A free speech defender and lawyer who has represented imprisoned journalists, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was arrested on 5 September on charges of anti-government propaganda and conspiring against the regime after responding to a summons from a revolutionary court prosecutor’s office located inside Tehran’s Evin prison. She has defended political prisoners such as journalists Issa Saharkhiz and Mohammad Sadegh Kaboudvand.
Former TV presenter Sayed Hamid Noori was murderedat his home in Kabul on 5 September. He had been stabbed and his throat had been cut. The motives are unknown but he was an active member of the National Union of Afghan Journalists. Noori was a well-known TV anchor who went into politics and became the spokesman of Mohammad Yunus Qanooni, an opponent of President Hamid Karzai.
The director of a news programme for Mundo Villa TV was murdered in Buenos Airies on 4 September. Adam Ledezma was stabbed after he left his house at 4.45 am to help with a neighbour’s electricity problem, and was found dead half an hour later. The journalist’s wife said he had received threats. The cable channel is based in a large slum in the centre of the city, reporting on the lives of immigrants. Ledezma, who was born in Bolivia, was also a correspondent for Mundo Villa newspaper. Police are now investigating the case.
The US and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned today that a Florida church’s plans to burn copies of the Quran on 11 September could endanger troops. The Dove World Outreach Center is encouraging its members to engage in an “International Burn a Koran Day” to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. General Petraeus said that the demonstration would jeopardise the safety of soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan and other parts of the world. He pointed out that rumours of the book-burning sparked protests in Kabul yesterday. Local authorities in Gainesville, Florida have refused to grant the church a permit for the fire, but Pastor Terry Jones says the demonstration will go ahead as planned.