14 Jun 2011 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Twenty-year-old student, Ayat al-Gormezi, who recited poems critical of Bahrain’s rulers at a Shia-led protest in Pearl Square has been sentenced to a year in prison. In the lead up to her trial she claimed that she was beaten in prison and she has now been convicted of charges which include inciting hatred. One verse of the poem, addressed directly to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, read: “We are the people who will kill humiliation and assassinate misery. Don’t you hear their cries?” According to her mother, Sada al-Qurmezi, an appeal is planned.
13 Jun 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Ahmet Altan, the editor of liberal daily paper Taraf has appeared in court after he was accused of “exceeding the limits of freedom of expression” by the country’s prime minister. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been in power since 2003, filed for defamation after Altan accused him of denying the rights of Kurds and for turning his back on his former progressive identity. The prime minister is demanding 50,000 Turkish Liras in compensation and has also filed a criminal complaint against Altan. The case continues.
13 Jun 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Jyotirmoy Dey, the investigations editor for the daily paper Mid day based in Mumbai was shot dead by four men on 11 June. He had recently written a piece on an oil mafia that had been selling tainted fuel. Dey was cremated on Sunday 12 June and police are currently investigating the incident.
13 Jun 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Recent developments in a libel trial involving Uzebkistan’s first family have raised concerns about the EU’s involvement with the Karimov family. The claim was brought by President Karimov’s daughter, Lola, against French website Rue89 after one reporter branded her father a “dictator”. Documents produced in court last week, which were originally intended to establish the credibility of the family, have raised questions about why the EU was communicating with Lola Karimov-Tillyaeva about the allocation of $3.7m worth of charitable funding.
