Mexican journalist reported missing

29 Mar 11 | Index Index, minipost

Reporter Noel Lopez Olguin has gone missing in Veracruz state. The Head of the Veracruz State Commission for the Defence of Journalists claims that no one has heard from him since 8 May.  He travelled to the town of Soteapan in response to a telephone call. His car was found on the road to Soteapan, but his whereabouts remain unknown. Veracruz is often used as a transit point for drug cartels trafficking drugs to the USA. Paramilitary group Los Zetas is very active in the region, and kidnappings occur frequently.

Sudan: “Cyber Jihadists” to crush online opponents

29 Mar 11 | Index Index, minipost

The National Congress Party (NCP), which governs North Sudan, claims that its battalion of “cyber jihadists” are ready to “crush” all online dissidents. The warning came from the party’s vice-president in Khartoum State, Mandur Al-Mahdi, on Tuesday (March 22). He warned youth groups using social networks sites like Twitter and Facebook that they would be targeted by the NCP’s online defence operations.

China: Activist given 10 years prison sentence

29 Mar 11 | Index Index, minipost

Liu Xianbin, a pro-democracy activist, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after a trial over charges of subversion of state that lasted only a few hours. Liu was arrested after publishing articles on the internet calling for democratic reforms. He has been imprisoned twice before; once for his role in the Tiananmen Square protests, and again in 1998 for 10 years on charges of subversion after he co-founded the China Democracy Party.