Posts Tagged ‘journalist arrested’
June 27th, 2012
Sudanese security forces have brutally cracked down on protests against government austerity measures, arresting scores of people, including
several journalists. Tear gas and rubber bullets were used as police to break up the protests, which have been ongoing since 16 June. Both local and international journalists have been arrested during their coverage of the protests, including Simon Martelli from Agence France Presse and Egyptian journalist
Salma al-Wardany, from Bloomberg. Citizen journalist Nagla Sid Ahmed was summoned for questioning by security services on several consecutive days to prevent her from attending and covering the protests.
June 21st, 2012
An
Egyptian journalist was
arrested in Sudan this morning, whilst covering protests in the country. Salma El-Wardany from Ahram Online and Bloomberg, was reportedly covering ongoing protests in front of Khartoum University when she was arrested by National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), along with blogger Maha El-Senosy. Senosy has since
been released.
June 12th, 2012
A journalist and government critic has been
sentenced to two years in prison in
Azerbaijan. Anar Bayramli, a correspondent for two
Iranian media outlets, was sentenced for a drug possession charge following a controversial court case which was said to include contradictory evidence. Bayramli was arrested in February and charged with possession of four grams of heroin. The journalist was previously summoned by police on a number of occasions to disclose his political affiliation. The sentencing comes at a time when tensions between Azerbaijan and neighbouring Iran are particularly heightened.
May 30th, 2012
Israel’s Attorney General will
indict a journalist from daily newspaper Haaretz, for possession of classified documents. The State Prosecutor’s Office claims that Uri Blau had thousands of top secret and military documents in his possession, which are believed to have been stolen by former IDF soldier Anat Kamm. Blau will be
charged with “aggravated espionage” under Israel’s Penal Code, for which he faces a maximum of seven years in prison.
May 30th, 2012
A journalist has been
arrested in
Malawi for writing an article on a same-sex engagement ceremony. Clement Chinoko, who works for Blantyre Newspapers Limited, was arrested on 26 May after an article appeared in the Malawi’s Sunday Times on 20 May detailing the engagement of two women in the southern city of Blantyre. The journalist has been charged with ”conduct likely to cause breach of peace” and police spokesman Nicholas Gondwa has claimed the article is a fake. Chinoko has not yet been taken to court or been released on bail.
Earlier this month, Malawi’s President Joyce Banda announced plans to repeal the country’s laws against homosexuality.
May 29th, 2012
Ethiopian Police have
detained two journalists who were working for US funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA). Peter Heinlein, a VOA correspondent, was arrested along with freelance reporter Simegnish Yekoye and an interpreter. The trio were detained whilst covering a demonstration of Muslims protesting against government interference in religious affairs. They are currently being held in a federal detention centre in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, but no charges have been filed. A police spokesperson said Heinlein was arrested after refusing to show his press accreditation.
May 23rd, 2012
The head of a new
Palestinian news channel has been
arrested on undisclosed charges in
Israel. Bahaa Khairi Moussa, the general director of the Palestine Prisoner Channel, which covers the conditions faced by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, was arrested on
Thursday (17 May). Saher al-Qassim, the news broadcaster’s executive director, believes the channel’s specialist coverage has lead to the arrest. Moussa’s whereabouts is currently unknown.
May 21st, 2012
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.
