused to carry ads campaigning for women’s equality on their buses. Cnaan Advertising, the company responsible for adverts on buses rejected the advert campaign as they believe the buses will be vandalised by orthodox extremists . Cnaan Advertising demanded a financial guarantee of almost £8,500 from Yerushalmim, the movement responsible for the campaign, to run the adverts. In 2008, adverts featuring Yerushalmim head Rachel Azaria appeared on buses as part of her run for a seat on the city council, but since then, women have rarely appeared on bus advertisements. (0)

Somalia: Journalist killed by man in soldier uniform
A Somali journalist was shot dead by a man wearing a government soldier’s uniform on Sunday in Mogadishu. Abdisalan Sheikh Hasan from Horn Cable TV channel was shot after a government soldier in uniform with an AK47 ordered Hasan and his colleague Zakariye Abdulahi  to stop their car. Abdulahi said that without any further questions, the soldier opened fire on Hasan. The TV journalist, who had been receiving death threats, later died in theatre from injuries to his shoulder and stomach. (0)

China: News blackout on Wukan revolt
News reports of an uprising that began several days ago in Wukan have been blocked by the Chinese government. Coverage of the protests, which began following the death of a local villager Xue Jinbo, and political interference in local elections, has not been covered by any Chinese language media. Wukan residents dispute the claim that Jinbo died from a heart attack, believing he was tortured to death. In China, the story has only been covered by the English-language edition of an official Chinese Communist Party newspaper, “Global Times”. (0)

Syria: Detained blogger Razan released
Detained Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi was released on bail yesterday. Razan was arrested at the at the Syrian border with Jordan on December 5, and was released by authorities after spending 15 days in prison. The blogger’s sister, Nadine, tweeted the details of her freedom: “It’s raining Razans… hallelujah :)))))))) <3 It’s official, sis is out! hopefully the same goes to all arrested sisters and brothers.” Ghazzawi was charged with “establishing an organisation that aims to change the social and economical entity of the state” and “weakening the national sentiment, and trying to ignite sectarian strife.” (0)

China: Human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng sent back to prison
Chinese state media reported on Friday that human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng will be sent to prison for three years for violating his probation rules. In 2006 Gao was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for “subversion of state power”, being given five years of probation. In 2009 he was taken from a relative’s home in Shaanxi province, northern China, resurfacing briefly in March 2010 and alleging he had been tortured. He disappeared again soon after. (1)

Russian newspaper founder shot dead in North Caucasus
A gunman has shot and killed a newspaper founder in Russia’s North Caucasus region. Gadzhimurat Kamalov, who founded the newspaper Chernovik, was shot eight times as he left the newspaper office in Dagestan province, shortly before midnight on Thursday. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Chernovik is renowned for its investigation of government corruption. Journalists in Russia who cover corruption face serious risks.  There have been 19 unsolved murders of journalists in Russia since 2000. (0)

Zimbabwe: Media monitoring project staff denied freedom
Detained staff from a Zimbabwean media monitoring project have been refused bail. Advocacy officers Molly Chimhanda and Fadzai December from Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ), and an another MMPZ member, Gilbert Mabusa, were arrested on 5 December. The three were granted bail of US$50 by a Gwanda magistrate, but the state subsequently suspended that ruling. As the bail order has been suspended, Chinhanda, December and Mabusa must now the filing of an appeal to the High Court by the state within seven days. (0)

Ukraine: Case dropped against former president accused of reporter's killing‎
A Ukranian court has dropped the case against a former president accused of ordering the killing of a journalist. Former president Leonid Kuchma was accused of being involved in the murder of Georgy Gongadze by a former interior ministry official who admitted to strangling the journalist earlier this year. Gongadze was found decapitated after being abducted in Kiev in 2000. Secret audio recordings apparently incriminating the former president were also heard in court, but Kuchma has continually denied any involvement in the murder. Gongadze was founder of the Ukrainska Pravda website, and was often critical of the Ukrainian leader. (0)

China: Tighter film censorship plans in place
The Chinese government is planning to tighten its already strict film censorship rules. A proposal from the State Council, released on their website earlier today, is part of a draft law which proposes to ban anti-government sentiments and messages of religious fanaticism from the cinema screen. If passed, the bill, which comes during a box-office boom in China, will increase the number of banned subjects in Chinese cinema to 13. Another proposed ban could also prevent any film from “promoting” illegal drugs or terrorist activity. (0)

Syria : Detained blogger Razan charged
US born Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi has been charged by authorities following her arrest eight days ago. Razan was arrested by Syrian officials at the country’s border with Jordan border whilst attempting to attend a conference for advocates of free press in the Arab world in Amman, Jordan. The blogger has been charged with “establishing an organisation that aims to change the social and economical entity of the state,”  “weakening the national sentiment,” and trying to ignite sectarian strife” all of which can be punished with up to 15 years in prison. (1)

Egypt: Jailed blogger Alaa to be tried in civilian court
The case of prominent Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah is to be be tried in a civilian court, it has been reported. Egyptian authorities are said to have transferred the case state security prosecutors to investigative judges, which opens up the possibility of a trial in a civilian criminal court with the right to appeal. Abdel-Fattah was detained 30 October after he refused to answer questions over his alleged role in the 9 October clashes in Cairo. (0)

USA: Hulk Hogan sues ex-wife over homosexuality claims
Hulk Hogan is suing his ex-wife for defamation following her comments regarding his sexuality. In her book Wrestling the Hulk: My Life Against the Ropes, the wrestler’s ex-wife Linda Bollea claimed Hogan had an affair with fellow wrestler Brutus Beefcake, and that he was violent towards her. Hogan, whose real name is Terrance Gene Bollea, filed the suit against the “baffling” claims in Florida last week, and has demanded a jury trial. (0)

Sudan: Journalist threatened with murder
A Sudanese editor has received a death threat following the publication of an article critical of the country’s president, Salva Kiir. Dengdit Ayok, vice-editor of the English-speaking newspaper The Destiny, was arrested and detained for two weeks for publishing a news story on the marriage of the president’s daughter to an Ethiopian. The article was deemed unethical by Sudanese authorities, who also said the newspaper continued publishing “isolated topics that should not be published for the public”. (0)

Thailand : UN joins lèse majesté fight
The United Nations have joined human rights groups in calling for reform of Thailand’s notoriously harsh Lèse Majesté laws. The calls urging the Thai authorities to reform the harsh laws relating to insulting the monarchy follow the recent imprisonment of 61-year old grandfather Ampon Tangnoppakul. Navi Pillay, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights suggested that: “Guidelines should be issued to the police and public prosecutors to stop arresting and charging individuals under these vaguely worded laws.” Around 100 supporters of Tangnoppakulalso made a rare public protest outside the Criminal Court in Bangkok against the laws. (0)

UK: Seven charged after Congo protest in London
Seven people arrested at a London demonstration over the election result in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been charged. One hundred and thirty-nine people were arrested during Saturday’s demonstration which began at Whitehall and spread to Trafalgar Square. 116 people remain in custody, whilst seven have been charged with various offences, including obstructing the highway, breaching the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act and one assault on police. So far, 10 others who were arrested have been bailed to return pending further inquiries, and three were released with no further action.   (0)

US: Mumia Abu-Jamal will not be executed
The death penalty has been dropped against a USA journalist in Philadelphia who has spent thirty years on death row. Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing white police officer Daniel Faulknerin 1981, will have his sentence commuted to life imprisonment, after Faulkner’s widow reportedly persuaded prosecutors to stop pushing for the death penalty. The death sentence of Abu-Jamal, a former member of the African-American leftist group Black Panther, was quashed in April, and the state of Pennsylvania was given six months to select a jury and hold a new sentencing hearing, or agree to a life sentence. (0)

US: Sex article sparks campus uproar
Funding has been pulled from a student newspaper in New York, following the publication of an article about pre-marital sex. The Student Council at Yeshiva University, the Orthodox Jewish college in Manhattan, opted to withdraw the $500 it takes to publish The Beacon after the anonymous article received more than 41,000 hits and sparked an argument about “the soul of the university.” The decision sparked a campus-wide debate on censorship at the university, where the principles are based on the philosophy of Torah U’madda – the relationship between the secular world and Judaism. (0)

Burma: Censorship rules eased for some local media
Censorship on many business and crime publications in Burma has been eased, but news titles are to be kept under strict regulations. Following changes introduced last week, 54 journals, magazines and books will no longer have to submit their content to censors prior to publication. News media will still be subject to the same pre-publication censorship, which is said to be the most restrictive in the world, although officials have advised this too will be eased in time. Images of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi are now permitted in the media. (0)

Thailand: US blogger jailed for insulting king
A blogger has been jailed for two and a half years after posting excerpts of a biography online deemed offensive to the Thai monarchy. Joe Gordon, a Colorado resident who was born in Thailand, translated excerpts of a locally banned biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and posted them on his US blog. Gordon pleaded guilty to disseminating information that insulted the monarchy. In November, government minister’s warned that Thailand’s notoriously tough lese-majeste law could even affect “liking” a page on Facebook. (4)

Azerbaijani human rights lawyer detained at Istanbul airport
An Azerbaijani human rights activist was detained for more than 24 hours at Istanbul airport on Tuesday evening. Intigam Aliyev was returning to Baku from the Civil Society Parallel Event, organized by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vilnius,  when he was accused of insulting an airport officer, and the return of his passport was refused. Aliyev reported being beaten by police whilst he was detained. He arrived in Baku in the early hours of this morning. (0)

Zimbabwe: Media Monitoring Project staff detained
Staff from a Zimbabwean free expression organisation have been arrested and detained. Advocacy officers Molly Chimhanda and Fadzai December from Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ), and an accompanying member of MMPZ, Gilbert Mabusa, were arrested on 5 December 2011 in the city of Gwanda. The trio are being charged with ”participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, breaches of the peace or bigotry,” following a meeting in November during which they distributed a DVD calling on the media to promote a peaceful electoral process. (6)

Egypt: Hunger striker Maikel Nabil's case postponed for fifth time
The retrial of Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad has been postponed to 14 December, making this the fifth time his case has been rescheduled. Maikel, who has been on hunger strike for over 100 days, was sentenced to three years in prison by a military court on charges of “insulting the armed forces” and “spreading false news” in a blog post published last March.   (0)

Iraqi Kurdistan: Riots lead to press freedom abuses
Six media offices have been attacked, and 16 journalists have been threatened and assaulted in Iraqi Kurdistan during widespread riots. The offices of a number of media organisations owned by opposition group the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) were set on fire. KIU offices in the cities of Dohuk, Zakho, and Simel were also attacked. Local reports stated that between six and 10 KIU journalists had been arrested since 2 December. (0)

Palestinian ministry raid social media conference
Palestinian security services in Gaza City raided a social media conference on Sunday, stopping it from taking place. The police stormed The First Palestinian Conference on Social Media which was being held at Light House venue in the city, and halted the event, on the grounds organisers had not obtained the necessary permits. Event organisers claimed that they had received permission from the Ministry of Information in the Gaza Strip. But security forces said this was insufficient and shut down the conference, which was attended by approximately 180 journalists and bloggers, and academics from Gaza universities. (0)

South Korea : Review of social media boosted
Plans to intensify South Korea’s review of web content, including social networking sites and mobile phone applications have been released. The review, which aims to combat a surge in “illegal and harmful” information online, has been underway since 2008, but the Korea Communications Standards Commission’s latest plans to reshuffle departments will make way for a review team that will oversee new media content. Social media users and civic groups believe the new plans constitute a clamp down on freedom of expression. (0)

India asks Google, Facebook to screen user content
The Indian Government have asked internet companies and social media organisations to censor internet content before it goes online. India’s acting telecommunications minister Kapil Sibal met with top officials from the Indian units of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook on Monday to discuss implementing the removal of disparaging, inflammatory or defamatory content before being published online. Three un-named executives of Internet companies were told in a previous meeting that Sibal expected them to set up a proactive pre-screening system using people, not technology. (1)

Somalia: Journalists arrested in clampdown
Two journalists have been arrested in Somalia after police refused to accept their press cards. Salad Tifow Hassan and Qadar Hussein Ahmed from privately-owned Radio Banadir were arrested by patrolling police officers who were patrolling in Mogadishu, and accused them of committing a security breach. Presenter Hassan and producer Ahmed were released on Sunday, with no explanation given for the actions against them. The arrests are the latest in a widespread clampdown by Somalian security forces that has resulted in the arrest and detention of three radio journalists in Mogadishu. (0)

Zimbabwe: Police storm offices, journalist arrested
Zimbabwean police stormed the offices of a daily newspaper, and arrested one of it’s journalists last week. Xolisani Ncube of Daily News was arrested on December 2, in connection with an article about a government minister that appeared in the paper last month. Newspaper editor, Stanely Gama handed himself over to the police after being summoned for the same investigation. Police sources said it is likely the pair will be tried for criminal defamation following the article, “Chombo brags about riches”, in which they said Ingatius Chombo had bragged about his wealth. (0)

Azerbaijan: Supreme Court upholds Bakhtiyar Hajiyev judgment
The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan upheld the sentence of a young activist and blogger on 6 December. Bakhtiyar Hajiyev was sentenced to two years‘ imprisonment after using Facebook to generate support for the 11 March “Great People’s Day” anti-government protests. The 29-year-old Harvard graduate was charged with evading military service in May, but lost his appeal against the conviction. Natasha Schmidt, Assistant Editor of Index on Censorship magazine condemned the decision: “The Azerbaijani authorities have demonstrated once again that they are entirely hostile to freedom of expression and the right to protest. Like activist Jabber Savalan, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev remains in jail on a charge unrelated to his activism, a tactic increasingly employed to silence dissenting voices.” A report by the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan, of which Index on Censorship is a member, outlines the dire state of press freedom in Azerbaijan. (1)

Iran: foreign media banned from anti-British rallies
Foreign media have been banned from covering rallies in front of British diplomatic missions in Iran. The ban, which began on Thursday is the latest fallout following last week’s storming of Britain’s embassy in Tehran by pro-government demonstrators. Though Iran have previously banned foreign media from covering anti-government protests, this is the first time coverage of pro-government rallies has been banned. (0)

Peru: Mob vandalises newspaper office
The newsroom of a Peruvian newspaper was attacked by a mob in the early hours of Thursday morning (1 December). The offices of El Sol de los Andes in Huancayo were attacked following a series of reports in the paper linking criminal gangs to police officers. The mob, who caused significant damage to doors and furniture, as well as burning a banner, are believed to be relatives of the police officers named in the reports. Gino Márquez, assistant editor of the newspaper said he believed the reports were also to blame for the initial lack of intervention from the prosecutors office. (0)

Exiled Rwandan journalist gunned down in Uganda
A Rawandan journalist has been shot dead at point blank range in the Ugandan capital Kampala, where he was exiled. Charles Ingabire, editor of the Inyenyeri News website, was fatally shot twice in the chest by unidentified assailants on 1 December at around 2am outside a bar in Kampala. The journalist, who was an outspoken critic of the Rwandan government, was pronounced dead at the scene. Ingabire was exiled from Rwanda in 2007, and had been threatened previously. In an attack teo months ago his computer was stolen and he was pressured to shut down Inyenyeri. (0)

Zimbabwe: Retired colonel launches defamation suit
A Zimbabwean newspaper is facing a defamation suit from a retired colonel. ZANU-PF member Claudius Makova is suing local paper the Masvingo Mirror for USD 100,000 after it published a story referring to Makova’s alleged interests in Bikita Minerals, the country’s sole lithium producer. Makova claimed the defamatory statements lay in references to him as “stupid and greedy,” and said his reputation had been damaged. (0)

Mexico: Slander and libel decreminalised
Slander and libel have been decriminalised by the Mexican Senate. The senate approved the repeal of Articles 1 and 31 of the Crimes Act, with a unanimous decision. Mexico have joined El Salvador as the second Latin American country to decriminalise honour crimes. The decision follows the end of a seven-year defamation trial where the newspaper La Jornada accused magazine Letras Libres of damaging its reputation. The court determined that freedom of expression supersedes the right to honour. (0)

Ukraine: Young news photographer stabbed to death
A young photographer was stabbed to death in Kiev on Monday night. Vitaly Rozvadovsky, a photographer for the Ukrainian weekly 2000, was stabbed at around 11pm and died in hospital around four hours later. The murder of the 30-year-old is being treated as “murder with premeditation” but it is not believed that the attack relates to Rozvadovsky’s work. Mikhail Denisenko, editor of 2000 said that the photographer had not recently covered any sensitive stories, and he was unaware of Rozvadovsky receiving any threats. (0)

Pakistan: Reporter injured in shoot out
A TV journalist in Pakistan was shot and critically injured during a riot on Sunday. Ehsan Kohati, a senior reporter for the Waqt News TV channel was wounded in the chest and abdomen whilst reporting at a rally than turned violent in Karachi on November 27.  Kohati was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he remains in a stable condition. Seven other people were injured and two were killed in the attack on a rally of Shiite Muslim mourners on the first day of the Islamic calendar month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. (0)

Ecuador: Twitter user receives warning from government official
A government official in Ecuador has issued a public warning against a Twitter user following posts on the micro-blogging site. Betty Escobar, an Ecuadorian citizen who lives in the United States was warned by Fernando Cordero, the President of the National Assembly, to ”change her language or she would soon regret her licentiousness.” The warning followed a critical tweet from Escobar to the official which said ”you are incompetent, you fail to comply with the law and you support the dictatorship! you and correa should go to prison for corruption! double standards. “ (0)

Vietnam: Blogger Pham Minh Hoang's jail term reduced
A Vietnamese court have halved the jail sentence of a blogger after international pressure from government’s and NGO’s. Pham Minh Hoang was sentenced to three years imprisonment for attempted subversion in August this year after he wrote 33 articles under a pseudonym, which were ruled by the court to ”blacken the image of the country” and aimed to topple the government. Hoang will be released on January 13 after serving a 17-month sentence, but will then serve three years of house arrest. (0)

Ivory Coast: Journalists taken into custody
Three journalists in the Ivory Coast were taken into police custody on Thursday. César Etou, Boga Sivori and Didier Dépry from daily newspaper Notre Voie were taken in for police questioning on suspicion of insulting the head of state and harming the national economy. Publisher Etou and Chief Political correspondent Sivori were questioned about an article that appeared in the newspaper about 40 new Mercedes official cars made available to members of the government, while the assistant editor Dépry was questioned about an article from the newspapers front page regarding the value of the CFA franc. (0)

Egypt: Case of hunger striking blogger adjourned again
The retrial of Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil was postponed again on Sunday. The case, which was originally due to be heard on November 1, has been pushed back to December 4. Nabil was detained for accusing the military of having conducted virginity tests on female protesters on March 28. In April, Nabil was sentenced by a military court to three years imprisonment on charges of “insulting the military and dissemination of false news about the armed forces” in his blog “Son of Ra.” The 25 year old blogger has been on hunger strike since 23 August. (0)

Bangladesh: Editor accused of extortion released on bail
The news editor of an online news agency has been released on bail after being held for nearly four months. Ekramul Haq, the editor of recently closed Sheershanews.com, was released from jail in Dhaka at around 4pm, local time, after he was granted bail by the lower court. Haq was arrested on suspicion of extorting Tk 20 lakh (around £17,000) from Chittagong businessman Gias Uddin Talukdar on July 30. (0)

Uganda: Newspaper offices raided, guard killed
Unidentified assailants raided the offices of a Ugandan newspaper and killed a security guard in the early hours of Thursday morning. 80 computers, worth millions of Ugandan shillings were stolen from the Kyengera based offices of bi-weekly newspaper ”Eddoboozi” and security guard Fred Mabonga was killed by the intruders. The editor of the pro-Buganda paper, Eddie Mukwaba Katende, said he could not rule out the fact that the paper may have been targeted because of its reports on corruption, politics and human rights abuses. Police are investigating the incident, but no arrests have been made. (0)

Maldives: Government shuts down blog in climate of growing religious intolerance
The Maldivan government has ordered a ban on the blog of a freelance writer on the grounds it contained anti-Islamic material. The blog (www.hilath.com), run by independent journalist Ismail Khilath “Hilath” Rasheed, has been banned by the Communications Authority, and is said to be highly critical of religious fundamentalism. The blogger believes his site has been targeted because he is a Sufi Muslim. Rasheed plans to bring his case to court, as a website shut by the government can only be reopened by a court order. (0)

Thailand: Facebookers who 'like' anti-monarchy groups could face trial
A Thai Government minister has warned that Facebook users who ‘like’  or ‘share’ pages which denigrate the monarchy could face prosecution. The warning from information technology minister, Anudith Nakornthap, follows the sentencing of a 61 year old man to 20 years in prison for sending text messages deemed insulting to the country’s queen. Ampon Tangnoppakul was accused of sending four text messages deemed insulting to the monarchy in May 2010. The laws against lèse-majesté (insulting a monarch) in Thailand are the most severe in the world – even repeating the details of an alleged offence is illegal. (2)

Index condemns Max Mosley's attack on web
Index on Censorship today condemned former motorsports boss Max Mosley’s attack on search engine Google Testifying to the Leveson Inquiry into the press in London today, Mosley said: “The fundamental thing is that Google could stop this appearing but they don’t or won’t as a matter of principle…The really dangerous things are the search engines.” Mosley revealed that he was planning to sue Google in Germany and France. But a spokesman for free speech group Index on Censorship said Mosley’s attack on search engines was ill-advised and potentially dangerous:

“To request that Google remove information is to misunderstand the role of search engines,” said Padraig Reidy, news editor of Index on Censorship. “Search engines are not publishers and cannot be held responsible for everything on the web. If they are held responsible, it would fundamentally alter the web from the free space that has changed the way we live, ultimately rendering the web unsearchable as content is not indexed for fear of complaint.

