Awale Jama Salad , a photo-journalist for Garowe Online, has been sentenced to six months in jail. He was arrested on 23 December in Somalia’s northern region of Puntland, in connection with photographs he took of the kidnapped French TV journalist...
CATEGORY: News and features
Brazilian church sues reporter
At least 28 lawsuits have been filed against the journalist Elvira Lobato and the newspaper Folha de S Paulo after the publication of an article critical on the evangelical Christian organisation the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG)....
New guidelines for combating campus extremism
In a move designed to tackle the threat of extremism on university campuses, the UK government issued updated anti-terrorism guidelines for academics on 22 January. The recommendations state that universities should have a clearly defined freedom...

Death sentence for Afghan journalist
A young reporter has been found guilty of blasphemy, writes Harun Najafizada in Balkh A primary court in the city of Mazar-e Sharif in northern Afghanistan has sentenced local journalist Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh to death. Kambakhsh, 23, a reporter...

Victory for freedom of information campaigner
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has lost an appeal to prevent the release of a document that formed part of the government's case for invading Iraq. The document was written by John Williams, then Head of News at the Foreign Office. It formed...

Britain: Evidence in murder trial to be heard in secret
A judge has ruled that parts of the trial of Wang Yam, who is charged with the murder of biographer Allan Chappelow, should be out of bounds to the press and public. Padraig Reidy reports An Old Bailey court today ruled that evidence in the trial,...
Britain: Official Climbdown
The prosecution of a Foreign Office civil servant under the Official Secrets Act has been dropped. The UK government now has questions to answer. Jo Glanville reports Derek Pasquill was charged last September with making damaging disclosures of...

Malaysia: Rally reveals ethnic tensions
The delicate balance of Malaysia's inter-ethnic politics has come under threat from an unexpected source and the response from the national government poses serious questions about freedom of expression. David Jardine reports The previously unknown...

Philippines: Dissent without action
Fifty journalists were detained while covering the coup attempt in the Philippines during a court hearing on the officers' mutiny of 2003. Ellen Tordesillas was there Thursday morning. The Makati City hall premises were swarming with military...

“Lyrical terrorist” receives suspended sentence
Judge admits that terror legislation imposes restriction on personal freedom Samina Malik, the self described "lyrical terrorist" has received a nine-month suspended sentence at the Old Bailey, after being found guilty under the Terrorism Act 2000...