Channel 8, a critical TV station with the government, has been bought by a consortium created by presidents Daniel Ortega and Hugo Chávez. Details of the transaction had been kept secret, and Ortega’s possible control of the channel raised concern this week about attempts to silence the opposition.
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Russian police yesterday detained up to 100 protesters during a Moscow demonstration to preserve the right to peaceful protest. Protesters shouted “Shame!” and “Down with Putin!” as Moscow police in riot gear pushed them into buses. The detained, including opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov, Eduard Limonov, Ilya Yashin, and the head of the Memorial rights group, Oleg Orlov.
The newly re-elected government of Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of orchestrating a fresh crackdown on the media after a series of websites were blocked and their offices closed. Journalists claim they have been harassed and assaulted, others have received death threats. Campaigners claim the government is ‘settling scores’.
The Sri Lankan authorities also tried to expel a Swiss radio reporter. Karin Wenger‘s accreditation was revoked after she questioned the election process. After appeals from the Swiss embassy and human rights organisations her visa was reinstated.
A 15-year-old girl has been sentenced to jail for nearly eight years after having been arrested at a demonstration in support of the banned Kurdish group PPK. The girl has been convicted of ‘terrorist’ offences, including ‘crimes on behalf of an illegal organisation’, ‘attending meetings and demonstrations in opposition to the law’ and ‘spreading propaganda for an illegal organisation. ’ In her defence the girl claimed that she did not know what the word propaganda meant and that she had only confessed after having been beaten while in custody.