Azerbaijani journalist stabbed
Sanat newspaper editor Rafiq Tagi was stabbed on 19 November in Baku. He was said to be in a stable condition after several hours of surgery. In 2007, Tagi was charged with inciting national, racial and religious enmity after he published an article about Islam’s impact on Azerbaijani development. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and later pardoned by President Aliev. At the time of the uproar over the article, Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani placed a fatwa on Tagi and he received multiple death threats. (0)

Nigeria: Journalist arrested, faces libel suit over football stories
A journalist in Nigeria has been arrested and is facing a libel lawsuit over stories detailing alleged corruption in the Nigerian Football Federation. Olajide Fashikun, editor of the National Accord newspaper, was arrested last Wednesday following a series of news articles, in which he claimed a letter from FIFA president Sepp Blatter to Aminu Maigari on his election as head of the Nigerian Football Federation, had a forged signature. Following the arrest, the offices of National Accord newspaper were ransacked, and the journalist’s laptop and hard drive were seized. (0)

China: Petitioners beaten when visiting Chen Guangcheng
A group of petitioners attempting to visit blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng were beaten on 30 October. According to petitioner Zhu Jindi, as the group of 37 supporters made their way to Dongshigu in Shandong province, where Chen remains under illegal house arrest, 100 people appeared and beat the group, confiscating their mobile phones and cameras. Li Yu, a democracy activist from Sichuan, was severely beaten and thrown into a police car with two other petitioners. Li is still missing, though the other two individuals were released on 2 November. Other activists have reported similar incidents when attempting to visit Chen, who fell foul of authorities in 2005 for his work in exposing forced abortions in Shandong province. (0)

Belarus: Opposition activist jailed for taking part in rally
A Belarusian opposition leader has been sentenced to ten days of “administrative detention” for his involvement in  the opposition-organised People’s Assembly. Viktar Buzinaye from the United Civic Party was found guilty of ”violating the law on public gatherings,” yesterday following an assembly in eastern town of Babruisk on October 8, which was not approved by local authorities. Buzinayeu pleaded not guilty claiming the gathering was held as a town hall meeting, and adhered to laws and regulations. (0)

UK: Disorder no excuse to clamp down on internet
Governments must not crack down on internet and mobile phone networks during times of unrest, the British Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday. Speaking at a two-day international cybersecurity conference in London, Cameron said that cybersecurity should not be an “excuse for censorship or to deny their people the opportunities that the internet represents”. Speaking at the same conference, Index on Censorship CEO John Kampfner said: “as soon as our own Western-style stability of the state is called into question then freedom of expression is expendable. There should be one rule for all, including Western governments.” (1)

Azerbaijan: Independent editor imprisoned
The editor-in-chief of an independent daily paper in Azerbaijan has been imprisoned. Avaz Zeynally, from newspaper Khural, was arrested in Baku on Friday on charges of bribery and extortion. The charges follow a complaint filed by Gyuler Akhmedova, a member of parliament who alleged that Zeynally had tried to extort 10,000 manat (7,935 GBP) from her in August. Zeynally denies all charges, saying Akhmedova had offered him money in exchange for his paper’s loyalty to authorities. On Saturday, a court determined that Zeynally should be detained for three months. If convicted, he could face 12 years in prison. (0)

UK: Julian Assange loses appeal against extradition
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lost his UK High Court appeal against extradition to Sweden. Assange faces accusations of rape and sexual assault after a visit to Stockholm in August 2010. The judgement was handed down to the 40-year-old Australian by two High Court judges, following a European arrest warrant. Assange’s lawyers will take 14 days to decide whether to appeal further, and if he is denied the right to appeal, British law enforcement officers will arrange for his removal to Sweden within 10 days. (0)

France: Magazine petrol-bombed after printing cartoon of prophet Mohammed
The Paris-based office of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly magazine, was petrol-bombed early this morning [2 November] in advance of the publication of an issue “guest-edited” by prophet Mohammed, marking the victory of the Islamist Ennahda Party in Tunisia’s elections. The special issue, which also featured a cartoon of prophet Mohammed saying “100 lashes if you don’t die of laughter!” on the front page, was scheduled to hit news stands today. The magazine’s website was also reported to have been hacked, with a message in English and Turkish condemning the publication. In 2007, the weekly reprinted the widely-protested cartoons of prophet Muhammad, which were published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten.   (1)

Turkey: Publisher and activist Ragıp Zarakolu detained
Turkish publisher Ragıp Zarakolu , recipient of the 2008 International Publishers Association (IPA) Freedom to Publish Prize, was arrested on 28 October in Istanbul. Viewed by many as Turkey’s most prominent free expression and minority rights activist, Zarakolu has been accused of being a member of an illegal organisation under the anti-terror legislation, a press release from IPA said today. University professor Büşra Ersanlı was also arrested and over 40 other individuals were taken into custody on the same day as part of a recent crackdown on the KCK (Union of Kurdistan Communities). Zarakolu’s son, Deniz, was also arrested last month after giving a lecture at the Political Science Academy of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy (BDP) opposition party. (0)

Russia: Report on torture of Chechen man "censored" by state television
A 30 October report concerning the work of a Russian human rights group working in Chechnya was pulled off of the air on NTV, one of the nation’s largest federal channels. The segment covering the work of Joint Mobile Group with the case of Islam Umarpashaev, a Chechen allegedly kidnapped and tortured by state forces, was broadcast in Eastern Russia, but blocked in the rest of the country.The Joint Mobile Group has been campaigning for justice and a fair investigation of the kidnapping and torture of Umarpashaev by Chechen law enforcement officials in 2009. (1)

Ukraine: Reporter critical after being shot in the head
A Ukrainian  investigative journalist is a critical condition after being shot in the head. Oleksander Vlaschenk0 who works for Nashe Misto, a local newspaper, was hit as he returned to his home in Mykolayiv on 16 October. Two mobile phones and camera were stolen in the attack. The journalist who cover highly sensitive subjects involving local government corruption and organised crime, remains in hospital with a bullet in his head, his attackers have not been identified.   (0)

Mauritius: Editor jailed for contempt
A  Mauritian journalist has been jailed for contempt of court. Dharmanand Dooharika, who works for weekly newspaper Samedi Plus, was sentenced to three months in prison following the paper’s coverage of a fraud case in August. Dooharika was found guilty of publicly scandalising the Supreme Court and bringing the administration of justice into disrepute. Dooharika was taken ill following the ruling, and sent to hospital under police guard. Goindamal Saminata Chetty, head of the firm Contact Press which owns Samedi Plus, was fined 300,000 rupees. (0)

USA: Justice dept appeal in fresh bid for New York Times reporter’s sources
A New York Times reporter may be forced to reveal his sources, despite a ruling which said his testimony was protected by reporters privilege. On Wednesday, the Department of Justice asked a federal appeals court to force James Risen to testify about his sources in the trial of a CIA officer who was accused of leaking top secret information. In the hearing, federal prosecutors appealed the ruling from a US District court on 29 July that Risen did not have to reveal his sources in the trial of ex-CIA officer Jeffrey Stirling. Risen’s lawyer Joel Kurtzberg has said they will fight the appeal.     (0)

Senegal: Opposition activist charged for libelling President
An opposition activist is facing five years in prison for libelling President Abdoulaye Wade in Senegal. Malick Noel Seck, General Secretary for the Socialist Convergence Youth, a movement of the Senegalese Socialists Party, is facing three counts of libelling the head of state, contempt of court and issuing death threats, following his appearance in court last week. The prosecutor is said to have demanded a five-year prison term for Seck. The charges follow Seck’s petition in April to Senegal’s constitutional court not to accept the candidacy of President Wade for the 2012 elections. (0)

Philippines: Broadcaster shot dead
A radio commentator in the Philippines was  shot dead on 14 October. Datu Roy Bagtikan Gallego was shot dead on the national highway in Sitio Mamprasanon, in Lianga town during an ambush. Gallego, who often criticised mining operations and spoke in defence of tribal rights was due to start a new slot on a radio program this week with 92.7 Smile FM San Francisco. Gallego’s death comes one week after the murder of fellow journalist Johnson Pascual. Lianga Police have not yet identified any suspects or a motive for the murder. (0)

Turkish man could face two-year prison sentence for Facebook comments
A Turkish man could face two years in prison for comments made about Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan on his Facebook page. A public prosecutor in Ankara is calling for the man’s imprisonment based on insulting Erdogan, along with some of his cabinet members and ministers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The man is being charge under Article 301 of Turkey’s Criminal Code. (0)

Bahrain: Teacher re-arrested for speaking against human rights violations
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights reports that Jaleela Al Salman, vice president of the Bahrain Teachers Association was arrested on 18 October from her home without a warrant. On 25 September, a military court sentenced Al Salman to three years in prison, on charges of “inciting hatred towards the regime”, “calling for a teachers strike”, as well as “attempting to overthrow the ruling system by force.” Al Salman was initially detained from 29 March until 21 August after going on hunger strike, and has been vocal about the current state of human rights in Bahrain during the past few weeks. Her trial for appeal will take place on 1 December.   (0)

Peru: Drunken congressman attacks journalists
The security guards of a Peruvian congressman have been involved in attack on two journalists. Carlos Chávez Galdós and Leucario Madera Guardaluna, from TV stations Compañía de TV Cuzqueña and Canal 47 de Cuzco, were attacked outside a nightclub in Cuzco, southern Peru, after they suprised Congressman Rubén Coa Aguilar while he was drunk. According to the journalists, the Congressman’s bodyguards and nightclub security personnel attacked them and took their video cameras, after Coa Aguilar asked his security to hit the reporters, take their equipment and delete their videos. (0)

Russia: VOINA artist arrested, detained without charge
Members of the Russian artist group VOINA were arrested yesterday. Russian police, allegedly posing as German television journalists, arrested and detained Natalia Sokol along with her two-year-old son overnight at a police station in Moscow. Sokol’s requests to speak to her lawyer were rejected. On the same night, plain clothes police tried to break into the apartment of another VOINA member, Leonid Nikolayev. Only weeks ago, all charges against the group were dropped by an investigations committee. Read more about the political street art that has taken Russia by storm in the latest issue of the magazine, The Art Issue, which explores censorship in the contemporary art world. (0)

UK: Twitter vows to protect users from government
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has stressed the need to keep freedom of speech as a priority, even in times of civil unrest. Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on Monday, Costolo stood by the decision not to suspend the service or reveal user identities to authorities in the wake of the UK riots this summer. Talks between representatives from Facebook, Twitter, BlackBerry Messenger and Home Secretary Theresa May during the riots caused speculation that the government would try to temporarily suspend the digital networks.

Sudan: Parliament witnesses heated discussions over press censorship
A parliamentary seminar to discuss proposed changes to Sudan‘s press law was subject to a heated debate about pre-publication censorship on Monday. During the seminar, a leading member of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), Fathi Shilah, described press censorship as an act of backwardness regardless of the authority that implements it. The current press law in the country, passed in 2009, has been heavily criticised by journalists who claim the law only appears to create a free press. Newspapers are confiscated and censored by security authorities aiming to prevent publication and large financial penalties can be handed to journalists. (0)

Uganda: Opposition leader arrested during protest
The Ugandan opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, was arrested during a protest against surging consumer prices and wasteful government spending yesterday. Besigye was arrested during the “Walk to work” protest on the outskirts of the capital Kampala. Opposition youths threw rocks at passing vehicles and smashing windscreens, following Besigye’s “preventative” arrest. Police say the politician was later released and taken to his home in the Kasangati suburb. In April, the country experienced deadly protests over the high costs of basic commodities and transport. (0)

United Kingdom: Russian billionaire wins libel suit against Sunday Times
Yelena Baturina, one of Russia’s wealthiest women, has won damages from The Sunday Times after the newspaper wrongly reported that she purchased a £50m London mansion through an off-shore “front company”. It was a sensitive topic because Baturina’s husband Yuri Luzkhov was mayor of Moscow at the time and as the wife of a public official her financial assets had to be made public under anti-corruption legislation. Baturina was issued an apology and financial compensation. (0)

Yemen: Cameraman killed by security forces
A cameraman for Al-Yemen TV, Abd Al-Ghani Al-Bureihi, was killed when Yemeni security forces opened fire at a demonstration in Sanaa calling for the president to step down on 16 October. Two other cameramen were also allegedly injured at the same demonstration, including Salah Al-Hatar of Al-Jazeera.   (0)

Tunisia: Crowds gather for anti-censorship march
Thousands of demonstrators took part in an anti-censorship march in the Tunisian capital on Sunday. As the debate between Islamic conservatives and secularists continues in the country, the liberal demonstrators gathered for the march, dubbed ”Aataqni” or “set me free” in Tunisian Arabic. The movement follows opposing protests last week, after the decision by Nessma TV to air the film Persepolis. The demonstrators at the Aataqni protest were alarmed by the reaction of the Islamists  to the animated film, claiming if that kind of censorship was accepted, it could lead to censorship of other programs. (0)

Bulgaria: Journalist's car bombed
The car of a popular Bulgarian journalist was blown up on Thursday, after a makeshift bomb was attached to the vehicle. Sasho Dikov, programme director of the Channel 3 TV station, was not injured by the blast outside his home in a residential area of Sofia. The journalist, who has been a fierce critic of the center-right government said the attack was to intimidate him, and “anyone who speaks the truth.” Dikov said the attack would not stop him from discussing the alleged failure by Prime Minister Boiko Borisov’s government’s to cope with corruption and organised crime. (0)

France: Court orders French "cop watching" site to be blocked
A court in France has ruled that internet service providers must block access to a “cop watching” web site. The website, Copwatch Nord Paris I-D-F, shows pictures and videos of police officers arresting suspects, taunting protesters and allegedly committing acts of violence against members of ethnic minorities, was deemed to incite violence against the police. Free speech advocates have said that the ruling restricted internet freedoms. The first complaint against the site was filed by a Paris police officer who received a bullet in his mailbox after his picture had appeared on the site. (0)

Colombia: Editor given suspended prison term
The editor of a Colombian monthly newspaper has been handed a 20-month suspended sentence and a $5,500 fine. Luis Agustín González, who is both founder and editor of Cundinamarca Democrática, was convicted of criminal libel yesterday, after he published an article critical of  local politician. In a 2008 article, González expressed his dismay that Maria Leonor Serrano had announced she would be a senate candidate in the 2010 elections. The article also referred to allegations of corruption throughout her career, and covered a range of disappearances and assassinations which occurred during her tenure as a town mayor. (0)

UK: Russian tycoon sued for libel over talkshow fight
A Russian property developer who was punched during a talkshow, is suing for libel in England after his assailant, fellow Russian tycoon  Alexander Lebedev said he deserved the beating. Sergei Polonsky is suing Lebedev, owner of the Independent and London Evening Standard for defamation following their altercation in September. Lebedev told the BBC that Polonsky had insulted him for 90 minutes. Criminal proceedings for assault have begun in Russia. (0)

USA: Professor says state agency censored article
A long-awaited report on a Texan estuary is being delayed, following accusations that important information in the original report has been omitted for political reasons. John Anderson, the professor of oceanography at Rice University has accused the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) of deleting references to climate change, human impact on the environment and sea-level rise. Anderson believes that the omissions have been made for partisan, rather than scientific, reasons. A spokesperson for the environmental agency said that the deletions had been made because the TCEQ did not agree with information in the article. (1)

Nigeria: Police arrest six journalists
Six journalists and one other staff have been arrested following raids on a newspaper office in Nigeria. Detectives stormed the Lagos-based premises of independent daily newspaper The Nation on Tuesday, arresting seven. The arrests are believed to be linked to the publication of a private letter on 4 October from former head of state Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan, suggesting Jonathan replace CEOs of several government agencies. Obasanjo accused the newspaper of publishing the letter with a forgery of his signature. The journalists are expected to appear in court tomorrow. (1)

Somalia: Journalist killed in suicide bomb attack
A radio journalist has been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Somalia. Abdiaziz Ahmed Aden, a reporter and newscaster for Radio Markabley was caught in the attack on 4 October, in which 100 people were killed, and over 100 injured. Aden was dispatched to the capital Mogadishu from the radio station’s base in the Bardhere district, in southwest Somalia, on 30 September to cover ongoing operations against Al-Shabaab militants. In the attack which killed the journalist, a suicide bomber drove a bomb-loaded truck into government ministry security barrier. Aden was initially reported as missing, but was later identified by his family. (0)

Angola: Journalist jailed for libel
An Angolan journalist is facing a year in prison for libel. William Tonet, editor of the newspaper Folha 8, was accused of libel after he published allegations of corruption among the country’s military elite. Tonet accused three generals of the Angolan Armed Forces of self-enrichment and power abuse in a 2008 news article. In a court ruling on Monday, the journalist was given five days to pay 10 million kwanzas (€77,000) in damages, or face a year in prison. The journalist’s lawyer, David Mendes, said the government of  Angolan President, Jose dos Santos wants to imprison William Tonet. (0)

Ethiopia: Zenawi calls jailed Swedish journalists terrorists

Armenia: Court upholds ruling in Ex-President's libel suit
An appeals court in Armenia has upheld a libel ruling against a daily newspaper. The family of former President Robert Kocharian, took the newspaper Zhamanak to court in December, following its publication of a series of articles, linking Kocharian’s wife, Bella, with major trade in medicines and claiming that their older son, Sedrak, owns diamond mines in India, and had defrauded an Armenian businessman. The pro-opposition newspaper was ordered to pay 3m drams ($8,000) in damages. (0)

Ukraine: Tymoshenko jailed for seven years
One of Ukraine‘s most popular and powerful politicians has been sentenced to seven years in prison. Yulia V Tymoshenko carried out negotiations with Russia regarding the price of natural gas during 2009, which cost the Ukrainian treasury £118 million, and damaged the country’s own gas industry.  The judge, Rodion Kireye, said that Tymoshenko had “used her official powers to criminal ends”, and “committed actions which clearly exceeded her rights and powers”. Tymoshenko believes that the trial is politically-motivated revenge. The European Union immediately issued a message via Twitter saying it was “deeply disappointed with the verdict”. (0)

Cuba: Journalist expelled from Havana for the ninth time in two years
A reporter for an independent news service is awaiting deportation from Cuba‘s capital city. Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias of the Hablemos Press agency is awaiting expulsion from Havana for the ninth time in two years, following a recent crackdown on civic groups and dissident organisations. The journalist was arrested for the fourth time this year on 30 September, and will be deported to his home town of Camagüey. More than 2,500 arrests have been made during the political crackdown, and up to 563 people have been briefly detained or exiled.     (0)

Italy: Writer wins free-speech prize for mafia exposé
An Italian writer who exposed the violent world of the Naples Mafia was awarded a major free-speech prize yesterday. Roberto Saviano was awarded the Pen/Pinter International Writer of Courage prize, to share with British playwright David Hare. Saviano’s book, “Gomorrah”, which was published in 2006, exposed Naples’ criminal underworld, and the publication of the book led to death threats to the writer, who was forced to go into hiding. Saviano did not attend the ceremony, but sent a message expressing his gratitude “to those who made it possible that my words became dangerous for certain powers that need silence and shade.” (0)

Tunisia: Broadcast of 'Persepolis' prompts protest
Hundreds of protesters have attacked a private television company in Tunisia in protest over the broadcast of the award winning film “Persepolis.” The protesters, who believe that the animated film denigrates Islam, attacked the TV station Nessma in Tunisia’s capital on Sunday. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd and made 40 arrests. The film, which is about the 1979 Iranian revolution, was aired on Friday. Following the broadcast, according to Nebil Karoui, the head of Nessma, messages appeared on Facebook calling for the station to be burned down and its journalists killed.   (3)

Burma: Censor chief calls for more media freedom
The head of the press censorship department in Burma has called for greater media freedom in the country. Tint Swe called for the abolition of censorship during a radio show with Radio Free Asia. Recent reforms under the new administration are showing determination to reform in the country, where the media is said to be the most heavily censored in the world. Some previously blocked websites are now available and newspapers have been allowed to publish photographs and reports about the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which is previously unheard of. (1)

Philippines: Newspaper editor gunned down
A newspaper editor was shot on Friday while driving through the Philippines‘ main island, Luzon. Johnson Pascual, editor-in-chief of local newspaper, Prime News, was shot by two men on a motorcycle in Isabela province, Northern Philippines on Friday morning. Following the shooting, where Pascual was hit in the head and torso, the journalist lost control of his vehicle and drove it into a ravine, where he died. It is currently unclear whether Pascual’s murder was related to his work as a journalist. (1)

Venezuela: Pro-Chavez hackers target journalists
Pro-Chavez Hackers in Venezuela have targeted the emails and social media accounts of journalists. Milagros Socorro, director of the site Código Venezuela, announced that hackers attacked her blog, Twitter and emails after criticising President Chavez’s communications ministry. Her Twitter profile image was changed to a bar of soap with the headline “wash your mouth out.” Socorro criticised Minister Andrés Izarra for accusing a foreign correspondent of being unethical and disrespectful to authorities at a press conference in Caracas. It is believed that the group N33, which have launched cyber attacks on critics of the Chavez administration, are responsible for the attack. (1)

Iran: Actress sentenced to year in prison for censorship film
On 8 October, Actress Marzieh Vafamehr was sentenced to 90 lashes and a year in jail for her performance in a film exploring censorship of artists in Iran, according to reports from Kalameh.com, an Iranian opposition website. Vafamehr was in a controversial film called “My Tehran for Sale”, which is about a young actress who takes on a secret life in order to pursue her artistic dreams, after having her theatre work banned by Tehran authorities. Vafamehr, who was initially arrested after the July release of the film, was released on bail later that month. Her lawyer reportedly filed to appeal on 9 October. (2)

Pakistan: Web journalist murdered in Lahore
The body of a journalist working for a London-based online news site has been discovered by police in Pakistan. Faisal Qureshi, 28, who was working as web-editor for internet publication the London Post, was discovered on Friday morning in Lahore, with his throat slit, and stab wounds to his body. Shahid Qureshi, Faisal Qureshi’s brother, told police his brother had been receiving death threats from unidentified people which he believed to be over some news reports in his paper. Qureshi’s laptop and mobile phone were also missing. Police have said the motive for the murder is unclear. (0)

China: Dating shows face tough censorship
Increasingly strict media regulations are being applied to dating shows in China. Shows such as “If you are the one,” which have been highly successful in the country, are being subjected to regulations from the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT). The administration has recently banned ”fake participants” who seek publicity, “morally provocative” hosts, and sexual references in all entertainment shows. Some fans have said that the new restrictions have made the shows less entertaining. (0)

UK: Banned horror film gets 18 rating after cuts
An initially banned horror film has been given an “18″ rating, after a number of cuts. Human Centipede 2 was originally banned in the UK for posing a “real risk of harm,” in June, but after 32 cuts, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)  granted it certification ahead of its DVD release. BBFC president Sir Quentin Thomas said that the sequel, in which a disturbed loner conducts bizarre human experiments, would still be difficult for viewers to watch, but said that the cuts “address all of the concerns raised when the board refused a classification.” (0)

Slovakia: New draft law threatens internet freedom
A draft law has been published by the Slovakian Ministry of Finance which could result in the blocking of some web servers. The bill would mean that web servers that provide online gambling without a license would be put on a list, which would be updated twice a month, and blocked by internet providers. Critics have warned that under this law, Facebook would also be blocked completely, due to the availability of online roulette and and poker games. An online petition created by Society for Open Information Technologies (SOIT) has been signed by thousands of citizens. (0)

Vietnam: Two citizen journalists facing jail for operating pirate radio
Two citizen journalists face trial in Vietnam today for operating pirate radio to China.  Vu Duc Trung and Le Van Thanh face charges of illegally retransmitting radio programmes after they began broadcasting Chinese-language programmes from Sound of Hope Network, a Chinese radio station based in California. According to a Vietnamese Public Security Ministry document, the programmes, which were critical of the Chinese government, were the subject of a note to the Vietnamese authorities, asking them to stop the broadcasts. The trial, which was due to begin today, has been postponed for the second time. (0)

Turkmenistan: Reporter gets five years in prison
A Radio Free Europe correspondent in Turkmenistan has been sentenced to five years in prison. Dovletmurad Yazguliyev was sentenced yesterday on charges of inciting his sister-in-law to attempt to commit suicide. Yazguliyev was detained on 27 September and his family were pressured to sign a statement backing up the charges against him. Yazguliyev and his colleagues believe that the arrest is an attempt to silence the journalist for his critical reports: he was one of the first journalists to break news of deadly arms storage explosions in the eastern town of Abadan on 7 July. (1)

Italy: Wikipedia shuts down Italian language edition to protest new law
Wikipedia have shut down their Italian language page in protest against a wiretapping act being proposed to the country’s parliament. The proposed law would require websites to publish within 48 hours a correction or comment relating to any content an applicant has deemed “detrimental to their image,”  or risk being fined €12,000. In a message posted on the site on Wednesday, Wikipedia said the page was currently just hidden, but explained there was a risk they would soon be forced to delete it. The proposed rule has already received substantial criticism as a tool that will damage free expression. (0)

Iran: BBC news chief seeks government action over "intimidation"
The Head of Global News at the BBC has sought government action over the increasing “intimidation” of their staff in Iran. In a BBC blog post Peter Horrocks claimed yesterday that there had been an increase in “anti-BBC rehtoric” following a broadcast the BBC aired on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in mid September. The BBC Persian TV channel has been blocked, and 6 independent documentary makers whose films have appeared on the channel, have been arrested. Police and officials have also reportedly been arresting, questioning and intimidating family members of staff. Horrocks called for the British government to deter the Iranian government from these attempts to undermine free media. (0)

Gaza: New restrictions on foreign journalists
Hamas’s interior ministry has adopted new rules restricting the reporting of foreign journalistse. According to the new rules, foreign journalists would have to apply to Gaza’s interior ministry in advance, and processing “could take several days”. The application process also requires foreign journalists to name a “guarantor” in the Gaza strip.  According to government officials, the news regulations are necessary for “security and control purposes.”   (0)

Egypt: Columnists protest censorship
Three columnists for the Egyptian independent daily Al-Tahrir will not be publishing their regular columns in protest at what they view as censorship by the current military rulers. Belal Fadl, Omer Taher, and Nagla Bedir have been openly critical of policies made by the transition government, and are protesting the decision of authorities to stop the publication of a piece critical of Egypt’s intelligence service last week.   (0)

Ecuador: President Correa goes after El Universo again
Ecuadoran President Rafaela Correa has threatened to bring charges against the newspaper El Universo after publishing a letter critical of the Correa’s negative comments about María Leonor Jiménes, the Guaya Court of Justice president, on a radio program. The letter was written by legislator Cynthia Viteri, daughter of Jiménes, and in it she called the president “an ignorant coward, hypocrite and a bully”. Correa tweeted that “newspapers should not publish insults.” Earlier this year, Correa won a libel suit against El Universo, after a columnist criticised the president. The newspaper was handed a $40 million fine and prison sentences for the owner and the columnist.             (0)

El Salvador: President supports bill decriminalising libel
Salvadoran president Mauricio Funes has shown his support for a reform bill to decriminalise defamation, but only if certain changes are implemented. Funes, an ex-journalist, has largely supported the decree to substitute the penalty of imprisonment for crimes against public image and privacy, with monetary fines. But the reform, which was approved by the legislative assembly on 8 September, also suggests suspending journalists for up to two years, should they be found guilty of a crime against someone’s honour, and the president has suggested that this condition be removed. (1)

