Syria: Two Reuters reporters missing

Reuters has announced that two of their reporters are missing in Syria. Jordanian correspondent, Suleiman al Khalidi, was detainted by the Syrian authorities on Tuesday, while Syrian photographer, Khaled al Hariri, has been out of contact since Monday. The disappearances follow the detention of two of Reuters television journalists who were released by the Syrian authorities on Monday and expelled to Lebanon. Editor in chief Stephen Adler has expressed his concern for the whereabouts of Khalidi and Hariri and has stated “We call upon the Syrian authorities to help us urgently in ensuring their safe and timely release.”

Appeal against book confiscation order denied by Turkish court

A Turkish court has denied an appeal of a court order for the confiscation of the unpublished book “İmamın Ordusu” or The Imams Army, written by politically outspoken (and arrested) journalist Ahmet Şık. The court claimed that the unpublished draft had been edited by Ergenekon, the alleged coup-plotting organization, and declared the manuscript to be an “illegal organizational document.” Last week the police were ordered to seize multiple copies of the document by the court. Anyone who has refused to hand over copies of the draft is to be charged with ”aiding and abetting a criminal organization.”

Polish journalist faces prosecution in Belarus

Belarusian authorities have filed charges against journalist Andrzej Poczobut. Poczobut works for the Polish newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza. He is charged with insulting the Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in articles that were published in the newspaper and on a Belurasian news website, Belarussky Partizan. The charges against Poczobut could result in a two year prison sentence if convicted. Poczobut, who has faced harrasment at the hands of Belarusian authorities before, including being arrested, insisted that he would not leave the country despite the persecution.

Mexico: Two journalists murdered

Two journalists, José Luis Cerda Meléndez and Luis Emanuel Ruíz Carrillo, have been murdered in the northern state of Nuevo León.  Cerda was a television host on national channel Televisa, which has been subjected to several armed attacks. Ruíz was a reporter for a daily newspaper in Coahuila.  Ruíz was visiting the area to interview Cerda. They were both forced into a car outside the Televisa station, along with Juan Roberto Gómez, Ruíz’s cousin . The bodies of Ruíz and Cerda were discovered the next day by the freeway, accompanied by a note which read: “Stop co-operating with Los Zetas. Signed DCG. Greetings architect No. 1”. Two criminals have now allegedly stolen Cerda’s body. The police have declined to intervene.