This account of censorship by F el-Manssoury, published in Index on Censorship magazine in 1981 in Libya is based on first-hand knowledge of the early years of President Gaddafi’s regime
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Three Saudi men were detained on Sunday after a film they made exposing poverty in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, was aired on television. Feras Bugnah, a popular Saudi blogger, and Khalid al-Rasheed and Hosam al-Deraiwish were allegedly imprisoned after being questioned by police — officials have yet to comment. The film was a part of a YouTube series created by Bugnah called “Malub Aleina” (We Are Being Cheated). Part of the series aired on the London-based Al-Islah, which is operated by the banned Movement for Islamic Reform in Saudi Arabia.
An opposition activist is facing five years in prison for libelling President Abdoulaye Wade in Senegal. Malick Noel Seck, General Secretary for the Socialist Convergence Youth, a movement of the Senegalese Socialists Party, is facing three counts of libelling the head of state, contempt of court and issuing death threats, following his appearance in court last week. The prosecutor is said to have demanded a five-year prison term for Seck. The charges follow Seck’s petition in April to Senegal’s constitutional court not to accept the candidacy of President Wade for the 2012 elections.
A radio commentator in the Philippines was shot dead on 14 October. Datu Roy Bagtikan Gallego was shot dead on the national highway in Sitio Mamprasanon, in Lianga town during an ambush. Gallego, who often criticised mining operations and spoke in defence of tribal rights was due to start a new slot on a radio program this week with 92.7 Smile FM San Francisco. Gallego’s death comes one week after the murder of fellow journalist Johnson Pascual. Lianga Police have not yet identified any suspects or a motive for the murder.