Bahrain: Protesters sentenced to 15 years in prison
Bahrain’s National Safety Court has handed 15 year sentences to protesters in two different cases involving University of Bahrain. In one case, the court gave 15 years in prison to 15 individuals that were participating in protests and vandalism at University of Bahrain, and they were convicted of attempted murder of military personnel during the unrest. In another case, six university students were also sentenced to 15 years in prison for allegedly being involved with the protests. A seventh student was charged with attempted murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison.   (0)

Russia: Dozens detained at Moscow gay rally
Forty people have been arrested in Moscow during a gay pride rally. The rally, which took place on 1 October was one of the few gay rights events which had been approved by authorities. Participants in the rally found themselves faced with protesters, some of whom threw tomatoes at them. Authorities are trying to work out how many of those arrested were involved in the rally, and how many were trying to stop it. Attempts to hold gay pride marches in Russian cities in the past have been blocked by police, church activists and football fans. The arrests follow reports that Russia’s Arkhangelsk region has adopted a draft law banning all events promoting homosexuality, including Gay Pride marches.   (0)

Tajikistan: Tajik journalist faces 16 years in jail
A Tajik journalist is facing 16 years in prison, following charges of defamation. Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov, a reporter for the independent weekly paper Nuri Zindagi, was arrested for defamation, insult, and incitement following an article in which he criticised government and law enforcement officials in the Asht district in the northern Sogd region of Tajikistan. During his hearing yesterday, prosecutors asked the court to sentence the journalist to 16 years imprisonment, while Ismiolov’s lawyer claimed investigators had failed to prove he was guilty, and called for his release. The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for 3 October. (0)

Egypt: Police raid Al Jazeera offices
Egyptian police raided the offices of Al Jazeera yesterday, for the second time in a month. Around 25 plain clothed police officers stormed the affiliate office, detaining journalist Mohamed Suleiman and roughing up other members of staff. The officers broke down the front door of the office, claiming they had a warrant, which they later failed to present. They also seized staff identification cards and confiscated office equipment. Suleiman was released a few hours after the raid. Police also raided the channel’s former office on 11 September, when they detained an engineer and shut down live broadcasts on the channel. (1)

UK: Rio Ferdinand loses privacy case over Sunday Mirror kiss and tell
Footballer Rio Ferdinand has lost his privacy case over a “kiss and tell” story. Ferdinand was taking action for “misuse of private information” following an article in the Sunday Mirror newspaper in April 2010, in which Carly Storey detailed their 13-year relationship for a sum of £16,000. Mr Justice Nicol said that the “balancing exercise favours the defendant’s right of freedom of expression over the claimant’s right of privacy.” MGN said it was in the public interest to run the story, following Ferdinand’s replacement of John Terry as England skipper after stories of Terry’s alleged affairs were revealed. Index on Censorship news editor Padraig Reidy said the free speech group was “greatly heartened  by the judge’s recognition of free expression in his ruling”. “Kiss and tell stories can be controversial,” he said. “But this is a case where public interest can be argued. Ferdinand’s claim that he was ‘embarrassed’ by the revelations is clearly not enough to restrict Ms Storey’s right to free speech”. (1)

Turkey - Cartoonist to be put on trial for renouncing God
A cartoonist is facing trial for a caricature in which he renounces God. Turkish cartoonist Bahadır Baruter created an image showing an imam and believers praying in a mosque, with one believer on his mobile phone, asking God to excuse him from the last part of the prayer to run errands. The Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office charged Baruter with “insulting the religious values adopted by a part of the population” and requested that he be imprisoned for one year. The cartoon, which was published in the weekly Penguen magazine, included the words ”There is no Allah, religion is a lie”, hidden in the image. (1)

Bahrain: Court upholds lengthy prison sentences for journalists
The lengthy prison sentences of two journalists have been upheld in Bahrain. Journalistic bloggers Abduljalil Alsingace and Ali Abdel Imam were sentenced in June on a series of charges related to “plotting to topple” the regime, along with 19 other people. The court upheld the life sentence for Alsingace and the 15 year sentence to Abdel Imam. Additionally in Bahrain, granting of ID passes to journalists from daily newspaper Al-Wasat was delayed, preventing the journalists from covering the government’s by-elections on Saturday. The passes would allow journalists to enter and report from polling stations.   (0)

Eritrea: Journalist publicly threatened for coverage of Dawit Isaak
A Swedish-based journalist has been threatened by the brother of Dawit Isaak. Following a public forum in Eritrea on the case of Dawit Isaak, a Swedish-Eritrean journalist who has been imprisoned for over a decade without charge, journalist Meron Estefanos was confronted on Friday by Isaak’s brother, Tedros. Tedros Isaak told the journalist if she used his name, or spoke of his family again he would “slit her throat”. Estefanos, a contributor to the leading Eritrean diaspora news site Asmarino, wrote a column in 2010, comparing Tedros Isaak’s support for the government that arrested his brother with the efforts of his other brother to free Dawit.     (1)

Peru: Journalists sentenced to house arrest for defamation
Two Peruvian journalists accused of defamation were last week sentenced to two years in prison, although on suspended sentences which involve house arrest and paying a civil fine of $11,000 USD. Fritz Du Bois, editor of the newspaper Perú 21, and Gessler Ojeda, Perú 21 correspondent in the city of Arequipa, were reportedly taken to court for publishing stories about supposed links between the family of legislator Ana María Solórzano and prostitution businesses in the southern city. (0)

Belarus: Top journalist 'barred from leaving Belarus'
A journalist who was found guilty of defamation in Belarus has been barred from leaving the country. Andrzej Poczobut, a Polish-Belarusian journalist who writes for top daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, was found guilty of defaming President Alexander Lukashenko in July, and was given a three-year suspended sentence. Poczobut claims he was recently summoned to a police station in  Homel, where he was instructed that as a convict he has no right to travel abroad. Poczobut wrote in his blog regarding the travel ban: “That is not mentioned either in my verdict or in the Criminal Code.” (0)

Egypt: Authorities block publication of controversial feature
Egyptian authorities have blocked the publication of a controversial feature story. Daily newspaper Rose al-Youssef were due to run the second part of an investigative article on an alleged Israeli spy once stationed in Cairo, but publication was stopped following the request from an unidentified “sovereign body”. An amended version of the publication was made available on news stands. Similarly, production of the Saturday edition of the independent weekly paper Sawt al-Umma was stopped due to the publication of an article on former president Hosni Mubarak’s trial. Heavy restrictions have been applied for the reporting of the trial, but domestic media outlets have reported extensively on the proceedings. (0)

Mexico: Reporter goes missing in Veracruz
Mexican reporter Manuel Gabriel Fonseca Hernández, who covers crime for El Mañanero de Acayucan, a newspaper in the south of Veracruz state, has been reported missing since 19 September. His family says that, on day he disappeared, he had gone out to conduct interviews for a story he was writing for his main newspaper. (0)

China: Authorities arrest South Korean journalists
The Chinese authorities are holding a group of South Korean journalists from a daily newspaper on suspicion of spying.  The group, which is believed to consist of four journalists, the head of a Seoul-based government transport research centre and a local guide, were arrested near China’s border with North Korea on 20 September whilst reportedly travelling on tourist visas. (0)

Kuwait: Man jailed for comments on Twitter
Sunni activist Mubarak al-Bathali has been sentenced to three months in jail by a Kuwaiti court for comments about Shiite Muslims made on his Twitter account. A few weeks ago, he was arrested by secret police, and charged with “undermining national unity” as well as “disparaging Shiites”.   (0)

European Court rejects Max Mosley appeal
Former motorsport boss turned privacy campaigner Max Mosley has had his appeal to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights rejected. Mosley had hoped to overturn a May ruling establishing that media outlets were not required to notify the subjects of stories in advance of publication. But the court today announced that that judgment would be final. Solicitor Mark Stephens, who represented Index on Censorship, the Media Legal Defence Initiative and other interested parties in the case, said today: “This decision by the Grand Chamber and the previous decision by the court underline the recommendation made by the UK parliament’s Culture Media and Sport Committee. This is a great day for free speech in Britain and throughout Europe.” Index on Censorship news editor Padraig Reidy commented: “Index submitted its concerns about Mr Mosley’s prior-notification plans as we recognised the threat such an obligation would pose to investigative journalism. While privacy is of course a concern, forcing newspapers to reveal stories would have a serious chilling effect.” (4)

China: Fears of censorship of Diablo 3
Video game fans awaiting the release of Diablo 3 in China fear that the game will be heavily censored. Amid reports that the game has entered the beta-testing phase, rumours that it is quite bloody are making Chinese fans nervous that they will face a toned-down version, as they did with World of Warcraft. The Chinese version of World of Warcraft, made by Blizzard the same company as Diablo, was changed. Gamers took to Weibo with comments such as “#Diablo3# We’re not asking for much, just to play the goddamn original version, as long as it’s not censored it’s fine…” (0)

Belarus: Activist "beaten by police" before being jailed
A Belarusian opposition activist has claimed he was beaten and detained by police before being sentenced to 15 days in prison. Kastus Zhukouski was charged with insulting police and resisting arrest. The activist said he noticed a police car outside his house on Wednesday, containing several officers wearing special security uniforms. As Zhukouski began to film the car, he was attacked by three people from behind a dumpster and two others from the car. In court, Zhukouski complained of headache, nausea and pain in his neck, legs and hands. The judge ruled he should be taken to a clinic for an examination and treatment before the trial resumes. (1)

UK media should not be forced to hand over riot footage
Index on Censorship is concerned by reports that news organisations are to hand over footage of August’s riots in England. “Moves such as this force journalists to become the eyes and ears of the state, said John Kampfner, Chief Executive of Index on Censorship. “During the riots, we saw several incidents of photographers and broadcasters being attacked. The implication that any footage taken by them will be handed over to authorities will only serve to endanger on-the-ground media workers further in the future.” “Already this week we have seen widespread outrage at attempts to make Guardian journalist Amelia Hill hand over journalistic materials. The Metropolitan Police Service is showing a worrying disregard for the principle of a free media.” Contact enquiries@indexoncensorship.org / +44 (0) 20 7324 2522 (3)

Uganda: Writer arrested after publishing book critical of president
Ugandan writer Vincent Nzaramba was arrested from his home on 17 September, after penning a book critical of President Yoweri Museveni. According to eyewitnesses, two police vehicles were waiting at Nzaramba’s home, and after searching his home for two hours and confiscating 106 copies of the controversial book, he was taken to the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) headquarters. Geoffrey Wokulira Ssebaggala, programme coordinator for Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda), said that Nzaramba is being “illegally detained” by police forces, because he has refused to retract his calls for the removal of the Ugandan president. (0)

Ukraine: TV journalists protest channel closures
Ukranian journalists have gathered in Kharkiv to protest the closure of local television channels. The protesters, who gathered at the Mayor’s office on Monday, taped their mouths closed and brought a symbolic coffin which they said was filled with reports that were not aired as a result of the closures.  The protesters believe that Kharkiv Mayor Hennady Kernes is responsible for giving the order leading to the station closures. Kernes rejected the charges and said the management at the Kharkiv TV channels who have criticized him should apologize for making “cynical” accusations. (0)

"Twitter terrorists" freed in Mexico, charges dropped
Two people jailed for making “alarmist” posts on Twitter were freed yesterday after four weeks in prison in Mexico. Maria de Jesus Bravo, a local journalist, and maths teacher Gilberto Martinez Vera, had the charges of terrorism and sabotage against them dropped, and they walked free from jail to cheering supporters. The pair sent out Twitter messages regarding an unconfirmed drug attack on a primary school last month, and were accused of terrifying frantic parents. The charges, which can carry prison sentences of up to 30 years imprisonment, were dropped following outrage from human rights activists and free speech advocates. (0)

China: journalist attacked
A journalist covering the house arrest of a blind Chinese Chen Guangcheng  activist had her passport stolen and was forcibly removed from the activist’s villiage earlier today.  Rachel Beitarie from Calcalist and Israel radio reported via Twitter that she had her passport stolen, and was taken to the suburbs of Linyi, Shandong province and abandoned whilst covering the story. Chen Guangcheng served a 51 month prison sentence for disturbing public order following accusations that officials were forcing women to have abortions. He was released in September 2010, but has been under house arrest in Linyi since then. (0)

Ecuador: court upholds libel verdict against news executives
An appeals court in Ecuador has upheld libel convictions and prison sentences for three newspaper directors and a former writer. El Universo newspaper published a column by Emilio Palacio that called President Rafael Correa a dictator. Fines of $42 million were also upheld by the judges against the executives of the newspaper.  President Correa attended Tuesday’s court hearing and said that the ruling meant Ecuador has begun to free itself of a corrupt press. The defendants are free pending appeal. The Committee to Protect Journalists have called the decision a “blow to freedom of expression.” (0)

Belarus: Journalist convicted of defaming Lukashenko loses appeal
A journalist convicted of defaming the president of Belarus has lost his appeal. Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut from Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza was found guilty of the defamation of President Alexander Lukashenko in July, and the Hrodna Oblast Court in western Belarus upheld the verdict against him yesterday. Poczobut was given a three year prison sentence, suspended for two years. The journalist argued that his rights were violated during the trial by KGB investigators and the prosecutor’s office.  Poczobut said he would continue appealing the conviction throughout the system, up to and including the UN.   (1)

UK: Met police drop court order against the Guardian
The Metropolitan police has backed down from its threat to use the Official Secrets Act to force Guardian journalists to reveal sources in the phone-hacking scandal investigation. The Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Mark Simmons, admitted that the attempt was “not appropriate.” Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian welcomed the withdrawal of the “ill-judged order”, and said that “threatening reporters with the Official Secrets Act was a sinister new device to get round the protection of journalists’ confidential sources.” Index condemned the efforts on Friday, and Chief Executive John Kampfner said that the move was “shocking” and “a direct attack on a free press.”   (0)

Russia: Bill for stricter responsibility for online libel drafted
A new bill introducing stricter responsibility for online libel has been proposed by the head of United Russia political party. Alexander Mikhelson has introduced legislation on creating and spreading false information via the internet following online rumours that governor of the Kemerovo region, Aman Tuleyeve, was found dead. Elsewhere in Russia, businessman and former millionaire Alexey Kozlov was released from prison. Kozlov was unjustly imprisoned in 2007 under trumped-up accusations, but his public popularity remained high due to his prison blog. Forbes.ru started its own version of the blog, covering other unjustly convicted businessmen. (0)

China: Journalist killed after 'gutter' oil investigation
A Chinese journalist broke the story of a health scandal on the sale of cooking oil dredged from gutters was stabbed to death on Monday. Li Xiang, 30, a reporter with Luoyang Television Station in Henan province, was knifed more than 10 times  as he returned home from a karaoke session with friends, local reports said. (0)

Hong Kong: Farmer jailed for burning flag
In the first sentence of its kind, a farmer from mainland has been jailed for three weeks after setting fire to a Chinese flag in Hong Kong. Zhu Rongchang, 74, from Jiangxi province, pleaded not guilty to flag desecration, arguing that he was exercising his right to free speech. He burned the flag in Golden Bauhinia Square in central Hong Kong on 22 July, in a protest against the Beijing government.     (0)

Turkey: Newspaper suspended for one month under anti-terror law
The publication of Halkin Gunlugu (The People’s Agenda) newspaper was suspended for one month on 10 September. All copies of the paper were seized and distribution of the latest issue is to be stopped under Article 25/2 of the Press Law and Articles 6/2 and 7/2 of Law No.3713 (Anti-Terror Law). The decision stems from a series of articles in the 18th issue of the weekly paper which covered the deaths of militants in the Maoist Communist Party and its armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army, in armed conflicts. The prosecution ordered the publication ban on grounds of alleged “propaganda for an illegal armed terrorist organisation”. (0)

Afghanistan: TV presenter forced to apologise to warlords --- at gunpoint
A journalist was forced to apologise to Afghan war lords at gun point. Afghan-American journalist Nabil Miskinyar claims he was picked up for lunch on 12 September by four men, including Najibullah Kabuli, owner of the private Emrooz Television channel. Miskinyar says he was forced to conduct an interview with two guns pointed at him. The journalist, known for his hard-hitting monologues, was told he and his family would be killed if he did not apologise. Miskinyar said in the interview “if I did not say the right things, or if I have attributed false things to these leaders of the resistance, then I apologise to the Afghan people.’” (0)

Iran: Five filmmakers arrested
According to Iranian state media, five journalists allegedly working for BBC Persian were arrested on 17 September for filming a documentary without permission from the foreign press department of the culture ministry. The arrests were confirmed by Minister Mohammad Hosseini. The BBC has meanwhile released a statement stating that the journalists in question do not work for BBC Persian, contrary to reports from Iranian authorities. In the past, Iranian officials have accused BBC Persia, which is banned in Iran, of covering the nation negatively as well as inciting unrest. (0)

Sudan: Newspapers ordered not to report rebels' words or actions
The Sudanese security authorities have instructed newspapers to avoid reporting the activities of rebel groups in the country. Local reports say the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) contacted chief editors of national newspapers and ordered them not to publish any statements by Darfur rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim or leaders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N), which is fighting the government in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. (0)

Venezuela: Ministry denies newspaper press access following critical report
Press access to Venezuelan ministry representatives has been restricted. The Venezuelan Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MTC in Spanish) told the newspaper TalCual that they would no longer be able to speak to representatives following the publication of a report detailing problems with the Metro system in the capital, Caracas. The Press and Society Institute has criticised the Ministry’s decision, stating that it is against the Venezuelan constitution “which guarantees the right to access of public information in Article 28″. In 2010, TalCual was closed by the government following their publication of a satirical editorial describing an imaginary Venezuela without President Hugo Chávez. (0)

China: Censors cut Super Girl
China‘s version of Pop Idol, Super Girl, has been suspended for one year by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). Despite attracting up to 400m viewers at its peak, reports suggest some officials saw the show as subversive, with audience voting allegedly mirroring Western-style democracy. However, the order from SARFT to the show’s broadcaster, Hunan TV, reportedly stated that the programme had often exceeded its allotted time slot. (0)

Ethiopia:Two more journalists arrested
Two independent journalists have been arrested by Ethiopian authorities for being involved in a terrorism plot. Security forces took journalist Sileshi Hagos from his home on 9 September. Hagos worked as the managing director for Change, a magazine that covered Ginbot 7, Ethiopia’s leading opposition party which has also been banned under allegations of terrorism.  On 14 September, officials also arrested Eskinder Nega, a dissident blogger and journalist. Local journalists speculate that Nega’s arrest was sparked by a column critical of the arrest of a famous Ethiopian actor on charges of terrorism. Four journalists were arrested on similar charges earlier this month. (1)

Somalia: Radio journalist shot
Unknown gunmen shot 20-year-old radio journalist Horriyo Abdulkadir Sheik Ali four times on Wednesday evening as she left her office at Radio Galkayo, the state broadcaster in the Garsoor neighborhood of Galkayo, Somalia. Abdulkadir is news editor, producer, and presenter for Radio Galkayo and a correspondent for Mogadishu-based Radio Risaale. A colleague said Abdulkadir had complained of repeated threats by unknown callers over her coverage of the conflict between government troops and militias. (0)

Burma: Censors unblock several banned websites
Censors in Burma this week unblocked the websites of international media outlets such as the Voice of America (VOA) and the BBC, as well the Democratic Voice of Burma, Radio Free Asia and YouTube. The unannounced move is the latest step taken by the nation’s new leaders to boost hope that authoritarian rule here could be softening. In August, state newspapers dropped half-page slogans accusing the BBC and VOA of “sowing hatred among the people”. (0)

Ethiopia: Journalist identified in WikiLeaks cable flees country
An Ethiopian reporter cited by name in US diplomatic cables disclosed last month by WikiLeaks has been forced to flee the country after police interrogated him over the identity of an unnamed government source in the cable. On 5 and 6 September, officials from Ethiopia’s Government Communication Affairs Office (GCAO) summoned journalist Argaw Ashine to their offices in Addis Ababa with his press accreditation. Local journalists said the reporter was cited in an 26 October 26 2009 cable from the US embassy in Ethiopia regarding purported GCAO plans in 2009 to silence the now-defunct Addis Neger, then the country’s leading independent newspaper. (0)

China: Dissident Yang Maodong freed
A dissident writer who spent five years in a Chinese jail was released on Tuesday. Talking to Associated Press, Yang Maodong said he had been wrongly imprisoned and subjected to ill-treatment “beyond people’s imagination.” Yang said the charges of alleged illegal business activities for which he was jailed were trumped up and that his jailers only questioned him about his pro-democracy activities, not business matters. Yang was arrested in September 2006 and sentenced in November 2007. His prosecution is believed to relate to a publication entitled Shenyang Political Earthquake, which exposed government corruption in Shenyang, Liaoning province. (1)

Azerbaijan: Journalist’s relatives beaten, home demolished
Relatives of an Azerbaijani journalist were severely beaten while they attempted to prevent his house from being demolished by heavy machinery. Idrak Abbasov’s house was targeted for demolition amid accusations that it had been built illegally. The attack on 9 September was carried out by security personnel from the state-owned Binagadi Oil Company, whose activities were being investigated by the reporter. Abbasov’s family were beaten with clubs during the attack, and three of his relatives were admitted to hospital. Video footage here. (0)

Belarus: released prisoners named
Eleven Belarusian political prisoners who were released this week after a presidential pardon have been named. They are Pavel Vinahradau, Fyodra Mirzayanuu, Alyaksandr Klaskouski, Uladzimir Loban, Dzmitry Novik, Alyaksandr Atroshchankau , Alyaksandr Mauchanau, Aleh Fedarkevich, Dzmitry Bulanau, Illya Vasilevich and Mikita Likhavid,  Read more about Belarus’s political prisoners here  (0)

Ecuador: Seven radio stations face sanctions for airing free speech debate
The Ecuadorian Telecommunications Superintendency has announced it would seek to punish seven radio broadcasters for a simultaneous broadcast of a debate on free speech without first notifying the authorities. On Ecuador’s Independence Day (10 August), Ecuadoradio, a broadcaster owned by the El Comercio group that publishes the eponymous newspaper, organised a debate between several radio broadcasters to discuss President Rafael Correa‘s proposed communications bill, which would limit business interests of media companies and promotes government regulation of such companies. On the same day, several major Ecuadorian newspapers ran the same cover, titled  “For Freedom of Expression”. (0)

UK: Culture Secretary calls for ISPs to offer parental filtering option
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is to call on internet service providers to offer greater security to parents. In a speech at the Royal Television society tonight, Hunt will announce that the government will be looking at protection of children from harmful online content. The government, Hunt will say, would like to see parents have an “active choice”, with ISPs offering users a filtering option to households signing up to accounts. Ofcom research suggests that just over 40 per cent of households with children currently use filtering software. (0)

Canada: Activist charged with criminal defamation
Ontario Provincial Police have charged an activist with two counts of defamatory libel for online comments he made regarding undercover police officers. Using fake names, Dan Kellar outed two officers who had infiltrated activist networks. Upon learning that one of them was spotted in Toronto, he put out a “community alert’’ on the website of an activist group he was involved with. Police claim the comments were likely to injure the reputation of the officers by exposing them to hatred, contempt or ridicule. Kellar says the charges are an attempt to stifle dissent. He will appear in court in Toronto on 20 September. (2)

Belarus: 11 more political prisoners pardoned
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has today pardoned 11 more political prisonerssentenced for taking part in anti-government protests on 19 December 2010. The full list of names is not yet known, but Index believes that activists Pavel Vinogradov and Fyodor Mirzayanov are among those released. Around five others remain in prison. A government press release stated that Lukashenko had been “guided by the principles of humanity”. In August, The Royal Bank of Scotland announced that it will no longer engage in “any type of capital-raising” on behalf of the government of Belarus after an Index on Censorship and Free Belarus Now campaign. (1)

Sudan: More newspapers confiscated
According to a source on the ground in Sudan, National Scurity forces prevented the distribution of Al-Maydan, the newspaper belonging to the Sudanese Communist party on 13 September. Yesterday was the fifth confiscation of the tri-weekly newspaper since last week. Other newspapers have also been confiscated on multiple occasions in the past month. (1)

Algeria: Media law reforms
Algeria has announced plans for reforming stringent media laws in order to allow for private radio and television stations to operate for the first time since 1962. The cabinet of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika also pledged to stop jailing journalists for libel, and to free those already imprisoned on libel charges. A new commission will be created in order to regulate the press, rather than being under the control of the justice ministry, and the group would also include journalists. Newspapers could still face banning or suspension on the basis of “threatening state security”.   (0)

