Index on Censorship » journalists arrested

Tunisia: Journalists arrested in morality dispute

Alice Purkiss — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:00:45 +0000

Three Tunisian journalists have been arrested on charges of offending public morality following the publication of a nude photograph. The Attounissia newspaper printed a photograph of Real-Madrid footballer Sami Khedira covering the breasts of his otherwise naked girlfriend, model Lena Gercke. The photograph drew an angry response from the country’s public prosecutor, resulting in the arrest of the newspaper’s publisher Nasreddine Ben Said, Habib Guizani, its editor-in- chief, and its world editor Hedi Hidhri. The photo was a reprint of a 2012 cover of the German edition of GQ Magazine.

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Iraqi Kurdistan: Riots lead to press freedom abuses

Alice Purkiss — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:47:21 +0000

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.

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Russia cracks down on anti-Putin protests

Index on Censorship — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:28:07 +0000

Activists and opposition politicians arrested as Russians speak out against the prime minister’s party. Elena Vlasenko reports

Thousands of people have taken part in opposition rallies against Vladimir Putin’s United Russia after allegations of widespread electoral fraud.

Police and anti-Putin protesters have clashed every day since the parliamentary elections on 4 December.

Hundreds of people protested against election fraud directly on elections day; most were detained by police. There were 8-10 thousand people (two thousand according to the police) in the centre of Moscow the day after elections.

Opposition leaders Ilya Yashin and Alexey Navalny were detained, as well as journalists from Reuters, Bloomberg, The New Times magazine, “Izvestia” newspaper and Lenta.ru news agency. The journalists were released, but Yashin and Navalny were sentenced to 15 days of arrest for “failure to follow a lawful order of policeman”. Both claim they didn’t break the law.

On 6 December, there was a rally at Triumphalnaya Square in Moscow with more than 1,000 protesters. People chanted “Putin thief”, “Russia without Putin”, “It’s a shame to be in NASHI”.

NASHI, a pro-government youth movementallied with two other pro-Kremlin organisations – “Stal” and “United Russia’s Young Guard” – celebrated the victory of United Russia in the parliamentary elections. Seventeen thousand members of these movements gathered at Moscow centre on 6 December. About two thousand of them went to Moscow’s Triumphalnaya Square to prevent anti-Putin protesters from holding a rally by standing there and shouting out “Putin, Medvedev, victory”.

Between 250 and 300 protesters were detained, including Yabloko party leader Sergey Mitrokhin; People’s Freedom Party leader Boris Nemtsov; Other Russia activist Eduard Limonov; Oleg Orlov , head of the Memorial human rights organisation; and journalists Bozhena Rynska of Gazeta.ru and Alexandr Chernykh of Kommersant.

Over 50,000 Ministry of Interior troops are located in Moscow together with policemen. Protesters and journalists have complained of their brutality and aggression from soldiers.

Similar protests were held in Saint-Petersburg by about 800 protesters, 200 of whom were detained whilst Rostov-na-Donu, saw 300 protesters on the streets, 15 of whom were detained.

Russian TV reported on the actions of pro-government movements’ as if they were the only ones held. Pro-Putin demonstrators were described as “citizens tired of marginal groups they don’t support”, in coverage reminiscent of Breznev-era propaganda.

Activists were disappointed by a controversial statement made by Pavel Gusev, the leader of Journalists’ Union, and public council of Moscow police, Olga Kostina. They accused journalists covering the anti-Putin demonstrations of “being biased and lacking objectivity” and “bringing difficulties to law enforcement authorities”.

In the meantime US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton expressed “serious concerns about the conduct of the election”. Catherine Ashton, the EU’s High representative for foreign affairs and security policy expressed the same concerns commenting on a “lack of media impartiality, lack of separation between party and state, and the harassment of independent monitoring attempts” during parliamentary elections.

A big opposition rally against election fraud is expected on 10 December at Moscow Revolution Square just near the Kremlin. Moscow officials have authorised the rally, but troops remain in the city.

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China: Authorities arrest South Korean journalists

Alice Purkiss — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:18:15 +0000

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.

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Belarus: Journalists arrested

Laura MacPhee — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:40:51 +0000

Reporters Aleksandr Lomashkin and Ales Asiptsu were arrested in separate incidents on Thursday, 24 March. Both were detained on the eve of “Freedom Day”, an unofficial holiday traditionally celebrated by members of the opposition. Lomashkin is a Russian journalist who worked in Belarus and founded the human rights website Svoboda. He was forced to get off a train at the Belarusian border and was searched by two officers who claimed that they were looking for drugs. He was arrested for “insulting an officer” and imprisoned for three days. Asipstu is an independent Belarusian journalist who was also arrested for allegedly “urinating in a public place.”

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Journalists arrested in Nepal

Index on Censorship — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:59:47 +0000

Chief editor Ram Pukar Raut, and editor Pravin Sharma Jha, of the New Times Today have been arrested by police in the Southern Nepalese district of Rautahat. They were charged with having links with a militant underground group, and printing a press release from the group. Sources from the newspaper assert that the arrests were a response to an article in the newspaper alleging that the police had taken bribes from an animal smuggler.

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Iran: Journalists arrested in crackdown

Intern — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:48:03 +0000

In a bid to stifle anti-government protests, the Iranian government has intensified its censorship, especially of online media, and arrested journalists covering demonstrations. Opposition websites and independent news websites have come under cyber-attacks limiting their functionality. Bloggers and journalists reporting on the protests continue to be arrested, and security forces have also reportedly beaten relatives of detained protestors.

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Libya: Ten journalists detained

Emily Butselaar — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:53:29 +0000

The authorities have arrested 10 journalists employed by a news agency run by a son of Muammar Gaddafi. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is seen as a reformist and has been increasingly critical of his father’s government. The six men and four women were detained at the office of Libya Press on Friday. Officials have not yet provided a reason for the arrests. Last week, another part of Gaddafi media empire, the Oea newspaper, had its printing suspended by the government.

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Iran: Two journalists arrested, another expelled

Index on Censorship — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:29:53 +0000

Two men, a reporter and a photographer said to be from Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper, have been arrested by Iranian officials. They were detained whilst interviewing the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani in the city of Tabriz. Mrs Ashtiani’s death sentence, which has been suspended, has provoked international outrage. A spokesman for Iran’s judiciary said the pair did not have the correct media accreditation, whilst a spokesman for Bild am Sonntag said it had no knowledge of the arrests. Iranian prosecutor general Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei stated that “two foreigners posing as journalists have been arrested in Iran”. It is thought Mrs Sistiani’s son and lawyer may also have been arrested. In a separate development, Tehran-based journalist Angeles Espinosa has had her accreditation cancelled and been ordered to leave Iran within two weeks. The El Pais correspondent is thought to have attracted the authorities’ disapproval for conducting an interview with the son of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the late reformist cleric, in July.

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UK: Film-makers arrested on Donald Trump’s Scottish estate

Index on Censorship — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:43:03 +0000

Two documentary-makers were arrested and detained after filming at Donald Trump’s golf resort near Aberdeen. Anthony Baxter and Richard Phinney were investigating complaints about building works on the site when Trump’s organisation accused them of entering offices and filming without permission. The two men were arrested for breach of the peace and held for four hours. Their camera equipment was retained by police for five days. Baxter and Phinney deny the allegations. This is not the first time critics of the golf course have been given a hostile reception. On 31 August, long-standing opponent of the resort, Councillor Debra Storr, was ousted from the area committee debating Trump’s planning applications. A leading councillor lost his job in 2007 after voting against the original plans.

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