A High Court judge today rejected an attempt by the UK Defence Secretary to ‘gag’ coroners. Lawyers for Des Browne had challenged critical comments made by Andrew Walker, an Oxfordshire coroner, at the inquest of Private Jason Smith in November...
An amnesty panel in Baghdad has cleared AP photographer Bilal Hussein of charges of conspiring with Iraqi insurgents. Hussein has been held by US forces since April 2006. AP chief Tom Curley welcomed the decision, and called on the US to release...
Arms trade campaigners are celebrating today, after a London judge decided that the director of the Serious Fraud Office should not have dropped an investigation into a multi-billion dollar arms deal. Padraig Reidy reports A court ruled today that...
Journalist Ibrahim Eissa faces a prison sentence for his criticism of President Mubarak. The government’s intention to intimidate the free press is all too clear, writes Amira Howeidy On 26 March a Cairo court sentenced Ibrahim Eissa, editor of the...
A young Saudi woman was murdered by her father last August after he discovered she had been engaging in online chats on Facebook. There are thought to be as many as 30,000 Facebook users in Saudi Arabia, and the site offers several popular dating...
Controversial short film Fitna has been removed from video-hosting site LiveLeak after threats were made against staff. Meanwhile, the Iranian government has summoned the Dutch ambassador in order to register protest against the film. Dutch Foreign...
Five Jordanian journalists have been sentenced to prison terms in two separate defamation cases in the past week. Editor Taher al-Adwan and reporter Sahar Qassam, of Al Arab al Youm, and former editor of Ad Dustour Osama Sharif and Ad Dustour...
A man imprisoned in Morocco for creating a fake Facebook profile of the king’s brother has been released after receiving a royal pardon. Fouad Mourtada was arrested in February and sentenced to three years in prison for 'usurping the identity of...
Iran’s culture ministry yesterday closed down nine lifestyle magazines, claiming they used ‘photos of artists, especially foreign corrupt film stars, as instruments to arouse desire’. The motivation for the ban is unclear. None of the magazines...
The Jordanian ministry of the interior has announced increased restrictions on Internet cafés, which are widespread in the country’s cities. Internet café owners will be obliged to install cameras for the purpose of identifying customers. They will...