Egypt: New media restrictions announced
Egypt’s SCAF announced on Saturday it will enforce the Emergency Law, which allows civilians, including journalists, to be tried in state security courts and detained indefinitely. The announcement came despite the military’s commitment to annul the law by September, a core demand of the revolution. Under the law, security officials would be allowed to take “legal procedures” to suppress acts of “thuggery” and may use “all legal powers to safeguard the country’s security”. Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera reported that Egyptian police raided the offices of a broadcaster it is affiliated with on Sunday, shutting down their live, round-the-clock broadcasts from Cairo. (1)

Indonesia: Radio station forcibly closed
Radio Era Baru was on Tuesday forcibly closed by police and frequency monitoring officials. The move comes in spite of the fact that last week’s conviction of its manager on a charge of broadcasting without permission and disrupting neighbouring frequencies is still the subject of an appeal. (0)

Uzbekistan: Charges dropped against freelance journalist
All charges against freelance journalist Elena Bondar in Uzbekistan have been dropped. Bondar was detained at Tashkent airport on 22 August returning from a journalism seminar in Kyrgyzstan, she was told she faced prosecution because she did not declare professional material that was seized from her. (0)

Brazil: Radio journalist shot dead
Valderlei Canuto Leandro, host of the show Sinal Verde on Radio Frontera, was murdered by unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle in Tabatinga, located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, on 1 September. Local bloggers say Canuto was known for his criticism of local politics. In May, Canuto filed a complaint claiming that Tabatinga’s mayor Samuel Benerguy had threatened him with death for reporting on corruption in the municipality. (0)

USA: Stalker's free speech defence rejected
Oregon’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal made by a convicted stalker. John Norman Ryan began stalking a woman in 2005, eventually she took out a stalking protective order which forbade Ryan from making any contact. Ryan breached the order and was convicted by the courts. He appealed on the grounds that as the communication was not violent, he was expressing his First Amendment right to free speech. The judges ruled against him.     (0)

Egypt: Lebanese blogger denied entry to Egypt
Lebanese blogger Imad Bazzi was denied entry to Egypt on 5 September, 2011, and sent back to Lebanon. Bazzi, who is also director of CyberACT — an NGO which advocates the usage of social media tools in order to create reforms in the Middle East and North African region — was told that his name “was on a list of people banned from entering at the request of a security apparatus”. (0)

UK: Metropolitan police request riot footage
The Metropolitan Police have served a notice of application for a production order on the Guardian seeking “all published and unpublished footage and images between 6 to 10 August with respect to the disorder within London and the area policed by the Met Police”. David Cameron had earlier told MPs that the media has a “responsibility” to immediately release footage to help police track down and punish those responsible for the violence in August. Journalists and media organisations expressed concern over the request, with broadcasters BBC and ITN maintaining that police must follow the proper procedure of obtaining a court order to avoid compromising editorial standards. (0)

South Africa: Malema found guilty of hate speech
A South African court has today found Julius Malema, leader of the youth brigade of the country’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), guilty of hate speech. He was ordered to pay costs for singing an apartheid-era song that advocated the killing of white farmers. The civil case was brought against Malema by the Afrikaner civil rights group, Afriforum, who claimed white farmers felt vulnerable due to the song’s lyrics, which translate to “shoot the white farmer“.   (0)

UK: FA introduces "censorship code"
The FA has brought in a code of conduct to prevent staff, board and council members talking freely to the press. The new “censorship code” insists that the press office are alerted to any media enquiries, and no FA business is to be divulged to the press. The code, which was introduced by company secretary Alistair McLean, also restricts what can be relayed by councillors to bodies they represent. The move comes after FA chairman David Bernstein called for a transparent football government against FIFA corruption at the Congress in Zurich last June. (0)

Bangladesh: New broadcast law enforcing censorship
Bangladesh‘s government has passed a new broadcast law which will censor TV programmes and movies. The law, which will go into effect in three months’ time, prevents the broadcasting of content depicting non-Muslim holidays, as well as “kiss scenes” in films on foreign channels. (0)

Germany: Facebook agrees to work with government on privacy code
Facebook has agreed to work with the German government on a code of conduct aimed at privacy protection. The code, agreed at a meeting on Wednesday between German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich and Facebook’s director of policy in Europe, Richard Allen, will cover issues such as media literacy and data transmission in accordance with German law. The agreement follows discussions around Facebook’s adherence to German data protection laws. Last month, Thilo Weichert, a data protection commissioner in Northern Germany, claimed Facebook’s “Like” button violated German data protection laws. (1)

Cameroon: Editor pressured to reveal sources
The editor of the Cameroon-based Génération Libre, François Fogno Fotso, has been detained since 5 September, and is being pressed to reveal sources for a story written about the alleged corruption of a tax official. Fotso was pushed to reveal the whereabouts of Boris Nembop, who wrote the August 2010 story, which accused public tax collector Célestin Tabouli of transferring government funds to his personal accounts, based on documents given to the paper. Fotso has not complied to the demands of military police, and has been summoned  at least four times since October 2010 on the account of the article. (0)

Honduras: Radio journalist murdered
Medardo Flores, a Honduran radio journalist who supported former President Manuel Zelaya, was gunned down on the night of 8 September, joining the long list of journalists who have been killed since Zelaya’s forced exile from the country in a June 2009 coup. Regional finance manager of the pro-Zelaya Broad Front for Popular Resistance (FARP), Flores was shot just two days after another leading FARP figure, Emo Sadloo, was assassinated. Flores’ death brings the number of Honduran journalists killed in the past 18 months to 15. (0)

Iraq: Well-known journalist shot dead at his home
Well known journalist Hadia Al-Mahdi was found dead at his home in Baghdad on 7 September.  The body of Al-Mahdi was found in his home in the Al-Karada district at around 7pm. He had been shot twice in the head. It is believed that his murder was politically motivated. Madhi hosted a popular talk show called “To whoever listens” on Radio Demozy where he tackled a wide range of subjects including the Iraqi educational system and corruption. Mahdi’s murder comes almost one month after the Iraqi parliament adopted a law on the protection of journalists on 9 August. (0)

Sudan: Copies of newspaper confiscated
Al-Sahafa, a Sudanese independent newspaper, was confiscated by security forces on Wednesday, and the Thursday edition was also held from distribution, according to editor Annur Ahmed Annur. Earlier this week, copies of Al-Maydan, the newspaper of Sudan’s communist party, were also confiscated.     (0)

Afghanistan: BBC stringer killed by US soldier, NATO reveals
A BBC stringer who was killed in Afghanistan in July was shot by a US soldier who mistook him for a suicide bomber during a battle against insurgents, NATO has said. Releasing the findings of its investigation into the death of Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force issued a statement expressing its condolences for the killing, but said its forces had complied with the laws of armed conflict and acted reasonably. According to the statement, US forces shot Khpalwak in order to “detonate a suicide vest IED”, after mistaking him for an insurgent.   (1)

Peru: TV journalist dies after attack by gunman
Television journalist Pedro Alfonso Flores Silva died in hospital yesterday from gunshot wounds sustained in an attack on Tuesday. While riding home on his motorcycle, Flores Silva, 36, was intercepted by a taxi and shot in the abdomen by a hooded assailant. Flores Silva ran and hosted a news programme, “Visión Agraria”, during which he had made accusations of corruption against Marco Rivero Huertas, mayor of the Comandante Noel district. The journalist’s wife told reporters that her husband had received anonymous death threats for several months prior to his murder, which she believed stemmed from the accusations made in his programme. (0)

China: Rights activist jailed
Chinese rights activist Wang Lihong has been sentenced to nine months in prison for “stirring up trouble”. Wang was charged after attending a demonstration last year at the trial of three other activists in Fuzhou, southern China, supporting three bloggers accused of defamation for helping a woman who pressed officials to reinvestigate her daughter’s death. Wang was detained in March of this year, following the government’s widespread crackdown on dissent. (0)

Iran: Filmmaker stopped from boarding flight to film festival
On Monday, Iran prevented filmmaker Mojtaba Mirtahmasb from boarding a flight to Paris in order to attend the Toronto film festival, where his documentary about the detained filmmaker Jafar Panahi will be shown. The film shows a day in the life of Panahi, who is currently serving a six-year prison sentence for a film he made about the unrest in Iran following the disputed election in 2009. (1)

USA: Donald Trump loses libel lawsuit
A libel lawsuit filed by Donald Trump has been brushed aside by a New Jersey appeals court yesterday. The lawsuit was filed against author Timothy L O’Brien after he wrote a passage suggesting that Trump was worth substantially less than he claims. O’Brien cited three anonymous sources who valued Trump’s worth at between $150 million and $250 million, not the $7 billion he estimates. Trump filed the lawsuit in 2009, when it was rejected. The appeals court affirmed the lower court ruling, and declared that they did not find the existent of ‘actual malice’ in the matter. (0)

USA: LA Councillor motions for ID requests to buy spray paint
Stores may be required to request ID for those buying spray paint under new motions.  LA Councilman Dennis Zine has made calls for a motion which would require stores to keep record of the name and address of anyone buying spray paint and “graffiti paraphernalia” including spray paint nozzles, paint pens, glass cutting, and etching tools.  Stores will be required to keep a record of these purchases for two years. Zine believes this will encourage the public to participate in the fight against graffiti. (0)

Egypt: Authorities freeze new satellite TV station licenses
Military rulers in Egypt have frozen licenses for new private satellite TV stations, claiming they are inciting violence in an “increasingly chaotic media scene.” Activists are claiming that these restrictions on freedom of expression are similar to those put in place under President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak’s previous governments had imprisoned journalists for their coverage of his health and other sensitive issues. During the protests that led to Mubarak’s downfall, authorities banned Al-Jazeera TV and revoked the press credentials of its journalists. Communication Minister Osama Heikal said the freeze was temporary. (0)

Indonesia: Radio station manager jailed
A sentence of six months and a suspended sentence of another year in prison were handed down on Tuesday to Gatot Machali, manager of Batam-based Radio Era Baru, who was found guilty of broadcasting without permission and disrupting neighbouring frequencies. The station’s president, Raymond Tan, citing a leaked copy of a letter from the Chinese embassy in Indonesia, said the prosecution is the result of direct pressure by the Chinese government on the Indonesian authorities with the aim of preventing the station from broadcasting its programmes in Chinese about human rights violations in the People’s Republic. (0)

Twitter joke trial appeal set for 10 November
The appeal of Paul Chambers in the “twitter joke trial” is to take place on 10 November. The trainee accountant from Doncaster who was convicted for sending threatening messages after he joked on Twitter that he would blow up Robin Hood Airport if his flight was cancelled. The appeal before the divisional courts of the Queen’s Bench comes one year after he lost his  crown court appeal. Chambers will be represented by Ben Emmerson QC. (0)

France: John Galliano found guilty of racist and anti-Semitic abuse
British designer John Galliano has been given a suspended fine for two racist and anti-Semitic abuse rants in a Parisian bar. The former Dior designer was found guilty of making public insults on two occasions and charged 6000 euros (£5,200). Galliano was said to have made 35 anti-Jewish insults in the space of 45 minutes when he repeatedly insulted a French couple in February. He was also found guilty of similar charges from October 2010. Galliano claims not to remember the incidents due to his triple addiction to alcohol, sleeping tablets and Valium. (0)

DR Congo: TV station set ablaze
Studios of a private television station in Congo were set alight yesterday. Radio Lisanga Télévision studios in Kinshasa were allegedly set on fire by a group of men throwing tear gas, petrol bombs and incendiary grenades into the building. The station has aired programmes in favour of the opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi and it is believed that one of the assailants was a member of the youth league of President Joseph Kabila. Two employees escaped from the building from the roof. Press freedom watchdogs have registered concern about the safety of journalists in Congo in the run-up to the presidential elections. (0)

Ethiopia: Terrorism charges against five journalists
Terrorism charges have been filed against five journalists in Ethiopia. Four independent journalists and the editor of a US based news forum have been detained in the country since June and July. The group were formally charged before the High Court on Tuesday, following their entry to Ethiopia in June with the Ogaden National Liberation Front, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the government. Terrorism charges were also filed in absentia against Elias Kifle, editor of US-based anti-government forum Ethiopian Review. (1)

Yemen: Journalists in further attacks
Two Yemeni journalists were attacked by armed men on Monday.  Abdul al-Hafeez al-Hatami from news website Al-Sahwa Net and Raafat al-Amiri, cameraman for Suhail TV, an opposition news station, were covering the rising prices of oil in the western province of Hobeidah.  The journalists were attacked by a group of men in Al-Duha district, who confiscated their camera, which was only returned after intervention and negotiations from a local tribe. This attack follows a similar attack on a BBC journalist in August, and previous attacks on Al-Sahwa Net and Suhail TV, highlighting the increasing danger for journalists in Yemen. (0)

Turkey: Investigative journalists complete six months in detention before trial
Two Turkish investigative journalists have spent six months in prison before they go to trial. Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener were arrested on 3 March for being involved with the alleged terrorist conspiracy known as “Ergenekon.” Turkish authorities jailed Sik for an unpublished draft copy of a book he had written which is said to contain revelations about the “Ergenekon” plot. Prosecutor Cihan Kansiz set a date for the trial of the 14 defendants, including Sik, Sener and nine other journalists last week. Many of the defendants work for Oda TV news website and were arrested between 18 February and 3 March. (0)

Angola: Journalists attacked while covering protest
Security forces in Angola attacked journalists at an anti-government protest on Saturday. Voice of America‘s Alexandre Neto claimed that he was pushed to the floor by police and unidentified men in plain clothes, who then seized his backpack carrying his mobile phone, camera, passport and driver’s license, none of which have been returned. Security agents also attacked Portuguese journalist António Cascais who was in Angola conducting journalism training, on his way to the protest. Several other journalists, including those from state broadcasters from Portugal and Angola, were attacked during the demonstration. (0)

Iran: Magazine closed down amid row over satirical image
Iranian magazine Shahrvand-e-Emrooz was closed this week for after publishing a satirical front-page image depicting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad being lectured by his Chief-of-Staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. The image, published last month, highlighted Iranian conservatives concerns about Mashaei’s growing political influence, his opponents claim he is attempting to undermine clerical power in Iran. Shahrvand-e-Emrooz  was faced restrictions before, it was temporarily closed following civil unrest during and after the 2009 elections. (0)

Syria: Journalist arrested, held without charge
A Syrian journalist has been arrested by security forces in Damascus. Amer Matar, from pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat was arrested on Saturday, though reasons for this are still unclear. Before his arrest, Matar emailed a friend a copy of his will, stating “I may not come back from Friday prayers.” Matar, who is also a political activist, called for peaceful anti-regime demonstrations via Facebook, much like journalist Omar al-Assad who was arrested in July. The condition and whereabouts of both journalists remain unknown. Meanwhile, the Syrian government recently announced a new media law, proclaiming freedom of speech as a fundamental principle. (0)

Brazil: Court forbids media group from identifying councilman in public funds scandal
A court in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul has prohibited media outlets operated by Grupo RBS from publishing the name or image of councilman, Adenir Mengue Webber, who is involved in a public funds scandal. Failure to comply with the ruling could result in a 600 USD-a-day fine. In August 2010, Fantástico, a TV programme, presented a series of reports denouncing trips taken by council members using state funds. The politicians justified the trips, saying they involved training courses. The National Association of Newspapers and the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism both condemned the ruling, saying it violated freedom of expression. (0)

Azerbaijan: Reporter abducted, forced to cross Iranian border
A journalist claims he was kidnapped and expelled from Azerbaijan. Yafez Hasanov, an Azerbaijani correspondent from Radio Azadliq, part of Radio Free Europe, was in Naxcivan investigating the death of airport technician Turaz Zeynalov, when he was abducted by three men. The suspects — who were driving a vehicle similar to those used by government security officials — told him that if he returned to Naxcivan, it would “cost him.” The men branded Zeynalov, who died after being summoned to the National Security Ministry, a “traitor.” Hasanov was taken to the Iranian border and told to return to Baku via Iran, where RFE is considered an illegal organisation. (0)

Sudan: Opposition party newspaper confiscated
On Sunday, Sudanese security forces confiscated issues of Al-Maydan, the bi-weekly mouthpiece of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP). According to the newspaper, this is the sixth time in the last four months that copies have been confiscated. (0)

Venezuela: Human rights commission accuses country of censoring press
The Organization of American States’ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has accused Venezuela of censoring the country’s media. IACHR criticised measures taken against satirical magazine 6to Poder, which was briefly censored for a cover portraying six government officials as cabaret dancers. The organisation released a statement saying that such instances “are against the regional standards for freedom of expression and create an intimidatory environment, encouraging self-censorship.” They also referred to a case against opposition politician Oswaldo Álvarez Paz, who was sentenced to two years in prison in July 2011 for “distributing false information“, having accused Hugo Chávez’s government of supporting drug trafficking. (0)

Cuba: Correspondent's press credentials revoked
The Cuban government this weekend revoked the press credentials of journalist Mauricio Vicent, correspondent for Spanish newspaper El País. Cuban authorities said that Vicent, who has been a reporter on the island for twenty years, had portrayed a “biased and negative image” of Cuba. Since 2007, the Cuban government has prohibited reporting by foreign correspondents from the Chicago Tribune, the BBC and Mexico’s El Universal. (0)

China: Two newspapers taken over by Propaganda Bureau
Two outspoken Beijing newspapers, the Beijing Times and the Beijing News, have been brought under the direct authority of the Beijing Propaganda Department. Previously, the papers were overseen by state-level propaganda authorities. Some reporters claim the move, which was announced to newspaper staff on Friday, is part of a wider struggle over control of the media in China. There is also the fear that the move may restrict reporters’ abilities to cover events in the Chinese capital and sensitive news from other areas. (2)

Canada: Decision to pull Dire Straits song reversed
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) overturned a January decision to pull a 1985 song by the popular Dire Straits. The song, “Money for nothing”, was pulled from airwaves after complaints over the lyrics, which use the word “faggot”. The council reversed the decision after considering the meaning of the lyrics, which were meant to be satirical.   (0)

Philippines: Libel law used against journalist
In what is reportedly the first time that a Philippine Supreme Court justice has filed a libel case against anyone including a journalist, reporter Marites Danguilan Vitug was forced to post P10,000 (145 GBP) bail on Friday on charges that she had defamed Supreme Court Justice Presbitero Velasco in a recent book. In the book, Shadow of Doubt, Vitug quoted residents of the Marinduque constituency as saying the Supreme Court justice was active in inviting two local officials to run with his son as councillor and promising to underwrite campaign expenses. (0)

Mexico: Journalists found dead
The bodies of Marcela Yarce, the founder of a political magazine, and Rocio González, a freelance journalist, have been discovered by joggers in El Mirador park in Iztapalapa, Mexico City. The women’s necks showed strangulation marks and their hands were tied behind their backs, said a spokesman for Mexico City police. Authorities gave no motive for the killings. Yarce founded Contralinea magazine, and González was a freelancer and former reporter for the Televisa television network. (1)

Rwanda: Threats cause bimonthly to suspend publication
Fidèle Gakire, publisher of bimonthly newspaper Ishema decided to suspend the publication for one month on 28 August because of serious threats received after printing an opinion piece calling Rwandan president Paul Kagame a “sociopath”. While Gakire apologised to the High Media Council, the comment was deemed to be libellous, and he was handed a six-month suspension from the Forum of Private Newspapers. The editor of the paper, Didas Niyifasha, resigned after the incident. (1)

Venezuela: Editor of censored magazine turns himself in
The editor of satirical Venezuelan weekly newspaper 6to Poder has turned himself in to police on Tuesday while under investigation over a front-page photomontage that angered allies of President Hugo Chávez. Authorities had sought Leocenis García while investigating him on charges of insulting public officials and instigating hatred. The publication and circulation of the magazine were briefly prohibited after it published a cover with six Venezuelan government officials portrayed as cabaret dancers on 21 August. García insists he is innocent. (0)

Belarus: President orders controlled internet access in educational institutions
Internet access in educational institutions must be under control, said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as he addressed educators on 29 August. Lukashenko said they and teachers should pay close attention to communication among young people online, primarily on social networks, which he labelled “a dangerous weapon” that could be used for “destructive purposes.” (0)

Brazil: Courts block bank accounts of Google Brazil for refusing to take down "offensive" blogs
Courts in the Brazilian state of Ceará have blocked access to 140,000 USD in the accounts of Google Brazil after the internet giant refused to take down a series of blogs with content deemed “offensive” toward the mayor of Várzea Alegre. The blogs in question accuse the mayor of corruption and diverting public funds, although no sources have been cited for the accusations. The mayor has reportedly said the blogs’ anonymous messages smear his image. (0)

Colombia: Former president Uribe labels journalists "terrorism sympathisers"
Following the publication of stories in the Washington Post earlier this month that allege former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe Vélez may have been involved in illegal actions using the national intelligence service with the help of the US, the former leader accused the articles’ writers of being sympathisers of terrorism and accomplices of leftist guerrillas. The journalists in question are Juan Forero, the Washington Post’s Andean region correspondent, and Claudia Julieta Duque, a reporter who works in Colombia. (0)

Kazakhstan: Reporter, activist to be sued for libel
A rights activist and RFE/RL correspondent in Kazakhstan is being sued for libel after she alleged children at a special needs school were being abused. In an article published in a local newspaper in May, Alima Abdirova said children at the boarding school in the western city of Aqtobe were subject to beatings and neglect. Abdirova is due to appear in court in the city on 27 August after the former director of the school took legal action. She is being sued as a member of the independent Kazakh Bureau for Human Rights group, and not as a journalist. (0)

Uzbekistan: Freelance journalist under investigation
Elena Bondar, an Uzbekistani freelance journalist who was briefly detained at Tashkent airport last week, has been notified that she is to be prosecuted for not declaring the professional material that was seized from her at the time, and that it will be examined by a censorship committee. When interrogated again for three hours on 27 August, Bondar was told that she is to be prosecuted under articles of the customs law and the civil code for failing to declare the four USB flash drives, three CDs and two video cassettes that were taken from her when she landed in the Uzbek capital on 22 August. She is facing a possible fine on these charges. (0)

Venezuela: Censored magazine re-opens, executives still charged
A judge has this week lifted a week-old court ruling banning the distribution of a Venezuelan magazine after it published a satirical article featuring government officials portrayed as cabaret dancers, which had been deemed offensive to women and public officials. However, the weekly, 6to Poder, was still prohibited from referring to the case in print or from publishing similar content. The paper’s owner and a top executive were charged last week with inciting hatred, insulting a public official, and publicly denigrating women. The criminal cases against them are ongoing. (0)

Nepal: Newspaper distributor attacked for cartoon
Khagendra Basnet, distributor of a local daily called Nigarani, was threatened on 22 August in eastern Nepal. According to reports, the individual harassed Basnet and threatened to burn down the daily’s facilities on the account of a cartoon published in the newspaper’s satirical section, Gaijatre. The section is named after the Gaijatre festival, also known as the festival of cows, in which important and powerful members of society are mocked. (0)

Vietnam: Pro-democracy activists released
On 2 September, the Vietnamese government granted amnesty to 10,000 detainees, including blogger Nguyen Van Tinh and poet Tran Duch Thach, in celebration of the nation’s 66th anniversary of independence. The pair were convicted of “propaganda against the socialist state” for hanging pro-democracy banners in Haiphong in October 2009. Tinh was handed a three and a half year sentence for the crime, while Thach was sentenced to three years. (0)

Ecuador: Journalist sentenced to prison flees to Miami
After being sentenced to three years in prison for defamation, an Ecuadorian journalist has fled the country and sought refuge in Miami, according to newspaper reports. Emilio Palacio of El Universo, who was sued for criticising President Rafael Correa, arrived in the United States on 24 August. “I’d have to be blind to not understand that they want me behind bars,” he said in a letter spread via Twitter on 28 August. Meanwhile, El Universo has published a letter directed at President Correa asking him to stop the legal action against the journalist. (0)

Fiji: Ministry of Information tightens censorship
Today, Fiji’s Ministry of Information sent a mass e-mail asking media outlets and journalists to send all news headlines to censors half an hour before stories are published, following soldiers being photographed removing anti-regime graffiti from public property. Fiji’s military-backed regime began requiring daily monitoring of all news stories last April. (0)

Brazil: Publisher and journalists to pay 170,000 USD for criticising judge
The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice this week sentenced J.L. Editora, publisher of the newspaper Folha do Espirito Santo, and journalists Jackson Rangel Vieira and Hinger Mansur to pay Judge Camilo José D’Ávila Couto for moral damages. The judge accused the journalists and publisher of publishing articles that distorted facts and contained slanderous content, in which Couto was described as “omnipotent,” “young without experience,” “vindictive,” and “drunk with power.” The judge considered them attacks on his honour, public image and personal integrity. (0)

