14 Apr 2010 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, Uncategorized
At least 21 Egyptian expatriates have been arrested and deported from Kuwait for supporting Mohamed ElBaradei. The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency champions political reform in Egypt and is being tipped as a potential presidential candidate. About 30 ElBaradei supporters were arrested in a café on Thursday for what the Kuwaiti interior minister, Sheikh Jaber al-Sabah, said was an illegally assembly. Kuwait police had previously arrested three other ElBaradei supporters. Egypt has claimed they had no hand in these arrests and deportations. AFP reports that more than 400,000 Egyptians live in Kuwait, the country prohibits non-Kuwaitis from participating in demonstrations.
14 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
A prominent member of Gambia’s main opposition party has been sentenced to a year of hard labour on charges of “unlawful assembly”. The Media Foundation for West Africa suggested that the imprisonment of Femi Peters, campaign manager for the United Democratic Party, was an attempt by the government to weaken the opposition ahead of next year’s election. Peters vehemently denied the charges, which followed a meeting organised by the defendant without the approval of the country’s inspector general. Meanwhile, an exiled Gambian journalist claims he received death threats last week from the African country’s feared National Intelligence Agency. Yusupha Cham says he was threatened by the presidential security agency after criticising President Yahya Jammeh in a series of articles on Gambian news websites.
14 Apr 2010 | Uncategorized
Traditional Ulster Voice leader Jim Allister has failed in his attempt to have leaflets printed by election rival Ian Paisley Junior banned.
Mr Allister, a QC hoping to win his young party’s first Westminster seat, maintains that the leaflets contain libellous material.
Mt Justice Gullen noted:
“It is open to argument that the words complained of do not amount to an untrue statement of fact but are part and parcel of the political opinions that seem to have been the hallmark of the campaign to date between these two candidates.
“In coming to this conclusion I am conscious of the need to ensure the free expression of opinion by those who put themselves into the democratic process for election by the population at large.
“I pause to observe again that I am far from ruling that these words may not be capable of defamatory meaning or that a jury may not come to a conclusion favourable to the plaintiff.
“I am not satisfied, however, that it is appropriate that an interlocutory injunction should be granted at this time and accordingly I refuse the plaintiff’s application.”
Mr Allister says he will press ahead with a defamation suit. So it seems, at least in North Antrim, libel is very definitely an election issue.
14 Apr 2010 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, Uncategorized
The head of public relations at Iraq’s Al-Rasheed satellite TV station was injured by a car-bomb on 13 April, which took both of his legs and seriously injured two others. Omar Ibrahim Al-Jabouri’s car exploded in Doura, a suburb of Baghdad. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
