June 15th, 2012
Libya’s Supreme Court yesterday threw out a new law criminalising the glorification of ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi or his supporters. The law was deemed to be “unconstitutional”, after a group of Libyan lawyers argued against the law for violating international law and the country’s interim constitutional covenant.Tags: Tags: freedom of expression, law, Libya, Muammar Gaddafi,
April 8th, 2011
The Libyan government has decided to deport 26 foreign journalists from the country. The journalists, who had all been invited by the government, were initially told that they would have to leave by Thursday; however their departure has now been postponed until 9 April. Reports suggest that the names of the reporters were posted in the lobby of the hotel they were staying in. This deportation follows the expulsion of various other journalists from the country.Tags: Tags: deportation, journalists, Libya, Muammar Gaddafi,
March 22nd, 2011
Four New York Times reporters being held by pro-Gaddafi forces have now been released, but a further 13 journalists from various media organisations are still missing or in detention. The New York Times reporters were released to Turkish diplomats on Monday and have reported mistreatment including death threats and sexual assault on the only female reporter. The driver for the two AFP reporters and the Getty Images photographer who went missing in Libya said that they are being held by pro-Gaddafi forces after being intercepted by soldiers.Tags: Tags: AFP, Getty Images, journalists detained, Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, New York Times,
March 14th, 2011
Ali Hassan Al Jaber, an Al Jazeera cameraman, was killed in Libya on 12 March after being shot by unknown attackers, in an ambush by forces loyal to Gaddafi. After covering an anti-government protest, the Al Jazeera team was on its way to the city of Benghazi, when the car they were travelling in came under fire. Another journalist in the car received minor gun shot wounds. Al Jaber is the first journalist to have been killed while covering the recent unrest in Libya. Wadah Khanfar, the director-general of Al Jazeera, condemned the attack on its journalists: “Al Jazeera reiterates the assault cannot dent its resolve to continue its mission, professionally enlightening the public of the unfolding events in Libya and elsewhere.” It is also reported that Brazilian journalist, Andrei Netto, who was being held by Libyan authorities has now been released. However, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, a Guardian journalist who was detained at the same time as Netto, is still in custody.March 10th, 2011
A BBC news team trying to reach the town of Zawiya were detained, beaten and subjected to mock executions by pro-Gaddafi forces. The team of three were detained on Monday at an army roadblock and taken to a military barracks in Tripoli where they were held for 21 hours. After release they left the country. The Guardian reports today that its correspondent, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, and his travelling companion Andrei Netto, from the Brazilian newspaper Estado, are missing in Libya. Abdul-Ahad, an Iraqi national, was last in touch with the paper through a third party on Sunday.Tags: Tags: BBC, journalist attacked, Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, Tripoli, Zawiya,
February 21st, 2011
Clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces over the past few days have left at least 200 dead and many more wounded. The government has reacted strongly against demonstrators, with reports of gunfire and restricted hospital supplies. In a televised address Muammar Gaddafi’s son and heir apparent, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi termed the demonstrators “seditious elements,” warning that Libya faced a civil war. “We will take up arms, we will fight to the last bullet,” he said. Restrictions on local and international media make it difficult to build an accurate picture of the demonstrations and to independently verify casualty numbers.