29 May 2012 | Europe and Central Asia, Index Index, minipost
A Russian journalist has been hospitalised after being stabbed 20 times. Sergei Aslanyan from Radio Mayak, was lured out of his house by an anonymous caller who invited him for a chat at around midnight. The former presenter on Echo Moskvy, Russia’s leading liberal radio station, was stabbed repeatedly in the chest, neck and arms. Local newspapers have suggested the attack was a result of a recent radio appearance, in which Aslanyan insulted the prophet Muhammad. The journalist remains in hospital, where his condition is believed to be stable.
29 May 2012 | Middle East and North Africa
Monastir Appeal Court has once again postponed issuing a verdict in the case of Jabeur Mejri. On 28 March, a primary court sentenced Mejri along with his friend Ghazi Beji to seven and a half years in prison for publishing cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad. Meji is currently serving his jail sentence, while Beji is now in exile after fleeing the country to avoid persecution.
Defence lawyer Bochra Bel Haji Hmida told Index that Mejri is to be examined in order to determine whether or not he is mentally stable.
Bel Haji Hmida also said that according to Mejri’s family, he has begun to pray to God. “I do not know if it is out of weakness, or if he is convinced,” said the lawyer.
“He is suffering; he faces enormous pressure. His family has received death threats”, she added.
Previously, Mejri reportedly told police that he “does not suffer from any mental disorder” and that the cartoons he published on his Facebook profile page reflect his “beliefs”. When interrogated by police, he said “I do admit that I had published cartoons, and expressions offensive to the prophet…Such acts reflect my beliefs as I do not recognise the Islamic religion, and I am an atheist”.
The next appeal session will take place on 4 June.
29 May 2012 | Index Index, minipost
Guardian journalist Amelia Hill will not be charged over a police leak relating to phone hacking that took place in the early stages of the inquiry. The Crown Prosecution Service made the decision not to prosecute Hill, who was one of the journalists who revealed Milly Dowler’s phone had been hacked, or the police officer who was alleged to have passed her early information about the inquiry. A spokesperson for the director of public prosecutions said that there was no evidence the police officer had been paid for the information, and the information disclosed was not highly sensitive.
29 May 2012 | Middle East and North Africa
Index on Censorship welcomes yesterday’s release of prominent rights activist and Index 2012 Award winner Nabeel Rajab, and calls for all charges against the activist to be dropped (more…)