Syria: Famous cartoonist attacked

Cambodia: Land rights group suspended
The Cambodian government this month suspended land rights group Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), which had been critical of government-backed evictions as a result of a railway rehabilitation project that would link Phnom Penh to Thailand. In another development, a draft law on associations and NGOs is on verge of being passed in the country, which has faced criticism for imposing registration on grassroots movements and community-based organisations. (1)

Philippines: Radio commentator fatally shot
Two gunmen on a motorcycle shot radio commentator Niel Jimena, 42, on Monday night near his home in the Negros Island town of E.B. Magalona, Philippines. He was riding his own motorcycle when he was shot, and died of multiple gunshot wounds before arriving at a local hospital. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said in a statement that police have not determined a motive in the case or whether the killing was work-related. Jimena broadcast political commentary on DYRI-RMN Radio in nearby Iloilo City. (0)

Turkey: Police raid TV station and newspaper, detain journalists
On 18 August, police in Istanbul raided the office of newspaper Aydinlik, as well as Ulusal Kanal television station. Officials detained five journalists following the raids, reportedly in connection to an ongoing investigation of Ergenekon, a “secular ultra-nationalist group” for attempts to oust the adminstration of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Four of the journalists were released, but Turhan Özlü, executive editor of Ulusal Kanal, remains in custody. (0)

Palestine: Jenin Freedom Theatre faces another attack
The Freedom Theatre in Jenin’s refugee camp came under attack by the the Israel Defence Force in the early morning of 22 August. Having been notified that soldiers were surrounding the theatre, Acting General Manager Jacob Gough arrived at the scene, where he was confronted by armed soldiers. He was detained following his attempts to get closer to the theatre. A security guard was also physically attacked and his home was raided by soldiers, who reportedly fired live ammunition in an attempt to disperse the crowd that had gathered around the house. This is the third time the theatre has been targeted in the last month. In April, its general manager Juliano Mer Khamis was gunned down by an unknown assassin.   (0)

Sudan: Copies of newspapers confiscated
Between 20 and 23 August, Al-Jaridah, a Khartoum-based Arabic daily newspaper, had issues confiscated by members of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). According to a press release, no official reason was given for the suspension. However, editor-in-chief Saad Al-Din Ibrahim believes that the paper was suspended because of their refusal to comply with the NISS’s persistence in interfering with the paper’s editorial and recruitment policy. Recently, officials have confiscated a number of publications without explanation, are currently revising Sudan’s press and publications law, and are considering pre-publication censorship.     (0)

Tajikistan: BBC reporter claims he was tortured
A BBC World Service reporter who was arrested in Tajikistan this summer has said he was burned with lit cigarettes and beaten while detained. Although the specific charges against journalist Urunboy Usmanov remain unclear, he has been accused in the country’s state media of being a member of Hizb ut-Tahr an Islamist organisation which is banned in the country. (0)

Palestine: Two journalists arrested by Israeli forces
On August 21, two Palestinian journalists, Usaid Abd Al Majid Amarana, of Al-Aqsa TV, and Amar Abu Urfa, a reporter for Shahab news agency, were arrested.  Both journalists were seized by Israeli soldiers in their homes. According to reports, soldiers stormed and searched Amarana’s home. During the arrest, soldiers opened fire and wounded Amarana’s cousin. Urfa’s arrest in Hebron resembled that of Amarana. (0)

Kashmir: Two photojournalists beaten and detained during protests
On August 19, two photojournalists, Narciso Contreras and Showkat Shafi, said they were beaten by police and detained for several hours while covering a protest in Srinagar, in Jammu and Kashmir. The protest, which was a demonstration against Indian rule, escalated into a violent clash between protesters and police forces. According to Shafi, officers continued to beat him, even after identifying himself as a journalist. Reports say both photojournalists were treated for multiple bruises in a local hospital. (0)

China: Top official issues warning to web portal
Bucking a trend of official anxiety over the explosive growth of microblogs in the country, Beijing’s Communist Party Chief urged China’s internet companies to put an end to the spread of fake and harmful information when he visited major internet firm Sina this week. Liu Qi praised the company for its achievements with Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging platform with 200 million registered users, but said internet companies should “step up the application and management of new technology, and absolutely put an end to fake and misleading information.” (1)

Venezuela: Satirical magazine censored
A court in Caracas has issued a temporary injunction to prohibit the publication and circulation of satirical magazine 6to Poder after it published a cover with six Venezuelan government officials portrayed as cabaret dancers on 21 August. On the same day, the Bolivarian Intelligence Service arrested the magazine’s editor, Dinorah Girón, and put out a warrant for the arrest of the president of the company, Leocenis García. (1)

Paraguay: Journalists on trial for libel and defamation
Three journalists from TV station Canal 9 in Paraguay, and the ex-director of the National Television System, Ismael Hadid, are on trial for defamation and libel. Reporter Silvio Cuevas, host Yolanda Park, and the channel’s press director, Andrés Caballero, were sued by a lawyer, Evelio Fabio Salinas, after Cuevas in May 2010 interviewed a woman who accused the lawyer of falsifying birth certificates in order to facilitate adoptions. (5)

China: Online censors delete family's plea for justice
Blog posts of family members asking for justice following their relative’s suspicious death in police custody have been deleted by Chinese censors, potentially to quell discourse over alleged police brutality. The official police record claims that Huang Guohui, who had reportedly trespassed onto a nature reserve in Hainan, had ”committed suicide in the interrogation room by hanging himself”. However his daughter and other family members say his body was found in the room covered in wounds. (0)

A former police officer detained for murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya
Russian investigators have detained a former lieutenant police colonel as a suspect in the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The campaigning reporter was openly critical of Russia’s involvement in Chechnya. According to the latest investigation, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was offered cash to murder Politkovskaya, and he was a part of a group aiming to kill her, including Rustam Makhmudov. Makhmudov was arrested on 31 May for allegedly shooting Politkovskaya. There are also allegations that Pavlyucenkov used his position as lieutenant police colonel to monitor the movements of the journalist. (0)

Cambodia: Environmental activists detained
Police detained over 100 villagers in Phnom Penh last week for distributing environmental fliers used to raise awareness of deforestation and economic land concessions that have been granted inside the Prey Lang forest.  Police and local officials confiscated the activists’ leaflets and detained participants in local commune offices for questioning and “re-education.” Police said the distribution of fliers could “disrupt social order.” (0)

Ecuador: Journalist facing jail presents video evidence against president
Columnist Emilio Palacio, who was last month sentenced to three years in prison and fined 40 million USD for calling Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa a “dictator,” presented a video to the district attorney on 18 August that he will use to appeal his sentence. Palacio presented an anonymous video in which Correa orders his agents to take control of police strikes and protests in September. In the video, Correa states that those responsible should be “shot in the chest for treason”. Palacio said the video contradicts the president’s original testimony that he did not order the military to fire on protesting police officers. (1)

Vietnam: Eight protesters still held after anti-China rally
Eight anti-China demonstrators in Hanoi who ignored government orders to end a series of protests remain in custody for investigation into causing public disorder. They were among the 47 detained at the rally on Sunday — the tenth of its kind in the Vietnamese capital — in which protesters objected to China’s supposed invasion of South China Sea waters, where the two nations have a longstanding sovereignty dispute. (0)

Uzbekistan: Journalist detained at airport
Uzbek journalist Elena Bondar was detained at the arrivals area of Tashkent airport after attending a course on modern journalism tools organised by OSCE and Deutsche Welle in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  After a thorough examination of her documents and baggage, customs officials let the journalist go home, but confiscated CDs and USB flash drives with training materials. (0)

China: Online commerce site bans sale of web filtering software
A major Chinese online commerce site, Taobao.com,  has banned sales of software used to bypass internet censorship. The site said it took the action on its own and received no official orders. A notice on the site said virtual private networks (VPNs) and Internet protocol proxies — common tools for evading web filters — were being used to illegally visit foreign websites. It told merchants using the site to stop selling them and said the accounts of violaters might be cancelled. (1)

Yemen: Attacks on journalists continue
Suhail TV cameraman Ahmad Firas was arrested by soldiers from Daylami airbase in Yemen on the afternoon of 12 August as he was driving towards Sanaa with his wife and children, who were released a few hours later. The soldiers, who seized his equipment, gave no reason for his arrest and are still holding him. In another case, several unidentified men tried to stab Mohamed Ayda, the Sanaa bureau chief of the US Arabic-language TV station Al-Hurra, on 10 August. (1)

Vietnam: Pro-democracy website hacked
Hackers launched a sustained attack against pro-democracy website Viet Tan on 13 August in a denial-of-service (DDoS) operation. Of the 77,000 IP addresses employed, 73 per cent originated from Vietnam. The Hanoi government’s firewall on www.viettan.org was lifted so that the network relying on computers from the country could take down the site. Viet Tan has been constantly blocked by Vietnamese censors, with web users in the country requiring proxies or other circumvention tools to access the site. (1)

Venezuela: Newspaper reporter beaten by police
A journalist with newspaper El Mío, was beaten and then detained as he left the newspapers premises in Anzoátegui, northeastern Venezuela. Óscar Tarazona was getting into a car when he spotted the police officers, Tarazona claims he walked over, identified himself as a journalist, and officers proceeded to beat him, handcuff him and take him to a police station. The initial attack was caught on video. Tarazona was released and subsequently filed a formal complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office. The state’s chief of police, Francisco Ortiz, said that he stood behind the officers. (0)

China: Magazine president removed from post
In addition to last week’s suspension of Zhao Lingmin, editor of Guangzhou-based news and current affairs magazine Window on the South, the magazine’s president, Chen Zhong, has been removed from his post, though not dismissed. The changes have been linked to Zhao’s 25 July interview with Taiwanese historian Tang Chi-hua, in which Tang had criticised Sun Yat-sen, an early 20th-century political leader referred to as the “Father of the Nation.” (2)

Bahrain: Human rights website blocked
Bahraini authorities have blocked access to the website of the Bahrain Justice and Development Movement, a London-based group consisting mainly of Bahraini exiles that denounces human rights violations in the country and advocates democratic reforms. Without elaborating, authorities accused the site of “breaking Bahrain’s laws.” (0)

Tunisia: Radio station attacked
Radio Gafsa, a radio station located in the southern Tunisian city of Gafsa, was attacked by a group of 20 men on 2 August. They reportedly ransacked the premises and terrified employees. (0)

Palestine: Satirical TV show censored
The Palestinian attorney general has ordered a nightly satirical television show to be axed, following complaints from public servants and officials that they were being ridiculed. Watan ala Water (Country on a String) has become popular for its mockery of Palestinian leaders, officials, corruption, nepotism and social norms. Attorney general Ahmad Mughani said the the programme did not “serve the public interest”, was “harmful to Palestinian society” and had crossed “red lines”. (1)

Burma: State newspapers drop slogans attacking BBC, VOA
In what has been seen to signal a further softening of the military government’s stance, three Burmese state newspapers on Wednesday dropped half-page slogans accusing the BBC and the Voice of America (VOA) of “sowing hatred among the people”. The slogans have been a fixture in official newspapers since a bloody army crackdown on monk-led protests in August 2007. (1)

Poland: Metal singer cleared over Bible-ripping performance
A Polish judge has found a death metal singer not guilty of offending religious feeling, ruling that his act of ripping up a Bible during a show was a form of artistic expression. Adam Darski, who goes by the stage name Nergal and is the frontman for Behemoth, was charged after he tore up the book during a 2007 concert in Gdynia, northern Poland. He was cleared by a court last year but prosecutors appealed the verdict, though Judge Krzysztof Wieckowski said that the court had no intention of limiting freedom of expression or the right to criticise religion. (0)

India: Right to information activist murdered
Shehla Masood, a freedom of information activist and blogger, was murdered yesterday in the city of Bhopal. The 39-year-old was shot in the neck as she got into a car in front of her home. Over the past two years, Masood had been publicly pushing for the enforcement of the Right to Information (RTI) Act in India. The 2005 RTI Act provides access to certain public documents but those seeking them — namely material involving sensitive local matters — are often targeted by officials, with a dozen people allegedly being killed last year for doing so. (0)

Syria: Attacks on journalists continue
Members of security forces attacked the Damascus home of the family of Moussa Al-Omar, a journalist based in London on 11 August. A host for Al-Hiwar TV, Al-Omar has interviewed many Syrian dissidents on his programme. Also on the same day, Myriam Haddad, a reporter for Mouqarabat was kidnapped while at a cafe in Damascus, and journalist Sami Al-Halabi was also arrested following a severe beating in the city of Suwayda. (0)

Belarus: Released political prisoner claimed he was tortured
Vladimir Yaromenok (Владимир Еременок, Уладзімер Яроменак), a Belarusian political prisoner released on 13 August following President Alexander Lukashenko’s pardoning of nine individuals convicted for the December 2010 protests in Minsk has said he was tortured while in a KGB detention unit. Yaromenok, 20, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in a colony with the highest security regime in May for having helped organise and participate in mass riots. He served 15-day and seven-day terms at two separate prisons before being referred to a KGB detention unit.   (0)

Kazakhstan: Imprisoned journalist’s parole request rejected
Imprisoned journalist Ramazan Esergepov’s request for release on parole was rejected for the fourth time yesterday by an appeal commission in Taraz prison, southern Kazakhstan, although under Kazakh law a prisoner can be freed conditionally after serving a third of their sentence. The former owner and editor of the weekly Alma-Ata Info, he was sentenced to three years in prison on 8 August 2009 on a charge of gathering and publishing information that was considered a state secret. He was arrested on 6 January 2009 after publishing an article implicating the National Security Committee (KNB) in influence-trafficking. (0)

China: Magazine editor suspended
Zhao Lingmin, one of the top editors at Window on the South, a Guangzhou-based news and current affairs magazine, has been suspended from her duties. In a letter to colleagues, Zhao wrote that an article called “China Has Risen, We Must Say Goodbye to the Foreign Policy of Revolution” , which she wrote for a recent edition of the magazine, featured  “errors of political guidance”. The article, which is still available on a number of blogs and chatrooms, has been deleted from most other sites. The original link at the Window on the South website now results in a 404 error message. (0)

Ecuador: Journalist accused of libel faces 10 million USD fine
Ecuadorian journalist Peter Tavra Franco, who was sentenced to six months in prison for libel on 19 July, now faces a 10 million USD fine. The charges were presented by siblings Milton and Mónica Carrera, after Tavra published a story in the newspaper El Universo in February 2009 in which he narrates the plaintiff’s escape after being arrested for human trafficking from Ecuador into the United States. The Carreras claimed that the story’s publication caused “great damage to their honour, public image and prestige”, while Tavra asserted he had “used police documents” that established cause for the arrest. In a separate case in the country, radio journalist Freddy Aponte is facing a third conviction in a lawsuit for slander filed by the former mayor of Loja, José Bolívar Castillon. (0)

Vanuatu: Minister increasing pressure on broadcaster
Vanuatu‘s Minister of Ni-Vanuatu business, Pastor Don Ken, reportedly visited the newsroom of the state-owned Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation demanding that a story covering his arrest and jailing on the eve of Vanuatu Independence day celebrations in July 2011 be censored. Media watchdog the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) and reporters at the broadcasting station alike have expressed concern over the minister’s interference and pressure. (0)

United States: School county bans 'anti-Mormon' Sherlock Holmes book
Local papers in Albemarle County, Virginia, have reported that Arthur Conan Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, has been removed from sixth-grade reading lists after a parent complained that it was “our young students’ first inaccurate introduction to an American religion.” In the book, in which a father and daughter are rescued by Mormons on condition they adopt the Mormon faith, Conan Doyle wrote that Mormons were “persecutors of the most terrible description”. (1)

Tajikistan: BBC journalist appears in court
A BBC World Service journalist who was arrested in Tajikistan a month ago appeared in court yesterday. Although the specific charges against reporter Urunboy Usmanov remain unclear, he has been accused in the country’s state media of being a member of Hizbut-Tahrir, an extreme Islamist organisation which is banned in the country. (0)

Israel: Al Jazeera journalist detained in prison
Al Jazeera’s Kabul bureau chief  has been brought before an Israeli military court a week after he was arrested and detained by Israeli officials. Al Jazeera reported that Samer Allawi was yesterday charged with being a member of Hamas. He was arrested on 10 August, while crossing the border between Jordan and the West Bank. He was attempting to return to the Afghan capital Kabul after a three-week holiday in his hometown of Nablus. (0)

Egypt: Judge bans cameras for remainder of Mubarak's trial
An Egyptian judge has banned state-owned TV cameras from filming the rest of Hosni Mubarak’s trial. Even though state TV cameras were allowed in the courtroom for the first two hearings, Judge Ahmed Rifaat made the decision to ban live coverage before witnesses testify in court “in protection of the general interest”. According to Al-Masry Al-Youm, the decision was met with outrage and suspicion from many members of the public. (0)

Ghana: Journalists assaulted by angered pastors
Three pastors allegedly assaulted three journalists and a panellist in Accra, Ghana on 8 August. The three pastors were angered by comments made during a broadcast of Nya Asem Hwe, a local current affairs programme on radio station Hot FM. Reverend Bishop Daniel Obinim, Kofi Akweitey, and Kingsley Baah were angered by their exclusion from the broadcast, which involved a discussion about a sex scandal involving Obinim and the wife of another pastor. According to reports, the pastors “angrily stormed” the station’s studios and assaulted the hosts of the programme, along with other staff members. The men were released on bail on 9 August. (1)

United States: Cisco sued by Chinese political prisoners over web monitoring
Technology giant Cisco is being sued by Chinese political prisoners for allegedly providing the technology and expertise used by the Chinese Communist Party to monitor, censor and suppress the country’s citizens. Cisco, while rejecting the allegations as baseless, had publicly stated that it helped the CCP build its Golden Shield and Policenet web monitoring systems, commonly referred to as the Great Firewall of China. The case has been brought by US law firm Ward & Ward on behalf of several dissidents. (0)

Kyrgyzstan: Journalist brutally attacked
Shokhrukh Saipov, the Osh-based editor and publisher of news website Uz Press, was last week attacked by unidentified individuals. Saipov had been attending a media seminar in Osh, and was found unconscious with his nose and several teeth broken on a street in the village of Aravan, 17 miles outside of the city. Family members have said Saipov was hospitalised overnight and diagnosed with a severe concussion and partial memory loss. The journalist is also the younger brother of Alisher Saipov, the prominent reporter killed in southern Kyrgyzstan in October 2007, and whose murder remains unsolved. (0)

Dominican Republic: Police identify journalist's alleged killers
Dominican police have identified the individuals they believe plotted and carried out the 2 August 2011 abduction and murder of journalist José Agustín Silvestre de los Santos, saying the motive was an article by the reporter linking the alleged mastermind to criminal activities. (0)

Uzbekistan: Activist detained over article critical of bank cards system
A rights activist in central Uzbekistan says she was detained on 15 August for an article in which she criticised the government requirement that citizens use state-issued bank cards for cash withdrawals or purchases. Saida Kurbanova told RFE/RL she was summoned to the Pakhtakor district police station in Jizzakh Province where she was “dragged up the stairs” by officers. She was released after several hours. Kurbanova added that police told her she is being sued for libel over the article she wrote and posted online in March about the difficulties faced by people using the state-issued cards. (0)

Brazil: Journalist detained while covering police killing
Marina Silva,  a photojournalist for Brazilian newspaper Correio, was arrested on 11 August while covering the killing of a military police sergeant in the northeastern city of Salvador de Bahía. The military police claimed that Silva challenged the police officers, while reports say that Silva and other witnesses deny the allegation. The Bahian Journalists’ Union accused the police of brutality, claiming in a statement that officers broke Silva’s arm, pushed her against a vehicle and tried to break her camera. The  Secretary of Public Security in Bahía said the case is under investigation and promised to determine if the police used excessive force in the journalist’s arrest. (0)

Venezuela: Reporter threatened, radio presenter's programme censored
Venezuelan reporter Carlos Sánchez was threatened with a pistol when he left the offices of Radio Fe y Alegría in the city of Maracaibo on 1 August. The unknown gunmen beat and robbed Sánchez, and then drove him around the city for an hour before releasing him. In a separate case in the country, a programme on radio station Primerísima 98.5 FM, Magazine Informativo, was last month cancelled just fifteen days after its first broadcast due to political pressure. Presenter and journalist Henry Viola said the station’s director informed him the show would be cut “following orders from above”. (0)

Nepal: Journalist brutally attacked
Nepali journalist Kishor Budhathoki was brutally assaulted in eastern Nepal on 11 August. According to Republica, Budhathoki was attacked for a piece he wrote about domestic violence. He is currently in a critical condition. Budhatoki writes for The Himalayan Times and Annapurna Post, and also serves as vice president of the local chapter of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, a press freedom watchdog.   (0)

Pakistan: Journalist killed in Balochistan
Muneer Shakir, who worked for Online News Network and a Balochi television station called Sabzbaat, was killed on 14 August in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The reason for his murder is still unclear. According to the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), Shakir is the sixth journalist to be killed in Pakistan in 2011. They also say that, despite reporting threats against journalists in provincial regions, no preventative action has been taken. (0)

Oman: Officials threaten to shut down newspaper
 Omani officials are threatening to shut down Al-Zaman, an independent newspaper, after it published allegations of corruption in the Ministry of Justice.  Youssef al-Haj was interrogated for writing the articles questioning the Ministry’s decision to prevent Haroun al-Mukbeeli, a long-time civil servant, from appealing a refusal to provide him with an increase in salary and grade. He was eventually ordered to stop any protest of the decision. Following the release of the article, officials banned Al-Haj from writing, and he could potentially serve time in prison.  The editor-in-chief of the paper, Ibrahim al-Ma’mari, was also interrogated by officials. (0)

Bolivia: Controversial telecommunications law comes into effect
Bolivian president Evo Morales has announced a new Telecommunications, Information Technology and Communication Law that establishes new rules for the distribution of radio and television frequencies, the broadcasting of presidential messages, and authorises wiretapping in exceptional cases. Some critics say the law, which was approved at the end of July, will give the state de facto control over 67 percent of the radio and television frequencies due to the Morales administration’s close ties to indigenous and community groups.  Meanwhile, journalism organisations have denounced the law, saying it undermines freedom of expression and that wiretapping will affect the public’s right to privacy. (0)

India: Controversial film censored in three states
The release of Amitabh Bachchan’s controversial new film, Aarakshan, which focuses on students benefiting from India’s quota system for Dalits (untouchables), has been met with protests and criticism from groups representing low-caste Hindus. Lawmakers in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Andhra Pradesh made an initial decision to block the release of the film, following the public’s reaction. Officials in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh decided instead to release a censored version of the feature, removing any scenes that would illicit anger from citizens. In Uttar Pradesh, the ban is still in place. (0)

Ecuador: President criticises press, papers call for free expression
Several major Ecuadorian newspapers ran the same cover on 10th August, titled “For Freedom of Expression”, in protest against President Rafael Correa’s increasing verbal and legal attacks on independent media. The President devoted 42 minutes of his State of the Union speech to criticism of the press, and during his weekly TV broadcast also urged the public to file lawsuits against what he called the “corrupt press”, name-checking  reporter Jeanette Hinostroza for having commented on political negotiations related to appointments within the National Assembly. (1)

Cambodia: Two critical newspapers shut down
Two newspapers critical of the Cambodian ruling party were shut down permanently, while five men were convicted of “provocation” for distributing pamphlets critical of the state last week, according to the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR). The pamphlets discussed the Cambodian government’s ties to the Vietnamese government, accusing Prime Minister Hun Sen of selling land to foreign countries and referring to him as a “traitor” and a “puppet of Vietnam.” Newspapers The Water and Fire News and The World News were ordered to stop publishing as of 3 August and had their licenses revoked due to perceived insult to the Ministry of Information. (3)

Saudi Arabia: Radio Netherlands Worldwide websites blocked
According to Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Saudi Arabian listeners have been unable to access their websites. While no official reason has been given for the block, the station believes that it may be linked to a video posted on the Arabic version of the website. The video, posted on 15 July, showed a migrant worker being beaten. Earlier this year, Radio Netherlands Worldwide also reported on the exploitation and deplorable working conditions of domestic workers at the Saudi Embassy in The Hague.   (0)

Philippines: Art exhibit deemed offensive censored
Officials at the state-run Cultural Centre of the Philippines shut an art exhibit on Tuesday after it provoked heated debate, threats and hate mail for combining Christian symbols with phallic objects. The decision by the centre’s board of directors came a day after former first lady and art patron Imelda Marcos joined politicians and Roman Catholic church leaders in denouncing the exhibit. The board said it made the decision because of “an increasing number of threats to persons and property,” including the artists and staff. It said the threats increased after critics vandalised an installation by removing a wooden penis from a poster depicting Jesus Christ. (0)

