13 Jul 2010 | Index Index, minipost
The Palestinian authorities have prevented three newspapers from being distributed in Gaza territories for the second day in a row. The ban comes only days after the Israeli authorities lifted their own year and a half ban on the papers. The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) quoted Palestinian sources as saying that the authorities require daily newspapers printed in the West Bank to agree not to print anything critical of Hamas. The newspapers are still waiting for an official announcement as to why they have been banned. MADA strongly condemned the action and demanded that the authorities allow all journalists to work freely in the area.
13 Jul 2010 | Index Index, minipost
A film by director Martyn See featuring a speech by former political detainee Lim Hock Siew, has been banned by Singapore’s Information, Arts and Culture Ministry. The films shows Siew discussing the details of his internment, prompting the government to deem it “contrary to public interest” and demand its removal from YouTube. See has published details of the incident, including scans of the government’s letter to him, on his blog.
13 Jul 2010 | Index Index, minipost
Two Mexican journalists have been separately murdered in the North of Mexico. The killings bore the signs of gang violence and bring the number of journalists murdered in Mexico this year to 11. Radio journalist Marco Martínez Tijerina was found in the North Eastern state of Nuevo León. His body had one gunshot to the head and bore signs of torture. On July 10, Guillermo Trejo, an employee of the State Commission for Human Rights in North West Mexico, was killed outside the offices of a newspaper he had previously worked for. Police found over forty bullet casings at the scene.
12 Jul 2010 | Index Index, minipost
Indian journalist Hem Chandra Pandey was killed during an armed encounter with state police in the southern state of Andrah Pradesh on 2 July. The journalist is reported to have been attempting to interview the leader of the banned Communist Party of India, Cherukuri Rajkumar. Pandey’s body was initially identified by local police investigating the incident as a Maoist cadre before his wife noticed his image in the press and corrected the authorities. The Indian Journalists’ Union (IJU) has called for an independent judicial inquiry into the events surrounding Pradesh’s death.
