7 Jun 2012 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
Chinese dissident Li Wangyang, who was jailed for over 22 years after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, was found dead in a hospital ward in Shaoyang city, Hunan province, on Wednesday. Family members found the dissident, 62, apparently hanged by a bandage around his neck in his hospital room. Security and hospital authorities have said he had committed suicide but his family has said Li died in strange circumstances. Police are also reported to have removed his body without the family’s permission.
7 Jun 2012 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
A Yemeni court on Monday sentenced journalist Majed Karoot to one year in prison and fined him YR 200,000 for criticising local government officials on the popular social networking site Facebook. The director of corporate communications for the Al-Baida governorate, Mohammed Al-Karfoshi and his deputy, Kamal Al-Najar filed the complaint against posts made by the journalist on the site last year. The Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate (YJS) called the verdict a “threat to freedom of the press and freedom of expression”.
7 Jun 2012 | Americas, Index Index, minipost
Political columnist Katia D’Artigues, of Mexican newspaper El Universal, has said she and her son have received death threats via Twitter for having criticised presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). PRI members are reported to have condemned the threats and have denied involvement.
7 Jun 2012 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Index on Censorship award winner Nabeel Rajab was re-arrested yesterday for allegedly insulting citizens of a predominantly Sunni village on the popular social networking site, Twitter. According to prosecutors, Rajab was taken into custody to investigate charges filed by citizens of Muharraq, who are accusing the activist of publicly insulting them and “questioning their patriotism”. Rajab, who is also head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), has slammed the new charges, calling them “vindictive accusations”. He was last released on bail on 28 May, and still faces charges of “illegal protesting” and insulting public officials on Twitter.