South Korea: Plans to scrap real-name system
South Korea‘s government will go ahead with plans to scrap the current real-name system for internet users in the wake of the country’s worst online security breach. Last month, personal information including names, mobile phone numbers and email addresses of about 35 million users of the country’s popular internet and social media sites Nate and Cyworld was stolen in a hacking attack. The real-name system, introduced in 2007, requires people to use their real names and resident registration numbers when making online postings on websites with more than 100,000 visitors per day. (0)

Yemen: Copies of newspaper confiscated
Yemeni security forces confiscated copies of Ahdath al-Madina, a local independent newspaper, on 7 August. Security forces seized the paper from newsstands in order to stop its distribution on the national level.  Last April, security forces confiscated and publicly burned issues of the same paper, because of material deemed to be “detrimental to the president [Ali Abdullah Saleh]“. Yemen has had anti-regime protests since February. According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), security forces regularly remove newspapers in order to suppress the public’s growing frustrations with President Saleh.   (0)

Burma: Video reporter faces additional charge
An additional charge has been brought against Sithu Zeya, a Democratic Voice of Burma video reporter who has been detained since April 2010 and is already serving an eight-year sentence for filming damage caused by a grenade explosion in Rangoon. The reporter, 21, could now receive an additional sentence of 7 to 15 years in prison on a charge of circulating material online “that can damage tranquillity and unity in the government” under the Electronic Act. His mother has said that the confession her son gave to the police under torture that led to his first conviction will be used to sentence him for this new charge. Burma is ranked 174th out of 178 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index. (0)

Pakistan: Art curator beaten by police
On 2 August, a  Pakistani police station supervisor allegedly beat a female curator for “indecent behavior”. The incident occurred in Nairang Art Gallery, a well-known gathering place for left-leaning intellectuals in Lahore. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), the officer “brutally assaulted” the woman and entered the premises without a warrant. Hina Jilani, a prominent activist and human rights lawyer, told the Daily Times that the attack on one of the few remaining cultural and intellectual hubs of Lahore was an example of increasing religious extremism in the region.     (0)

Index on Censorship reaction to David Cameron comments on social media
Index on Censorship news editor Padraig Reidy said today: “David Cameron must not allow legitimate anger over the recent riots and looting in the UK to be used in an attack on free expression and free information. Too often, channels of communication, whether Twitter, Facebook or BlackBerry Messenger are seen as the culprits in acts of violence and anti-social behaviour, rather than merely the conduit. While police in investigations should be able to investigate relevant communications, there should be no power to pre-emptively monitor or suspend communications for ordinary social media users.” Contact Index on Censorship Tel + 44 (0) 20 7234 2522 enquiries@indexoncensorship.org (3)

United Kingdom: David Cameron considers banning rioters from social media
Noting how social media, particularly the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service, were used to organise this week’s intense riots, David Cameron today told parliament that the government is looking into banning people from using social networking sites if they are thought to be organising criminal activity. He added that home secretary Theresa May will hold meetings with Facebook, Twitter and Research In Motion within weeks to discuss their responsibilities in this area. Cameron also said that broadcasters such as the BBC and Sky News have a responsibility to hand over unused footage of the riots to police, despite the fact that, due to concerns over damaging broadcasters’ editorial independence, attempts to enforce this in the past have been met with resistance. Index on Censorship news editor Padraig Reidy said today: “David Cameron must not allow legitimate anger over the recent riots and looting in the UK to be used in an attack on free expression and free information. Too often, channels of communication, whether Twitter, Facebook or BlackBerry Messenger are seen as the culprits in acts of violence and anti-social behaviour, rather than merely the conduit. While police in investigations should be able to investigate relevant communications, there should be no power to pre-emptively monitor or suspend communications for ordinary social media users.” (1)

Ethiopia: Sentence extended for detained journalists
On July 17, an Ethiopian court ruled that two journalists would remain imprisoned for an additional 28 days, without access to legal counsel or charge. Woubshet Taye, from Awramba Times and Reeyot Alemu, from the Feteh newspaper, were initially detained on June 19 and 21 respectively. The journalists were charged with “conspiracy to commit terrorism”, under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, adopted in 2009. In addition to Taye and Alemu, government officials accused members of the opposition party and five other individuals of the same violations. (0)

Argentina: Judge orders all ISPs to block corruption reporting website
Argentina‘s National Criminal Court has issued an interim order to block a website and blog used to expose corruption and ordered the National Communications Commission to instruct all internet service providers to temporarily block access to them. Using the motto “Let’s stop lies and hypocrisy”, leakymails.com sought to obtain and publish emails either from official or personal accounts, pictures, videos or any other document exposing misbehaviours or unethical actions of public figures. Dr Esteban José Rosa Alves, General Director of the Argentinean Ministry of National Security, denounced the websites to the judicial authorities, arguing that their content jeopardised national security and risked the privacy of a number of public functionaries. (0)

Belarus: Two independent newspapers fined
Two of the few remaining independent newspapers in Belarus have each been fined 14m roubles (1,704 GBP) for minor infractions. Last month a legal bid to have them closed was withdrawn but both papers were warned of possible prosecutions that could lead to fines. Nasha Niva received was fined for failing to show its registration number in one of its latest issues, while Narodnaya Volya received a warning for getting a date wrong in a recent issue. Independent media in Belarus have received a torrent of warnings over their political coverage since the 11 April Minsk metro bombing. (0)

Sudan: Newspapers confiscated by security forces
On August 8, issues of Al-Ahdath, a Sudanese daily newspaper, were confiscated by security forces. Officials have yet to provide an explanation for the confiscation. Previously, officials pressured the editor of Al-Ahdath to retract articles written about violence in South Sudan.From the time leading up to Sudan’s July 9 split, there has been a crackdown on the press in the North. In June, nine journalists were fined for “defamation” and “publishing fake news”, and Ajras Al-Hurriya newspaper was confiscated after reporting on the violent actions of government forces in South Kordufan and Nuba. (0)

India: Government wants to monitor social networking websites
India’s Department of Telecommunications has been asked to monitor Twitter and Facebook, because of fears that the sites are being used to plan terrorist attacks. In April, the Indian Information Technology (IT) Act of 2008 was amended, giving officials the ability to monitor web activity. It also provides officials with access to private information, including passwords, without a court order. However, Facebook and Twitter do not release the information of their users without a court order. This coincides with India’s threat to outlaw the usage of Blackberry devices, because of Research in Motion’s refusal to comply with demands to lower the level of encryption of messages.   (0)

United Kingdom: Journalists attacked during London riots
As chaotic rioting and looting spreads across London and other British cities, journalists have been among those assaulted by troublemakers in the capital. A BBC crew was attacked on Monday night while driving through Croydon, where shops were looted and burnt to the ground. In Ealing, local reporter Michael Russell was beaten and had his camera stolen by rioters. Reporting from Hackney, Guardian journalist Paul Lewis said he had seen a handful of reporters being “thrown to the floor and beaten by a group of youths.” Also in Hackney, BBC junior journalist Alex Hudson was threatened by rioters and told to delete his images. (0)

Vietnam: Dissident jailed for three years for subversion
A Vietnamese court today sentenced French-Vietnamese activist Pham Minh Hoang to three years in prison on subversion charges for “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration.” Authorities say he posted several anti-government articles online, and had ties to Viet Tan, a pro-democracy group that is banned in Vietnam.  He also faces three years of house arrest following the end of his prison term. (1)

China: Outspoken blogger released after six months in detention
Ran Yunfei, a Chinese blogger and writer detained by police and charged with inciting subversion earlier this year has been released after nearly six months, his wife, Wang Wei, has said. Wang confirmed her husband had returned to his home in Chengdu, Sichuan province on Tuesday night, but declined to elaborate, adding that Ran is probably restricted from speaking to the media. Prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, who spoke briefly to the blogger on Wednesday morning, said Ran was released into “residential surveillance” for a six-month period, under which he is not allowed to leave home or meet people without permission, and he may not speak publicly. Ran was among the first detained amid the Chinese government’s recent crackdown on dissent. (1)

Somalia: Radio presenter shot by soldier
On August 4, Somali journalist Farah Hassan Sahal died after being shot by a soldier in Mogadishu. The Radio Simba presenter was caught in clashes between Al-Shabaab and government troops supported by the African Union.  According to the radio station director, Abdullah Ali Farah, Sahal was shot three times by a sniper while moving damaged equipment to a safer place.     (0)

Bangladesh: Editor arrested for extortion
Muhammad Ekramul Haque, editor and owner of Sheershanews.com and Sheersha Kagoj, was arrested on 31 July by Bangladeshi authorities on a charge of extortion. According to police reports, Haque allegedly threatened to negatively cover a travel agency unless he received 200,000 TK (£1630). In a press release, Sheershanews.com defended the editor, claiming that he was actually arrested for publishing reports on government corruption. The press release also denies the existence of the travel agency. (0)

China: Ai Weiwei slams treatment of detained activists
In his most outspoken tweets since his release, and despite bail conditions placing him under tight restrictions for at least a year, Ai Weiwei today lashed out at the “torment” of friends entangled in his situation and pressed the cases of other detained activists. “If you don’t speak for Wang Lihong, and don’t speak for Ran Yunfei, you are not just a person who will not stand out for fairness and justice; you do not have self-respect,” he wrote. A prolific Twitter user prior to his arrest, Ai was freed in June after being detained for over two months for supposed tax evasion. Last weekend he began tweeting again, though far more sporadically. (0)

Ukraine: Journalist's apartment set on fire
The apartment of Ukrainian journalist Oleksiy Matsuka, who is editor-in-chief of the News of Donbass website and the head of a regional public organisation, the Donetsk Institute of Information, was set on fire on the afternoon of 31 July. Matsuka was not in the apartment when the incident took place. He sees a link between the arson and his journalistic activity, as well as his work in the public domain. “I wrote several articles about the lives of authorities, their incomes, sources of financing. And officials may not like this,” he said. (0)

Brazil: Magazine reporter assaulted by interviewee
Rodrigo Rangel, a journalist with Brazilian magazine Veja, was assaulted by his interviewee on the afternoon of 4 August at a restaurant in Brasilia, according to newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. Veja said Rangel went to speak with lobbyist Júlio Fróes for an article about supposed corruption and influence peddling in the Ministry of Agriculture. The two spoke for about half an hour when Fróes began kicking and beating the reporter. The lobbyist also threatened Rangel and took his notebook. The scene was witnessed by several people, and a complaint was filed with the police department. (0)

Peru: TV news director jailed after denouncing corruption
Peruvian journalist César Gonzáles has been sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay damages for the crime of “general misrepresentation of the State”. The case against Gonzáles, who directs and hosts a current affairs programme 60 Minute News on television channel UTV Canal 19 in the eastern city of Pucallpa, was initiated after he denounced corruption in the local government before the Oversight Committee of Congress. The journalist, who said he would appeal, deemed the sentence “political and judicial persecution”. (0)

Spain: Journalist among those arrested in anti-austerity protests
Journalist Gorka Ramos was among the four demonstrators arrested for public disorder last Friday when armed riot police clashed with anti-austerity demonstrators in Madrid. A video of Ramos, who works for Spanish news site La Información, shows him being addressed by the police while he was tweeting the events, he was subsequently beaten. La Información reports that 13 protesters were treated for injuries and that Ramos is being held in a Madrid jail, unable to speak to his family or employer. According to the police, Ramos was arrested for insulting and spitting on them. (0)

Angola: Writer arrested for reporting mass fainting outbreak
Adão Tiago, an Angolan radio journalist for Radio Ecclesia,  has been arrested for reporting on an outbreak of mass fainting. The faintings, involving more than 500 school children since April, have been linked, in some report, to criminals allegedly spraying institutions with gas. The Angolan government has rejected this claim, blaming hysteria triggered by “sensational news reporting” instead.  According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Radio Ecclesia operates under “intense government pressure and self-censorship”. (0)

Thailand: Blogger detained on lese majeste charge
Norawase Yospiyasathien, a university graduate and blogger, was detained on Friday while police investigate allegations of lese majeste — offending the Thai monarchy. According to online newspaper Prachatai police are scrutinising his blog posts. The person who filed the charge was said to be a vice rector for students affairs at Kasetsart University, who reportedly said he was pressed to do so by the University Council in a bid to protect the school’s reputation. The student could be charged under both lese majeste law, which carries a maximum 15-year jail term, and the Computer Crimes Act, which has a punishment of up to five years in jail. (1)

Belarus: Viasna leader arrested
Ales Bialiatski, head of Viasna, Belarus’s leading human rights group, has been arrested on suspicion of “concealment of income” and tax evasion. Tatsiana Reviaka, A member of Vesna, told Human Rights House Belarus that she believed “the reason behind these charges is the fact that our organisation has been providing different assistance to victims of political repressions in Belarus.” (0)

Ivory Coast: Newspaper suspended for column on Obama meeting
The Ivorian government has suspended a newspaper for twelve days over an opinion piece that criticised a recent White House meeting with African leaders. The column in Les Temps newspaper —  which supported former president Laurent Gbagbo —  was originally published online by a blogger critical of President Ouattara. It called Obama a “gang boss”, while describing an alleged conspiracy among the recently elected leaders of Benin, Niger, Guinea, and Ivory Coast to seize Africa’s riches. In its ruling, the state-run National Press Council called the writings “unacceptable”. The council previously suspended Le Temps for six editions over an 11 June column by reporter Germain Sehoué that claimed the Ouattara government was dominated ethnic groups from the North. The council suspended Sehoué from writing for two months, accusing him of “inciting tribal hatred and revolt” and “threatening the consolidation of peace in Ivory Coast.” (0)

Vietnam: Catholic blogger Paulus Le Son arrested
Catholic blogger Paulus Le Son was arrested in Hanoi yesterday during a major police operation targeting around 10 Catholics. Reports suggest Son’s arrest, his second this year, is linked to his attempts to cover court proceedings against cyber-dissident Cu Huy Ha Vu, who is currently appealing against his seven-year jail term for disseminating anti-government propaganda, having advocated a multi-party system. Vietnam was ranked 165th out of 178 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2010 press freedom index. (2)

Sri Lanka: President threatens newspaper chairman by phone
On Tuesday it was reported that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa threatened the chairman of The Sunday Leader, Lal Wickrematunge, by phone on 19 July. In response to an article that claimed China had given the president and his son millions of dollars to be used “at their discretion”, Rajapaksa reportedly told Wickrematunge, “you can attack me politically, but if you attack me personally, I will know how to attack you personally too.” The Sunday Leader is Sri Lanka’s only independent English-language newspaper, and has long been targeted by the government. The paper claims the 2009 murder of its former head, Lasantha Wickematunge (Lal’s brother), was never investigated fully. (1)

Russia: Newspaper issues seized by regional governors
40,000 copies of Izvestia Kaliningrada, a weekly published in Kaliningrad, Russia, were seized by regional governors on 29 July. Its editor was also detained for several hours at the Regional Centre for Combating Extremism. The edition, due to have been published on the eve of a visit by President Medvedev, contained an open letter to the Russian leader signed by more than 2,000 local residents calling for the regional government’s removal because several of its members were implicated in corruption. The head of the regional centre, Alexander Shelyakov, told the Interfax news agency that he intervened after being informed that the issue contained “extremist statements.” This is not a one-off event: on 4 July in St Petersburg of 90 per cent of the copies of the business weekly Kommersant Vlast were seized. The edition criticised the city’s governor Valentina Matviyenko. (0)

DRC: Radio host suspended by provincial minister
The provincial minister responsible for information and media in Nord-Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, has suspended a Mishapi Voice TV radio host until further notice. In a 30 July letter to the station’s CEO, Naason Kubuya Ndoole accused Jacques “Djasadjasa” Nyamugenda of “defamatory and insulting comments about the local authorities.” He claimed that, during broadcasts on the evening of 29 July, Nyamugenda insulted a provincial minister “whose conduct is irreproachable.” Ndoole did not, however, give details of the offending comments or name the minister he believed had been defamed. In the same letter, he asked Mishapi Voice TV’s chief to “initiate disciplinary action against this programme host as soon as you receive this letter”, adding that Nyamugenda “is not permitted to work for any other broadcaster in this province until further notice.” (0)

China: Internet surveillance boosted
New regulations have been enforced in an area of central Beijing requiring bars, restaurants, hotels and bookstores to install web monitoring software. The software costs businesses around 20,000 RMB (£1,900) and provides public security officials the identities of those logging on to the wireless service of a restaurant, cafe or private school, while monitoring their online activity. Those who ignore the regulation face a fine of a similar sum and the possible revocation of their business license. It remains unclear how strictly the measures will be enforced, or whether they will extend beyond the Dongcheng district of Beijing. (0)

Dominican Republic: TV reporter kidnapped, murdered
TV reporter José Agustín Silvestre was kidnapped, shot and killed on 2nd August in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Local papers have claimed his murder is connected to accusations he had made regarding corruption and local delinquency on his programme, The Voice of Truth. Silvestre had also served a prison sentence in May for defamation and slander after accusing a city prosecutor of having drug trafficking connections. The Inter American Press Association called 2011 ”the most tragic year in the last two decades for Latin American press” in a report published last month. Silvestre is the 20th reporter to have been killed in the region this year. (1)

Argentina: Journalist beaten and shot
Carlos Walker, news editor for the site 0223.com.ar, was beaten and shot in the leg on 29th July in Mar del Plata, eastern Argentina, while reportedly photographing posters that featured political propaganda. In another episode in the country, journalist Leo Graciarena and graphic reporter Francisco Guillén, of the newspaper La Capital, were attacked by armed individuals while investigating a poor settlement in the city of Rosario, the paper said. (0)

Egypt: BBC journalist released
BBC journalist Shaimaa Khalil has been released after her arrest yesterday in Egypt. The BBC has said it is not yet clear whether she faces further action by the authorities. Reports say that Khalil, a producer at the broadcaster’s Cairo bureau, was believed to have been arrested along with over 80 people, including other journalists, after soldiers and riot police cleared a three-week sit-in in Tahrir Square. She was detained for 20 hours at a military base before being moved and later released. (0)

Egypt: BBC journalist detained
The BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil has been arrested in Egypt while reporting from Cairo. In her most recent tweet, Khalil said she and those with her were “OK” and on the way to see district prosecutors. She had travelled to Tahrir Square after Egyptian security forces had moved in to clear the area of protesters.  In her last tweet before her arrest, Khalil noted the atmosphere was “extremely tense” and that the area was surrounded by “military”, “riot police” and “armoured vehicles”.       (1)

Thailand: Editor faces anti-royal charges
Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, a Thai political activist and former editor-in-chief of the Voice of Taksin and Red Power partisan news magazines, was last week charged with two offences of lese majeste for two separate articles deemed critical of the royal family published in his now-defunct Voice of Taksin magazine. Lese majeste charges in Thailand carry up to 15-year jail terms and have been utilised for political purposes during the country’s protracted political conflict. If found guilty of both charges, Somyot, who has first arrested on 30April and held without bail in a Bangkok detention centre for 84 days (the maximum period allowed under Thai law), will face a possible 30 years in prison. (0)

Belarus: Draft law prevents citizens gathering in public
A draft law published in Belarus on Friday prohibits the “joint mass presence of citizens in a public place that has been chosen beforehand, including an outdoor space, and at a scheduled time for the purpose of a form of action or inaction that has been planned beforehand and is a form of public expression of the public or political sentiments or protest.” The draft adds that anyone proven to be taking part in such a gathering would be subject to 15 days of administrative arrest. The Belarusian government is continuing to develop various methods of stifling protest in the country. Demonstrators have been equally creative in finding ways to rally against President Lukashenko and the country’s economic crisis. In July, clapping protests swept the nation, forcing the concurrent Independence Day military parade to be held in silence to avoid disruption. (0)

Sri Lanka: opposition newspaper editor badly beaten
Gnanasundaram Kuhanathan, editor of the Tamil-language daily Uthayan, was on Friday evening beaten by unidentified men with iron bars in the northern Sri Lankan city of Jaffna. Having been rushed to hospital with critical head injuries, he remains unconscious. Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) says that while physical attacks against journalists have largely fallen since 2010, threats and acts of intimidation continue to be common in Sri Lanka. In May, Kuhanathan’s colleague, reporter S. Kavitharan, was attacked by armed men as he made his way to work. (1)

Somalia: Puntland authorities free jailed reporter
Authorities in Puntland, Somalia’s northeastern semi-autonomous region, released reporter Faysal Mohamed Hassan on Sunday. Mohamed, who wrote for the private news site Hiiraan Online, was serving a prison sentence over a story claiming that two murdered men belonged to Puntland’s security personnel. The journalist had begun serving his one-year sentence in the port city of Bossasso following his 2nd July conviction on charges of endangering state security and publishing a “false news report.” (0)

Syria: forces storm Hama ahead of Ramadan
Syrian forces stormed the opposition stronghold of Hama on Sunday, in a bid to crush demonstrations before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. By this morning (1 August), the death toll had been reported to have reached 84. The head of the political department of the Syrian army, Lieutenant General Riad Haddad, called the attacks on some cities an “indispensable necessity” to defend and protect the country. With Friday prayers having been a major rallying point for protests, more frequent visits to mosques during Ramadan might raise the potential for more regular demonstrations. But the weekend’s crackdown may well spur more protests and widespread violence during the holy period. Meanwhile, foreign journalists remain banned from Syria, leaving much reporting in the hands of activists and citizen journalists, who face considerable risk. (0)

China: journalist detained, beaten after reporting riots
Translated screenshots from journalist Lu Chaoguo’s Tencent microblog account reveal his detention and mistreatment by police after reporting on recent riots in Anshun, Guizhou province. The riots were sparked by a “city management” official beating to death a handicapped fruit seller. (0)

China: social media response to Wenzhou crash challenges censorship
The potent reaction from both Chinese netizens and mainstream media in response to Sunday’s deadly train crash in Wenzhou has shown how the state’s propaganda machine is being increasingly challenged. The majority of Chinese media (including state-owned organs) this week ignored directives issued by the Central Propaganda Ministry not to report on the causes of the crash. Meanwhile, netizens’ use of social media, both to chronicle the disaster and to express their fury at the government’s handling of the situation, has led outspoken paper Southern Metropolis Daily to claim “no one, not even someone with the lowest IQ, would choose to challenge the public at this particular point in time.” (1)

Afghanistan: journalist killed in Taliban attack
Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, a stringer working for the BBC in Afghanistan, has been killed during a Taliban raid on a TV station in Uruzgan province, southern Afghanistan. It is unclear whether Khpulwak, 25, was killed by Taliban or Nato forces responding to the attack. Read tributes to Omed Khpulwak here (0)

Guinea: censorship measures put pressure on RFI
Guinea’s state-controlled media regulatory agency this week imposed a “temporary” ban on media coverage of the 19 July attack on the private residence of President Alpha Condé, silencing private radio and television debate programmes in which questions were being raised over the event. Radio France Internationale (RFI), a popular international radio station in French-speaking Africa that had originally planned to debate the attack during one of its daily news call-in programmes, has felt the pressure of the ban. Its deputy director told the Committee to Protect Journalists: “We are not submitting to a censorship measure; we regret it and we hope that it will be temporary.”  In the past, RFI has had its broadcasts temporarily banned and reporters expelled in several sub-Saharan African countries, though it continues to assert its editorial independence.   (0)

Kyrgyzstan: government bans news websites ahead of election campaign
Kyrgyzstan’s Central Elections Committee (CEC) has decided to bar web-based news media from participating in the campaign ahead of the 30th October presidential election. Eleven news sites have been denied accreditation to inform voters on pre-election developments. While some NGOs have claimed the move restricts citizens’ access to information, a CEC spokeswoman said, “the Kyrgyz law on mass media does not regard web-based news agencies as media outlets; that is why they cannot generate revenue from promotion of the candidates.” The decision comes just weeks after Kyrgyzstan became the first country in former Soviet Central Asia to decriminalise libel, a move hailed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as a boost for press freedom. (1)

News of the World hacked Sarah Payne's mother's phone
The Guardian has revealed that the News of the World hacked Sara Payne’s phone, which Rebekah Brooks had given her as a gift. Payne had previously been told, accurately, that her name did not appear in Glenn Mulcaire’s notes, but her personal details were found there on Tuesday. The News of the World used its final issue to congratulate itself for its campaign for Sarah’s law. Sara Payne herself wrote a column for the farewell edition, describing the News of the World reporters as her “good and trusted friends.” Tom Watson MP has decried this as “a whole new low”; and Sara Payne has said that she is “absolutely devastated and deeply disappointed.” Read Brian Cathcart’s writing on the phone hacking scandal here.   (1)

