Pakistan: Journalist abducted and killed

The body of a Pakistani journalist has been found, one day after he was abducted. Razzaq Gul, a reporter with the Express News in southern Balochistan, was found dumped near his home in Turbat on Saturday, having been shot 15 times. On Sunday, journalists in Quetta gathered to protest the murder. According to the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), Gul was the 21st journalist to die in the area. Pakistan Press International claims six journalists have been deliberately targeted and murdered in Balochistan in the last four years.

Bahrain: Court fines daughter of opposition activist

A prominent opposition activist has been fined for insulting a government employee in Bahrain. Zainab al-Khawaja, daughter of imprisoned activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike for over three months, was arrested last month after protesting for the release of her father during the Bahrain Grand Prix. Despite being fined 200 dinars ($530), Zainab al-Khawaja remains imprisoned on the charge of attempting to stage a protest. If convicted, the activist faces another charge or imprisonment. The case will be heard on 24 May.

South Africa: Jacob Zuma goes to court over painting depicting his genitals

South Africa’s president is taking legal action after the showing of a painting displaying his genitals. Jacob Zuma is arguing that the painting of him by artist Brett Murray should be removed because it violates his right to dignity and makes a mockery of his office. The piece, entitled The Spear, is currently displayed in the  Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg. Zuma claims that the piece portrays him as “a philanderer, a womaniser and one with no respect”. The African National Congress (ANC) has said the piece presents a crude stereotype of African male sexuality.

Bahrain: Nabeel Rajab granted bail, but remains in prison

Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab is to remain in prison, despite being granted bail. Rajab, who was arrested earlier this month, was granted bail on the charge of “insulting an official authority”, but remains in prison on a second charge of “organising illegal demonstrations”. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights head faces two years in prison if convicted of the second charge. The first charge relates to four posts on Twitter which suggested the interior ministry had not carried out proper investigations into civilian deaths.

India: Government debates cyber censorship, ‘hacktivists’ hack govt websites

Hacktivists have targeted two Indian  government websites, as discussions of internet regulation took place in parliament. The websites of India’s apex court and the ruling Congress party were hacked in an apparent protest against the censorship of some websites by the Indian government. Hacking group Anonymous, who have protested the closures of video sharing websites Pirate Bay and Vimeo are believed to have been involved in the attacks.  Shortly before the websites became unavailable, Anonymous Central Twitter account  read “Namaste #India, your time has come to trash the current government and install a new one. Good luck.”

Syria: Citizen journalist sentenced to death for Al-Jazeera interview

A citizen journalist has been sentenced to death in Syria, after giving a series of interviews to Al-Jazeera TV station. Mohammed Abdelmawla al-Hariri has been charged with “high treason and contacts with foreign parties” after giving the broadcaster an interview on the situation in his home town of Deraa. Hariri, who was arrested on 16 April shortly after giving an interview, has reportedly been subject to horrific torture after his arrest, resulting in partial paralysis. The Syrian government has accused the station of being part of a global plot to cause chaos in the country.

Mexico: Kidnapped reporter found dead in Mexico

The body of a murdered Mexican crime reporter was found at a roadside on Friday. Marco Antonio Avila Garcia of “Diario Sonora de la Tarde” and “El Regional” newspapers was kidnapped on Thursday while waiting at a car-wash. His tortured body was discovered in a black plastic bag the following day,  in the northern state of Sonora, almost 70 miles away from where he was kidnapped. Police found a message signed by a cartel with the body, but refused to reveal its contents. Garcia regularly reported on organised crime in Ciudad Obregon.

Pakistan: Twitter restored after temporary block

Pakistani authorities have restored access to micro-blogging platform Twitter, after temporarily blocking it because of messages deemed “offensive to Islam”. The ban, which came into force on Sunday (20 May) shortly after Interior Minister Rehman Malik said there were no plans to block Twitter, seemed to be the result of a competition on Facebook to submit images of the Prophet Muhammad. The ban was lifted about eight hours after it was imposed, and the chairman of The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) Twitter was blocked after it refused to remove inflammatory and blasphemous content.

Azerbaijan: “Tortured” singer flees country

A 24-year-old Azerbaijani musician who says he was tortured by police after he insulted the country’s president during a concert has fled to Germany over concerns for his safety. Jamal Ali had criticised President Ilham Aliyev and his late mother during the concert in Baku in March, and was charged with hooliganism after an argument with the concert’s organisers. He and two other musicians were sentenced to 10 days’ detention, during which time Ali claims he was tortured. His escape comes just days before the Eurovision song contest, due to be held in the former Soviet country on 26 May.

Kuwait: Blogger sentenced to ten years in prison

A Kuwaiti blogger has been sentence to ten years in prison and fined 1000 Kuwaiti dinars for ”insulting the Prince and his powers” in poems uploaded on YouTube. Lawrence al-Rashidi was initially accused of ”spreading false news and rumors about the situation in the country”  and ”calling on tribes to confront the ruling regime, and bring down its transgressions” in June 2011. The blogger is also being tried as a result of posts on Twitter, deemed to be “an insult to the princely identity” by authorities.