22 Jun 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
A bid for greater media freedom put forward by opposition parties in Sri Lanka has been rejected by the ruling party led by President Mahinda Rajapakse. The United People’s Freedom Alliance, which enjoys a two-thirds majority, voted against the proposed Freedom of Information Bill. The bill was presented after opposition members accused the government of trying to stifle media freedom. A total of at least 18 journalists and media employees have been killed in the past decade.
22 Jun 2011 | Uncategorized
An alternative route for libel action has been launched by Alastair Brett, former legal manager for the Times and Sunday Times, and the retired High Court judge Sir Charles Gray. (more…)
22 Jun 2011 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Eight Shia activists and opposition leaders have been sentenced to life imprisonment in Bahrain. They have been found guilty of plotting a coup in the Sunni-ruled kingdom during protests in March this year. Protests in response to the setences are expected, reports Al Jazeera English. Those convicted include Shia political leader Hassan Mushaima and the activists Abdulhady al-Khawaja and Abduljalil Al Singace. Thirteen other campaigners received lesser sentences between two and 15 years, reports the Guardian. Among these was Ibrahim Sharif, Sunni leader of the secular leftist group Waad, who was sentenced to five years.
21 Jun 2011 | Uncategorized
The US State Department has withdrawn an invitation to Palestinian Majed Badra to attend a government-sponsored international exchange program for political cartoonists after deciding that some of his work was “anti-Semitic.” (more…)