Lebanon: singer detained for defamation
Lebanese musician Zeid Hamdan was briefly held at the prison of the Palace of Justice in Beirut on Wednesday for defaming President Michel Suleiman, urging him in a song posted on YouTube last year to “go home.” A statement posted on Hamdan’s Facebook page by his lawyer, Nizar Saghieh, noted that the musician had been investigated three times in recent weeks. He was released late on Wednesday, though Saghieh says his client faces a maximum of two years in prison if the prosecutor decides to file formal slander charges against him. According to the LA Times’ Babylon & Beyond blog, Sagieh called Hamdan’s detention “a blatant violation of the right of freedom of expression.” He added, “this increasingly obvious over-sensitivity of the regime to any form of criticism of the president is the problem of the regime and not the citizen.” (0)

Brazil: controversial Serbian film banned from RioFan festival
The controversial ‘A Serbian Film’ has been banned from being screened at the RioFan film festival by the event’s main sponsor, Brazilian national bank Caixa Econômica Federal. A statement on the festival’s website says organisers were given no further information behind the decision to veto the film’s screening. Meanwhile, a statement from a spokesman of the bank’s board claims “not every creative product fits in an unrestrained way in any medium or place.” RioFan responded by saying it opposes all forms of censorship. ‘A Serbian Film’ has raised controversy for its depictions of pornography and violence. It was cut from London’s FrightFest film festival last year, while in May the director of Spain’s Sitges film festival, Angel Sala, was charged with the exhibition of child pornography in connection with an adults-only screening of the film. (0)

Mexico: missing crime reporter found dead
The decapitated body of Yolanda Ordaz, a reporter for regional paper Notiver, has been found in the Mexican city of Veracruz two days after she went missing. Ordaz had reportedly been investigating the 20th June murder of her colleague, columnist Miguel Angel López Velasco, his wife, and son, a photographer with the newspaper. Ordaz was also said to have received death threats in connection to her work. Local authorities, meanwhile have said there are indications her death is related to organised crime, rather than her work as a journalist. According to reports, a note found with the body seems to connect Ordaz’s murder to the López killing. The note read: ”Friends also betray. Sincerely, Carranza.” This may tie the murder to the chief suspect in the López case, identified as former traffic police officer Juan Carlos Carranza. (1)

Malawi: journalists beaten and detained to prevent them covering protests
Reporters Without Borders has revealed several journalists covering Malawi’s recent protests have been beaten and detained, while the government has banned radio stations from covering the demonstrations. The protests were in place to express anger against fuel shortages, price hikes and a general decline in the economy, as well as to call for more democratic governance. (0)

Montenegro: Newspaper's cars torched
Two cars belonging to Vijesti, one of Montenegro‘s most popular independent daily newspapers, were torched last Thursday. The cars were parked opposite the headquarters of the Montenegrin Intelligence Agency when the attack took place. One eyewitness reported seeing a young man pour petrol on the cars and throw a spark towards them but police have yet to make an arrest. Vijesti is one of the two biggest Montenegrin newspapers and reports regularly on corruption and government malpractice. (0)

China: Three Tibetan nuns jailed
Three nuns have each been jailed for three year after they staged a peaceful street protest, chanting “Free Tibet” and “long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama”, on 15 June. The women, aged between 21 and 31, are part of the Gyemadrak Nunnery in Tibet and were arrested by Chinese authorites hours after the protest began. The nuns have been named as Jampa Choedon, Sheh Lhamo and Tashi Choetso. (0)

Pakistan: Two journalists "tortured and harassed"
Rana Yaseen and Ch Khalid Sardar claim they were “tortured and harassed” on the night of 16 July in the Bahalwapur region of Pakistan. Local journalists have since staged a protest outside the regional Press Club and are demanding immediate investigation. The Abbas Nagar Police have “registered a case” against 10 men accused of taking part in the attack but their names have not been released. (0)

Honduras: Radio station director killed
A 26-year-old radio station director was killed yesterday in Honduras. Nery Jeremias Orellana was stopped and shot in the head by masked gunmen as he rode home from work on a motorcycle.  He died soon after he was taken to a local hospital. A supporter of recently ousted President Manuel Zelaya, Orellana was head of Radio Joconguera de Candelaria and was a member of the National Resistance Front.   (0)

Uzbekistan: Journalist hospitalised, ends hunger strike
Saodat Omonova, one of two women journalists protesting media censorship in Uzbekistan, has ended her hunger strike after being hospitalised earlier this week. It had been 16 days since Omonova and colleague, Malohat Eshonqulova, had begun their hunger strike after they were arrested and fined for protesting outside the presidential palace. The pair were were fired from state television channel Yoshlar last December, three days after they staged protests against media censorship. They are still fighting a court battle to appeal their initial dismissal.   (0)

Gaza: News agency HQ attacked
The office of Ma’an Network, a news agency based in Gaza City, was attacked by masked assailants. According to local reports, staff at the main office saw the building on fire in the early hours of Sunday morning. After initial investigations, bottles of flammable liquids were found nearby. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate is calling for a full investigation. (0)

Malayasia: 1600 arrested as campaign for electoral reform continues
Police in Malaysia made 1600 arrests at the weekend, as protesters ignored government warnings to cancel anti-government action. Leaders of the opposition coalition, Bersih, who have led the campaign for a “free and fair” election system, were amongst the thousands detained. An estimated 10, 000 police officers used tear gas and batons against the 50, 000 people who took to the streets of Kuala Lumpar. Crowds chanting, “Reformasi!” (“Reforms”), ‘”God is great” and “Long Live the People” were successfully prevented from gaining access to the to the king’s palace to hand over a memorandum detailing their demands. (0)

Journalist released, deported from Yemen
New Zealand journalist Glen Johnson has been released from custody in Yemen and was deported to Dubai earlier today, Index on Censorship has learned. Johnson, 28, was arrested in southern Yemen in late June. Yemen ranks at 170 out of 178 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2010 Press Freedom Index. (1)

Australian internet providers employ censors
Australian service providers, including Telstra and Optus, will voluntarily block websites deemed by the government as showing and disseminating child pornography. Those who attempt to access the blacklisted sites will be redirected to the site of the International Criminal Police Organisation. Wikileaks revealed that on the blacklist are some gay and straight porn sites, fringe religious groups, and Wikipedia sites. (0)

Cisco will help build China's surveillance project
US-based Cisco Systems Inc and Hewlett-Packard, along with a handful of other Western technology companies, are set to provide crucial network equipment for a massive CCTV surveillance project in the city of Chongqing. Known as “Peaceful Chongqing” the network of about 500,000 cameras will spread over nearly 400 square miles, it will police intersections, neighborhoods and parks. Chinese officials say the added surveillance will prevent crime but human-rights advocates fear it will be used to silence political dissidents. (0)

US links Pakistani spy agency to death of journalist Saleem Shahzad
White House officials believe that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence ordered the killing of Pakistani investigative journalist Saleem Shahzad whose body was found on 31 May. Shahzad’s death followed after warnings from Pakistani security agencies over articles that seemed damaging to Pakistan’s national interest and image. (1)

US will prosecute Brits who pirate US-based media
The US’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is shutting down websites based abroad that break US copyrights and and prosecuting their owners. Even if the server is not based in the US, so long as the website’s address ends in .com or .net, it can be closed down or targeted for prosecution because their connections run through Verisign, a company based in Virginia. British student, Richard O’Dwyer, ran the website TVShack, which gave links to other sites that offered pirated downloads. He now faces extradition to and prosecution in the US. (0)

Syrian journalist Omar al-Asaad arrested
Officials arrested Omar al-Asaad, a Syrian journalist and activist, on Sunday evening (3 July) at a funeral for a fellow protester killed in Damascus. Asaad wrote for a number of Arabic newspapers, including Al-Hayat and Aljazeera. Earlier in the year, he exposed a famine affecting hundreds of thousands in north-east Syria, which the government had sought to minimise. (1)

Ethiopia: Two Swedish journalists arrested
Swedish journalists, Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, were arrested by troops in Ethiopia when they were found travelling with rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The Ethiopian government has branded the ONLF a terrorist organisation, 15 individuals were killed when the troops ambushed the group. The two freelancers entered the country to report about allegations of the torture and rape of locals. Schibbye and Persson are currently being treated for minor injuries and could face trial later this week.  (1)

Belarus: Protesters arrested, journalists targeted in teargas attacks
Over 300 people were reportedly arrested on Sunday in nationwide demonstrations against President Alexander Lukashenko’s government. Teargas was also fired to disperse the crowd. Some journalists have claimed that they were targeted in the attacks in a bid to prevent them from filming or taking photographs. In the capital, Minsk, the crowds attempted to disrupt Lukashenko’s Independence Day by clapping their hands.     (0)

Ethiopia: Detained journalists planned 'sabotage', say police
Two journalists detained on 19 and 21 June are suspected by police to have planned terrorists acts in Ethiopia. The police chief accused Woubishet Taye, from Awramba Times, and Reyot Alemu, from the Feteh newspaper, of recruiting others to undertake terrorism activities, with the support from Eritrea, and said the group will be charged upon completion of investigations. Amnesty international reported that Ethiopia has often used such charges to silence dissenters and the Committee to Protect Journalists has called for their release. (1)

Journalist arrested in Puntland
Authorities arrested Faysal Mohamed, a reporter for Hiraan Online, on Wednesday morning (29 June) in the semi-autonomous republic of Puntland in northern Somalia. Police told journalists that Mohamed was arrested for a “false news report” on Hiiraan Online. Fellow colleagues said they suspected the article in question was one published three days before the arrest, which hypothesised that two bodies recently discovered on a roadside were those of security personnel. (0)

Mexican journalist receives death threats
Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho told Mexican authorities on Thursday (30 June) that she has received anonymous death threats via phone and e-mail for revealing the names of sex traffickers. Authorities claim they have leads on the source of the threats. Cacho is one of many journalists who have been intimidated or even killed by crime rings for their reporting in Mexico. (1)

Belarus cracks down on 'silent' protest
Belarusian police have grabbed and beaten over a dozen reporters, broken their equipment, and detained another 150 protestors at a political rally in Minsk and Brest on Wednesday. Over a thousand people assembled to protest the repressive policies of President Alexander Lukashenko by clapping every two to three minutes to avoid arrest. The protest was strictly ‘silent’ and no one shouted or held signs. At a similar protest last week, 450 were detained. (0)

US: Judge refuses subpoena for blogger's identity
Ronald Papandrea, a former assistant attorney of Warren, Michigan has dropped a libel case against an anonymous blogger known as ‘Robert’ after the local judge turned down his request to obtain the blogger’s name. Papandrea claimed the blogger had made defamatory comments about him on the Warren Forum website. (1)

Turkey: Contributors to user-generated dictionary arrested
Istanbul police have arrested 50 contributors to Turkey’s largest user-generated dictionary. The “Sour Dictionary” (Eksi Sozluk) site offers satirical definitions of a number of common words and has been running for around 12 years. The anonymous authors, who were identified through their IP addresses, have been charged with “insulting religion” following a complaint over a discussion about the prophet Muhammed. The site’s administrators have faced criticism for agreeing to hand over authors’ IP addresses to the police. (0)

France: Journalists freed by Taliban after 18 months in captivity
French journalists, Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier, have returned home after 18 months captivity in Afghanistan. The reporter and cameraman for television channel, France 3, were captured in 2009 while filming in the mountains of Kapisa. The pair were kept in solitary confinement for eight months and locked up for 23 hours a day. A media blackout was imposed on the French media throughout the first few months of their captivity out for “a political reasons and concerns for their safety”. (0)

Zimbabwe: Editor and reporter arrested for writing "false statements"
Police in Zimbabwe have arrested two journalists from the Sunday Standard newspaper: editor Nevanje Madanhire and reporter Patience Nyangove for publishing allegedly “false statements” about the arrest of a government official. The official, Jameson Timba is minister for the Movement for Democratic Change party and was arrested for reportedly calling President Robert Mugabe a liar. Mr Timba’s release was later ordered during a special hearing in the Harare High Court. It is a criminal offence to insult the President under Zimbabwean law. Nyangove and Ramakgapola were charged with “publishing false statements prejudicial to the state” and are due to appear in court tomorrow. (0)

Gaza Strip: Reporter interrogated over Salafist group reports
The Gaza Strip correspondent for France 24, Salama Atallah, has claimed that he was interrogated by Hamas security officials on 26 June. According to Atallah, threats, insults and beatings were used in an attempt to obtain further information about a Salafist group he had been reporting on in Gaza. Prior to this, Atallah had been questioned three times in the month of June and he has recently announced that he will undergo a fifth interrogation on 30 June. (0)

Sudan: Editor facing possible death penalty or life imprisonment
Abuzar Ali Al-Amin, the deputy editor of Sudanese opposition daily, Raj Al-Shaab, is facing the possibility of life imprisonment or the death penalty. Two weeks ago, Al-Amin had the release date for his five-year jail sentence for “publishing incorrect information” and “attacking the state” brought forward to 3 July of this year. A new charge, brought by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), accuses Al-Amin of causing deliberate injury to an agent when he was arrested in May 2010. This year has already seen the arrest of more than 30 journalists in Sudan and a popular newspaper has been prevented from printing five times. (1)

Egypt: Tear gas fired at protesters demanding justice for "martyrs"
Tear gas was fired at protesters in Tahrir Square this week as hundreds of Egyptians demanded faster action against former senior officials who are currently awaiting trial. On Tuesday evening, families of the 840 people killed in February’s mass protests had gathered to honour the dead. When police arrived and violence erupted, the crowds moved towards Tahrir to speak out for the “martyrs” who had been killed in the uprising. (1)

Uganda: Radio presenter begins community service for privacy intrusion
Radio presenter in Uganda, Philips Ogile, yesterday began a two-month community service sentence after he was convicted of privacy intrusion. In January 2007 Ogile took, and later published, a photograph of a woman stripped and searched by law enforcement officers. The woman was accused of stealing a mobile phone. Ogile was charged with three counts of indecent assault, defamation and indecently assaulting the modesty of a woman. The officer involved was charged with unlawful detention and fined 100, 000 Ugandan shillings (£25). (1)

Uzbekistan: Journalists fined and detained for press censorship protest
Uzbek journalists, Malohat Eshonqulova and Saodat Omonova, have been detained and fined 2.94 million soms (around £1000) for holding an unauthorized protest on Monday morning. The two women, who have now begun a hunger strike, held up placards in front of the presidential palace in Tashkent which read “Dear Islam Karimov, please grant us an audience”. The pair were arrested after around four hours of protesting on 27 June, a day officially marked by Uzbekistan as the “Day of Media Workers“. Eshonqulova and Omonova were fired from state television channel Yoshlar last December, three days after they staged protests against media censorship and are still fighting a court battle to appeal their dismissal. (2)

Malaysian activists detained for planning rally
Malaysian authorities arrested and detained 30 opposition members for planning a protest rally to be held on 9 July. The Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, claimed the activists were communists conspiring to overthrow the government. (1)

Taiwanese food blogger faces prison for defamation
A Taiwanese blogger, identified only as Liu, was sentenced to 30 days in detention and ordered to pay NT$200,000 (about £11,000) for allegedly writing a defamatory review about a local restaurant. She blogged that the dish she had ordered was too salty and that there were cockroaches on the restaurant premises. The restaurant refuted these claims, sued, and won their claim. In Taiwan, defamation is a criminal act. (1)

India: Journalist beaten by police
Shalabh Mani Tripathi, Bureau Chief of Hindi news channel IBN, has claimed that he was beaten by police for his reporting on a medical officer found dead in a jail hospital. Tripathi alleges that he was dragged into a car, interrogated about his “wrong and sensational” reports and beaten. Journalists in Lucknow protested outside the Chief Minister’s residence until it was announced  that the officers involved had been suspended pending further investigations. (1)

Russia: Oleg Kashin defeats libel claim
Russian journalist, Oleg Kashin, has won the right to speculate about the identity of two men who beat him with iron rods. Kashin spent five days in a coma after he was attacked outside his apartmenton 6 November last year. The Kremlin’s youth policy chief, Vasily Yakemanko, filed a libel suit against Kashin, liberal newspaper Novye Izvestia and political analyst, Alexander Morozov, for reporting speculation that he might be behind the incident. A Moscow court ruled in favour of Kashin after it was found that Yakemenko had failed to prove that the accusations were factual statements.   (1)

Belarus: Protesters use social media to organise co-ordinate efforts
Activists used popular Russian social network, Vkontakte, and Twitter hashtag, #2206v1900, to organise protest action in towns all over Belarus on 22 June. Over 1, 000 people gathered for a rally in Minsk despite warnings to would-be protesters from local police about “possible administrative charges for participating in unsanctioned protests”. Throughout the day Vkontakte group, “Movement of the Future”, with over 200, 000 members, tweeted regularly. A total of 450 protesters were arrested during the “silent” anti-government demonstrations, many remain in detention. (2)

China: Imprisoned journalist faces another 8 years
Just two weeks shy of his release, imprisoned journalist Qi Chonghuai, has now been sentenced to another eight years on charges of embezzlement, extortion, and blackmail after a 9 June retrial. He was first arrested in 2007 after writing a newstory criticising a local official for beating a woman who arrived late to work. (2)

Somalia: Two radio stations silenced in twenty-four hours
Members of the Sufi group, Ahlu Sunna Waljama (ASWJ), shut down Radio Dhusamareb of central Somalia on Wednesday evening. Seven masked intruders forced staff to evacuate the building and the station’s editor was arrested and taken into custody. He has now been released without charge. Less than 24 hours before the attack, Al Shabaab militants silenced the Voice of Hiran radio station in the town of Beletweyne. (1)

Brazilian journalist and politician shot to death
Journalist and political leader, Edinaldo Figueira, was shot to death on 15 June. He founded a Brazilian newspaper and was president of a branch of the Workers’ Party in Brazil’s northern state of Rio Grande do Norte. He also blogged regularly on local politics. It is rumoured Figueira’s killing is retribution for his recent blogpost critizing city officials. (1)

Syrian protesters in UK report threats
Syrian anti-government protesters in London have received threatening phone calls and house visits from Syrian embassy officials, they claim. Though the protesters cannot be arrested by embassy officials, the government can threaten to detain family and relatives in Syria or arrest them if they return to Syria. The Syrian embassy has denied the claims. (1)

Iraq: Cameraman killed by car bomb
Afaq.tv cameraman, Salem Alwan Al-Gharabi, was killed in a suicide bomb attack in southern Iraq on Tuesday. At least 27 people were killed in the double car bomb attack outside a government compound in Diwaniya, a city 275 km south of Baghdad. Al-Gharabi had gone to cover the regional council’s weekly meeting when he was killed in the blast. (0)

China: Censors close whistle blowing site
A website allowing Chinese citizens to blow the whistle on official bribery, www.ibribery.com, has been shut down. Site creator Chen Hong copied the idea from Indian site ipaidabribe.com. Censors blocked access to Hong’s site after it received 200, 000 unique visitors in just two weeks. The 28 year old PR consultant then closed the site, fearing repercussions from the authorities. Several other bribery sites, which appeared soon after Hong’s, have also been shut down. (1)

Swaziland: Journalist detained and accused of tainting country's image
Swazi journalist Mancoba Nxumalo was held by police on Wednesday (22 June) and accused of “tarnishing” the Kingdom’s image, he has claimed. The journalist believes he was targeted for arranging interviews for South African broadcaster SABC with two Swazi activists jailed over pro-democracy protests in April. He said that police told him he had “conspired with the SABC to tarnish the county’s image”. (0)

Northern Ireland: Press Association photographer shot in the leg as Belfast violence erupts
Press Association photographer Niall Carson, who was covering violence in east Belfast was shot in the leg during a riot on Monday night. Stones, fireworks, petrol bombs and improvised missiles have been thrown between rival groups of masked rioters. Carson was taken to Royal Victoria hospital where he is now said to be in a stable condition. (0)

Sri Lanka: Press freedom bill rejected
A bid for greater media freedom put forward by opposition parties in Sri Lanka has been rejected by the ruling party led by President Mahinda Rajapakse. The United People’s Freedom Alliance, which enjoys a two-thirds majority, voted against the proposed Freedom of Information Bill. The bill was presented after opposition members accused the government of trying to stifle media freedom. A total of at least 18 journalists and media employees have been killed in the past decade. (0)

Bahrain: Eight activists and opposition leaders jailed for life
Eight Shia activists and opposition leaders have been sentenced to life imprisonment in Bahrain. They have been found guilty of  plotting a coup in the Sunni-ruled kingdom during protests in March this year. Protests in response to the setences are expected, reports Al Jazeera English. Those convicted include Shia political leader Hassan Mushaima and the activists Abdulhady al-Khawaja and Abduljalil Al Singace. Thirteen other campaigners received lesser sentences between two and 15 years, reports the Guardian. Among these was Ibrahim Sharif, Sunni leader of the secular leftist group Waad, who was sentenced to five years. (1)

UK: Parliament Square protester Brian Haw dies
Parliament Square peace campaigner, Brian Haw, died of lung cancer at the weekend while receiving treatment for the disease in Germany. Haw began his round-the-clock protest opposite the Houses of Parliament on 2 June 2001 and faced numerous attempts to force him from his post. Earlier this year the Greater London Authority evicted Haw and his supporters from the grass area outside the Houses of Parliament, forcing them on to the footpath. Haw’s followers have vowed to continue his work and have paid their respects on his website. (1)

Pakistan: Guardian journalist beaten by men in police uniforms
Guardian journalist Waqar Kiani has claimed that he was abducted and tortured by Pakistani intelligence agents on Saturday night. The alleged attack followed a television appearance where he discussed a previous assault which took place in 2008, the details of which had only just been released. Kiani has been working on a story about the illegal detention and torture of Islamist militants by Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence . The 32-year-old claims that he was stopped, dragged from his car and attacked with wooden batons and a rubber whip. He is currently being treated in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. (0)

Jordan: News agency stormed after reporting on attack on King Abdallah
On Saturday the Agence France-Presse bureau in Amman was attacked. The office was reportedly stormed by a dozen men armed with clubs who smashed furniture and telephones and threw files to the ground. Two days before the attack, editor in chief Randa Habib was threatened by an anonymous caller after the agency reported that stones and bottles had been thrown at King Abdallah’s motorcade during a visit to a settlement 200km north of the capital. Jordan’s Minister of State for Communications and Media Affairs, Taher Adwan, said that reports of violence by some media agencies were groundless. (0)

Belarus: Human rights activist reportedly "tortured" in prison
Human rights activist, Mikita Likhavid, is being tortured in prison according to claims made by the Belarus opposition group Youth Front. In March Likhavid, a member of the Za Svabodu (For Liberty) movement, was sentenced to three and a half years for participating in a rally held to protest President Alexander Lukashenko’s reelection last December. According to Youth Front, Likhavid has been held in solitary confinement four times in the last 40 days, an action which is considered torture by international standards.   (1)

Foreign activists attacked in Azerbaijan
American journalist Amanda Erickson and British activist Celia Davies Carys were followed home and beaten by four men on 15 June in Baku. The women are in Baku to train local journalists. Carys sustained a broken arm in the attack. (1)

Sierra Leone: Policeman arrested over journalist's death
A policeman was arrested yesterday (16 June) as the key suspect in the killing of Ibrahim Foday, a journalist for Exclusive newspaper. Foday was stabbed five days ago in Freetown while covering a riot on a land dispute, the cause of his death was not initially made clear. Sierra Leone journalists are now condemning his murder. The president of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, Umaru Fofanah, said: ”Journalists in Sierra Leone must not continue being the endangered species.” (0)

Belarus: Journalist faces four years in prison for "insulting the president"
Andrey Pochobut, a correspondent for the Polish newspaper GazetaWyborcza who stands accused of defamation and “insulting the president”, is facing a four-year prison sentence. The trial began yesterday in Leninski district court, Belarus, with journalists and family members excluded from proceedings. There are  now serious concerns over whether Pochobut will receive a fair trial. The offending articles appeared on the Gazeta Wyborcza website, the Belaruspartisan.org site and in his personal blog. Pochobut would be the fourth journalist sent to prison on a charge of “insulting the president” if he is found guilty. The trial continues. (0)

Bahrani government to sue the Independent for libel
Bahrain’s Information Affairs Authority today announced it has commissioned a UK-based legal firm to file a defamation case against the Independent newspaper. Nawaf Mohammed Al-Maawda, publications director-general said: “The Independent has deliberately published a series of unrealistic and provocative articles targeting Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” He claimed the newspaper, and in particular its Middle-East correspondent Robert Fisk had set out to tarnish Bahrain’s image. (2)

Turkey: Thirty-two computer hackers arrested in police raids
Turkish police yesterday arrested 32 computer hackers who are suspected of links with the anti-government hacker collective, Anonymous. Over the weekend cyber attacks were launched on a number of government sites to protest against proposed net filtering legislation which is expected to be passed later this year. Police raided the homes of 12 homes in cities all over Turkey after software used by the hackers to protect their identities failed. (0)

Bangladesh: Anti-government protesters arrested in second general strike this month
At least 50 anti-government protesters were jailed in Bangladesh yesterday after the authorities broke up the second general strike staged this month. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Islamic fundamentalist group, Jamaat-e-Islami, are oppposing the planned abolition of a law which requires the government to hand over power to a neutral party for polling once their administration is over. Protesters observing the 36-hour strike have been jailed for up to a month for “creating public disturbance” in the capital, Dhaka. (1)

Bahrain: Woman beaten and jailed for poetry reading
Twenty-year-old student, Ayat al-Gormezi, who recited poems critical of Bahrain’s rulers at a Shia-led protest in Pearl Square has been sentenced to a year in prison. In the lead up to her trial she claimed that she was beaten in prison and she has now been convicted of charges which include inciting hatred. One verse of the poem, addressed directly to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, read: “We are the people who will kill humiliation and assassinate misery. Don’t you hear their cries?” According to her mother, Sada al-Qurmezi, an appeal is planned. (1)

Turkey: Editor accused of "exceeding the limits of freedom of expression"
Ahmet Altan, the editor of liberal daily paper Taraf has appeared in court after he was accused of “exceeding the limits of freedom of expression” by the country’s prime minister. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been in power since 2003, filed for defamation after Altan accused him of denying the rights of Kurds and for turning his back on his former progressive identity. The prime minister is demanding 50,000 Turkish Liras in compensation and has also filed a criminal complaint against Altan. The case continues. (1)

Indian journalist slain
Jyotirmoy Dey, the investigations editor for the daily paper Mid day based in Mumbai was shot dead by four men on 11 June. He had recently written a piece  on an oil mafia that had been selling tainted fuel. Dey was cremated on Sunday 12 June and police are currently investigating the incident. (1)

Uzbekistan: Libel trial raises questions over EU conduct
Recent developments in a libel trial involving Uzebkistan’s first family have raised concerns about the EU’s involvement with the Karimov family. The claim was brought by President Karimov’s daughter, Lola, against French website Rue89 after one reporter branded her father a “dictator”. Documents produced in court last week, which were originally intended to establish the credibility of the family, have raised questions about why the EU was communicating with Lola Karimov-Tillyaeva about the allocation of $3.7m worth of charitable funding. (1)

Mexico: Kidnapped journalist still missing
There has been no news on the whereabouts of Marco Antonio López Ortiz, the news editor of Novedades Acapulco, a daily based in Acapulco, Mexico. He was kidnapped 7 June by a group of men. Ortiz oversaw the paper’s crime reports, but according to his supervisor, had kept stories short and cautious in order not to cross organised crime leaders who routinely target and intimidate Mexican journalists. (1)

Philippines: Radio journalist killed
A radio journalist for DWEB, a private station based in Manila, was shot twice in the back on his way to work. Romeo Olea’s wife said that he had received death threats and police believe the murder is linked to Olea’s recent stories criticising a city government in the east Philippines. (0)

Chinese human rights activist evicted
Chinese authorities evicted Zeng Jinyan, the wife of imprisoned AIDs and free speech activist Hu Jia, from her home in Shenzhen today. Zeng is also a human rights activist and keeps a blog and twitter account. Authorities are now warning Zeng that she and her husband may be put under house arrest upon his release on 26 June. (1)

Morocco: Top newspaper editor sentenced to a year in prison
Rachid Nini, the editor of one of Morocco’s leading newspapers, has been sentenced to a year in prison and fined 100 euros after he was convicted of compromising “the security and integrity of the nation and citizens”. Nini had been held for over two months before the trial took place and had been refused bail three times. A number of his editorials had attempted to expose the corrupt practices of the Morrocan government. (1)

Espionage charges dropped against former NSA official
Former U.S. National Security Agency employee, Thomas Drake, agreed to a plea bargain that will reduce his charges from a felony under the Espionage Act to a misdemeanor for misusing the agency’s computer system. In this new scheme, prosecutors promised not to seek jail time. Drake originally faced a 35-year prison sentence for providing official documents to a reporter for The Baltimore Sun. (3)

Iranian blogger sentenced to 20 years in prison
Sakhi Rigi was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for critiquing the 2009 Iranian presidential elections on his blog. He was arrested in 18 June 2009 and has received the longest sentence given to an Iranian blogger. Yesterday (8 June) Canadian-Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan lost his appeal against a 19-year prison sentence. Known as the “blogfather,” Derakhshan championed the internet as a means of social reform. He has been in prison since his arrest in 2008 for making disparaging remarks about important Shiite leaders. Both Derakhshan and Rigi were convicted of “aiding enemy states and propaganda against the Islamic system.” (2)

Palestinian Authority bans reporting on human rights criticism
The Palestinian Authority has prohibited local journalists from covering a report documenting human rights abuses committed by the authority and Hamas against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority claimed the report by the Ramallah-based Independent Commission for Human Rights would harm the recent reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. (2)

Central Africa Republic: Editor charged with "inciting hatred and violence"
The editor of an independent weekly newspaper in the Central African Republic was jailed on 6 June. Faustin Bambou’s arrest on 27 May followed a series of articles he wrote on embezzlement cases. In one article he suggested that defence minister Jean-Francis Bozizé, President François Bozizé’s son, had embezzled funds donated by the European Union. The court claimed that Bombou’s reports “incited hatred and violence” by encouraging violent demonstrations by former soldiers demanding to be paid. (1)

Azerbaijan: President admits censoring festival art
Government officials in Azerbaijan have admitted that the President Ilham Aliyev had a hand in censoring the country’s entries to the Venice Biennale festival. The artwork of  Aidan Salakhova included a replica of the Black Stone, a sacred Muslim relic, surrounded by a vagina-shaped marble frame. Aliyev, reportedly asked for several of Salakhov’s pieces to be covered by a black veil because he felt they might be considered “offensive to Islam”. Curators had previously claimed that Salakhov’s pieces were not on display because they had been damaged in transit. (0)

Doused matches save Columbian journalist in petrol attack
Two men kidnapped Channel 22 director Mario Esteban López last night (6 June), tied a rope around his neck and forced him to drive to a secluded area where they poured gasoline on him. Fortunately the abductors’ matches also got covered in petrol and failed to light, a police car then drove by, frightening the men away. López claims he was targeted for his reports on drug trafficking. (1)

India: Police break up anti-corruption protests
At least 30 people were injured today after police broke up protesters rallying against a police crackdown on a separate protest on Saturday (4 June) led by famous yoga guru and activist Baba Ramdev. Today’s rally was led by Anna Hazare, a high profile campaigner against government corruption. Government ministers had warned that “firm action” would be taken just hours before teargas and batons were used on the peaceful crowds in Delhi. (2)

Iranian teacher and blogger arrested
Ali Pour Soleiman, a blogger and teacher was arrested in Iran last week according to HRANA, the human rights activists news agency. He was a member of the Teacher’s Association wrote for Sokhane Molem a teacher’s blog. The charges he faces are unclear.     (1)

Syrian blogger Amina Abdallah abducted
Three armed men seized a Syrian blogger and forced her into a car yesterday evening (6 June), her cousin recorded the incident on her website. Amina Araf, a Syrian-American dual citizen who writes under the pen name, Amina Abdallah, discusses politics and sexuality on her blog, A Gay Girl in Damascus. She has been an outspoken critic of the Syrian government. Editor’s note: Amina Abdallah has been discovered to be a hoax, perpetrated by Tom MacMaster, a 40 year old American studying for a masters at Edinburgh University in Scotland. (1)

Mexico: Missing journalist, Noel Lopez Olguin, found dead
The body of missing Mexican journalist, Noel Lopez Olguin, was found in Veracruz on 1 June. Lopez, a columnist for a small local newspapers, was kidnapped from his home by two gunmen in March. Throughout his career Lopez was critical of local corruption and newspapers are now distancing themselves from his work for fear of reprisal attacks. (1)

Canada: Student suspended for satirical YouTube videos
A Canadian twelfth grade student has been suspended for posting satirical videos on his own private YouTube account. The animations, criticising aspects of the American government and the behaviour of large corporations and were considered by the Donald A. Wilson Secondary School to be “detrimental to the positive moral tone of the school”. Jack Christie is currently being investigated by police who were called by the school when the videos started appearing. Christie has responded to the school board in his latest video (WARNING: SOME STROBE LIGHTING) (1)

Bahrain: Ayat al-Gormezi faces tribunal for poetry reading
Ayat al-Gormezi, the 20 year old woman arrested for reading a poem at a pro-democracy rally in Pearl Square, Bahrain, is due to face a military tribunal later today. Just days after she read the poem which ended “Down with Hamad”, police raided her family home. The poet and student has claimed that she was forced to hand herself in when police held her four brothers at gunpoint. Al-Gormezi has spent time in a military hospital since being taken into police custody where she has received treatment for torture wounds. This is the latest in a growing number of violent acts towards female protesters in Bahrain. (0)

UN rapporteur calls for end to criminal defamation laws
The United Nations special rapporteur for free expression Frank La Rue has called for the abolition of criminal defamation laws. Guatemalan lawyer La Rue also condemned the use of “national security” reasons to curb free expression: In a report released today, LaRue comments:

The Special Rapporteur reiterates the call to all States to decriminalize defamation. Additionally, he underscores that protection of national security or countering terrorism cannot be used to justify restricting the right to expression unless it can be demonstrated that: (a) the expression is intended to incite imminent violence; (b) it is likely to incite such violence; and (c) there is a direct and immediate connection between the expression and the likelihood or occurrence of such violence.

UK: Max Mosley renews court bid for new privacy laws
Former motorsport chief Max Mosley has applied to appeal the European Court decision last month that ended his efforts to change Britain’s privacy laws. The court in Strasbourg threw out the Mosley’s bid for the subjects of newspaper stories to be given “prior notification” of publication. Mosley launched the case after the News of the World printed intimate details about his sex life in 2008. The appeal filed by Mosley’s lawyers to the Grand Chamber before will be the last opportunity for the case to be heard.     (1)

Saudi Arabia: Two Shiite bloggers released
Two Shiite bloggers who were arrested for their coverage of peaceful demonstrations in Shia-majority area of Qatif have been released by Saudi security authorities. The two young men, Mustafa Badr Al-Mubarak and Sayyid Hussein Kadham Al-Hashem, were arrested on 27 April 2011 when security forces broke into their homes and confiscated their laptops. Their blogs contained extensive coverage of their involvement in human rights activism and several peaceful demonstrations. A new law passed in January 2011 requires anyone wishing to post material online to obtain a press license from Saudi authorities. (1)

Yemen: Journalists targeted as clashes continues
Journalists and protesters in Sana’a are facing gunfire and sniper attacks as fighting in Yemen’s capital city intensifies. Private satellite broadcasting station, Suhail TV, was attacked by mortar fire earlier this week. Cameras, archives and computers were severely damaged and two camera operators were injured. One Suhail TV employee has claimed that a sympathetic senior military officer warned him that snipers have been ordered to kill employees of the station on sight. Clashes between anti-government protesters and troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh has claimed over 200 lives this week, according to reports. (1)

Iranian activist, Haleh Sahabi, dies in a fight with authorities
Iranian activist, Haleh Sahabi, 56, died yesterday (1 June) after a scuffle with Iranian security personnel during her father’s funeral procession. Sahabi died in hospital after apparently suffering a heart attack. The regime tightly controls opposition funerals to ensure they do not become a catalyst for protests. Sahabi was a women’s rights activist, and government opponent like her father, Ezatollah Sahabi, 81, who founded one of Iran’s first independent papers, Iran-é-Farda. She was sentenced to a two year prison term for protesting during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s swearing-in ceremony in August 2009. Sahabi was released on furlough from jail to attend to her ailing father. (1)

China: Government implicated in cyber attacks
A string of highly sophisticated cyber attacks have been launched on the Gmail accounts of a number of Chinese activists as well as US and South Korean government officials. Suspicions have been raised about the Chinese government’s involvement because of the nature of the targets and the lack of any apparent financial motive. The government has denied the allegations. The White House is currently investigating the situation alongside representatives from Google. (0)

ACLU demands US high schools remove gay internet censors
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports Gwinnett County schools in Georgia employ a filter, Blue Coat, that blocks access to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender site and classifies them as sexually explicit or pornographic. The ACLU drafted a demand letter on 23 May, asking the county to remove the filters from the schools and respond to its inquiry by 30 May, but has not yet received a response. Nowmee Shehab, a recent graduate and former president of the LGBT club at one of the schools told ACLU she was unable to access LGBT sites to plan activities. She stated, “Students need to be able to find information about their rights and about suicide and bullying prevention, and now they’re not able to get to information that’s really important for them.”s (0)

King Abdullah orders release of Jordanian journalist
Jordanian journalist, Alaa Fazza, was released from prison Wednesday, on the orders of King Abdullah II yesterday (1 June), the country’s independence day. Fazza was been detained 14 days by a military court on charges that he had accused the government of corruption without submitting evidence to the Attorney General. In a letter to Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, King Abdullah cautioned about the “danger of the behavior of some who take the denunciation of corruption as an excuse for the character assassination of individuals and institutions.” (0)

Uganda: Police storm printing press
Police in Uganda raided the offices of Prime General Supply Limited, the publishers of a bi-weekly newspaper which is critical of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government. During the raid on 25 May two senior editors and two other members of staff at Ggwanga newspaper were arrested on allegations of criminal libel. A computer and several documents concerning the activities of “Activists for Change” were also removed. Three employees have been released on police bail awaiting further questioning. (0)

Belarus: Russian reporter expelled
Russian reporter Rodion Marinichev was yesterday arrested, stripped of his press accreditation and given 24 hours to leave the Belarus. He has been banned from returning to the country for five years. The correspondent, from Russian television station Dozhd, was detained by police just hours after he interviewed Irina Khalip who is serving a two year suspended prison sentence. She is the a correspondent for Novaya Gazeta and the wife of Andrei Sannikov, a former presidential candidate who was recently given a five year prison sentence for “organising and preparing a public order disruption.” (0)

Burundi: Freed journalist vows to expose prison conditions
A journalist who was imprisoned for 10 months for “publishing “information that discredits the state and economy” has vowed expose overcrowding in Burundi’s state prisons. Jean-Claude Kavumbagu is planning to draw on his experience of life behind bars in Mpimpa Prison to expose the issue of overcrowding. The editor of news site Net Press said: “My plan is to draw attention to this and get the authorities to put it right.” Kavumbagu was released from prison earlier this month after campaigns by human rights groups and pressure from Western governments. (0)

Russia: Suspect arrested in Anna Politkovskaya murder
Russian authorities arrested Rustam Makhmudov in Chechyna on Tuesday (31 May). He is suspected of shooting Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya to death in 2006. Politkovskaya was one of the fiercest critics of now Chechyan President Ramzan Kadyrov, having accused him of torture and corruption. Makmudov’s arrest follows the acquittal of his two brothers and a former police investigator who were tried as accompli to the Politkovskaya murder in 2009. It is now claimed that Makmudov could be the missing link in the murder conspiracy.   (0)

Georgia: 17 journalists brutally attacked by police
A number of Georgian journalists claim they were attacked by a Special Forces police unit who broke up a protest on 26 May. Officers surrounded them and inflicted verbal and physical abuse while removing video equipment and making arrests. A number of journalists were detained for several hours. Beka Sivsivadze, from the independent newspaper, Asaval-Dasavali, claimed: “I told them that we were the journalists but they beat us harder when they heard it.” (0)

Bahrain: Human rights activist missing
Human rights activist, Nabeel Rajab, was summoned to a military court just hours before Bahrain was due to lift its emergency law. He is now missing. Rajab is president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). Bahrain’s state of emergency was lifted today, introduced almost three months ago, the emergency law coincided with the arrival of over 1, 000 Saudi troops who were called to crush largely peaceful Shiite protests. (2)

Uganda: Website editor charged with criminal libel
A journalist appeared in Kampala Magistrates Court yesterday charged with criminal libel. Timothy Kalyegira, the editor of Uganda Record, a website which has been critical of the country’s governing National Resistance Movement. Kalyegira was initially questioned over articles which suggested that Somali based militants, al Shabaab, were connected to the 11 July bombings in Kampala which killed 76 people. He is being remanded in Luzira Prison until his next trial date on 6 June. (0)

Pakistan: Journalist Saleem Shahzad murdered
According to Pakistani news sources, the body of the Pakistan bureau chief for Asia Times Online, has been found. He had been missing since Sunday. Previous reports said that he was under the custody of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. Human rights groups claim that the agency has abused and tortured journalists in the past. Saleem Shahzad’s disappearence followed after warnings from Pakistani security agencies over articles that seemed damaging to Pakistan’s national interest and image. Shahza recently covered the Pakistan Taliban’s attack of a naval air force base in Karachi on May 23. (2)

Chinese officials seek to stifle protests in Inner Mongolia
Protesters took to the streets on Monday (30 May) in Inner Mongolia after Han Chinese coal truck drivers killed a Mongolian herder who attempted to stop them from trespassing on grasslands. Chinese officials have sought to stifle the protests in the region by tightening security, censoring coverage of the event, and promising to punish the perpetrators. There has been growing tensions between herders and coal miners over the use of the grasslands, which cover reserves of coal, natural gas, and rare minerals. Local sources link the protests to a deeper resentment among Mongolians over their marginalisation by the Chinese. (0)

China tightens television censorship
Hunan Broadcasting System, one of China’s largest television networks, has told the Financial Times it will reduce entertainment content and revamp its programming to comply with new government broadcasting standards. The network has outposts in Hong Kong and North America and is known for airing Super Girl, a version of UK’s Pop Idol. (0)

US senator blocks controversial anti-piracy legislation
Just hours after the PROTECT IP Act passed unanimously in the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon placed a hold to prevent it from reaching the Senate. Wyden argued the legislation was an “overreaching approach to policing the internet.” The act was introduced two weeks ago and authorises the government to use court orders to prohibit internet search engines from displaying sites that violate intellectual property laws. It would also force internet providers to block “rogue” sites offering pirated goods.Media groups fighting for anti-piracy protection have largely praised the legislation. (0)

EU plan to fight piracy may lead to internet policing, say critics
The European Commission’s plan to tackle internet copyright infringements, such as illegal media downloads, would require internet service providers to work with the entertainment industry to monitor content. Critics fear this could lead to censorship and over-monitoring. BEUC, the European Consumers’ Organisation said, “Such practices would turn ISPs into some sort of Internet police that monitors the online behaviour of users and enforces copyright legislation. Fundamental rights of users will be jeopardized, namely the right to privacy and the right to due process.” Just last year, a judge ruled in Australia that an ISP company was not responsible for illegal downloading, stating that “If the ISPs become responsible for the acts of their customers, essentially they become this giant and very cheap mechanism for anyone with any sort of legal claim.” (0)

Gunmen in Honduras target media: kill one, wound another
Three gunmen killed Channel 24 television owner Luis Ernesto Mendoza Cerrato last week. Gunmen also wounded newspaper manager Manuel Acosta Medina two days as he drove home. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 11 journalists have been killed in Honduras since March 2010, at least three weer murdered in retaliation for their work. Although police are investigating whether the two crimes were assassinations, a CPJ report in 2010 found consistently poor and negligent investigative work into the killings. (0)

British author Alan Shadrake jailed in Singapore
The Singapore High Court has denied writer Alan Shadrake’s appeal against his six-week jail sentence. Shadrake was convicted of “scandalising the judiciary” in November after he published “Once A Jolly Hangman” a book criticising the use of the death sentence in the city-state. The author was first arrested in July 2010 while on a book tour and subsequently released on bail. Singapore law considers statements that “interfere with the administration of justice” a criminal offense. The British writer, 76, still faces a separate charge of defamation. (1)

India censors the Economist over Kashmir map
The Indian government forced The Economist to use a sticker to conceal a map of Kashmir in the magazine. The magazine’s cover story, which utilised the map, was on the region’s border disputes. Nearly 30,000 censored issues were distributed in India. India has claimed Kashmir as its own but The Economist shows how regions of Kashmir are also held by Pakistan and China. (0)

Azerbaijan: Eynulla Fatullayev pardoned
Azerbaijan journalist Eynulla Fatullayev has been pardoned by the country’s president Ilham Aliyev, according to a report on the News.az website. Fatullayev’s name featured on a list of prisoners to be released on the morning of Friday 27 May. Fatullayev, who worked as a reporter on Elmar Huseynov’s magazine Monitor and later founded and edited Realny Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaycan, served almost four years in prison. Index on Censorship, English PEN, Article 19 and Amnesty led an international campaign for the 34-year-old editor’s release. Natasha Schmidt, Assistant Editor of Index on Censorship said: “We’re absolutely delighted that Eynulla will be freed. This comes more than a year after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that he should be released. Only last month Index lobbied European leaders to ensure that this judgement was enforced and that freedom of expression is upheld. It is of concern however that bloggers and Facebook activists are still in prison.” More... (0)

Brazilian anti-logging activist shot dead
José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva, an outspoken opponent of illegal burning and logging in the Amazon rainforest, has been shot dead in an ambush near their his home in Nova Ipixuna, in Pará state, about 37 miles from Marabá, Brazil. His wife was also killed in the attack. Da Silva had received frequent death threats from rainforest loggers. He confessed in a public conference in November that he feared for his life. A 2008 report compiled by Brazilian human rights activists also listed Da Silva as one of those “considered at risk” for assassination. But the couple had allegedly not asked for any police protection. Authorities are now investigating whether the killing was an assassination. (0)

Cisco sued by Falun Gong members for "aiding" Chinese censorship
A federal lawsuit filed last Thursday against Cisco Systems claims the computer networking company helped design the controversial “Golden Shield” firewall used by the Chinese government to censor the internet and monitor dissidents, such as members of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that is banned in China. Several Falun Gong members have been apprehended by Chinese officials, arrested, tortured, and at least one member was beaten to death. Another is missing and presumed dead. The lawsuit was filed by The Human Rights Law Foundation on behalf of members of Falun Gong via the Alien Torts Statute, a federal law that permits foreign nationals to sue for violations of international law in the United States federal court. Charges have also been brought under the Torture Victim Protection Act. The 52-page suit contains a marketing slide revealing the goal of the Golden Shield to “douzheng” or persecute Falun Gong and other cults. The company denied the allegations, stating, “Cisco does not operate networks in China or elsewhere, nor does Cisco customise our products in any way that would facilitate censorship or repression.” (1)

Press TV could face fine for Bahari prison interview
Iran’s state-run English language channel Press TV could face a hefty fine from UK TV regulators after it broadcast a prison interview with jailed journalist Maziar Bahari. Ofcom found that the station had breached Bahari’s rights by broadcasting an interview in which he was forced to make a “televised statement about the role of the western media in the post-presidential election demonstrations”. Bahari was detained the summer of 2009, in the aftermath of that year’s Green Revolution. He was released in October after a global campaign. (0)

Belarus: Two more former presidential candidates sentenced
Two former presidential candidates, Vladimir Neklaev and Vytal Rymashevsky were sentenced today alongside a number of political activists, Serguey Voznyak, Andrei Dmitriev, Alexander Feduta and Nasta Polojanko. They were all detained after protests against the disputed re-election of Alexander Lukashenko on 19 December last year. All were put on probation, Neklaev, Rymashevsky, Voznyak, Feduta and Dmitriev for two years and Polojanka, who is just 20 years old, for one year. The sentence was handed down by Judge Janna Jukouskaya, who is currently subject to a European Union travel ban. (0)

Azerbaijani Facebook activist jailed for two years
An Azerbaijani court sentenced opposition activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev to two years’ imprisonment yesterday, 18 May. Hajiyev used Facebook to generate support for the 11 March “Great People’s Day” anti-government protests, but was sentenced on a charge of evading military service. The charge was brought against him in January. As with Eynulla Fatullayev and Jabbar Savalan, Hajiev has been sentenced on charges unrelated to his activism, a tactic that increasingly used by the Azerbaijani authorities. On 14 May, Azerbaijan won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dusseldorf, prompting free speech campaigners to launch fresh criticism on the government’s treatment of critical voices. Hajiyev was arrested prior to the demonstration, on 4 March, and held in pre-trial detention. On 12 May, the European Parliament criticised the crackdown on opposition protests in Azerbaijan and expressed “deep concern” at the increased number of attacks on journalists and civil society activists using social networks to bring attention to their campaigns. European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek is scheduled to begin a visit to Azerbaijan on 20 May. Hajiyev’s lawyer said he was planning to appeal the verdict. More... (1)