The United States' sanctions against Belarus have been extended for one year in the hope of pushing for democratic reform. A White House spokesman reported that the executive order stood in opposition to corruption, censorship and human rights...
The Cambodian authorities have blocked a new documentary that indicts the government in the assassination of an outspoken trade union leader. Who Killed Chea Vichea? argues that Vichea, who championed better pay and working conditions for local...
The broadcast licences of TV5 Kanal and TVi have been cancelled by the courts. The two stations are regarded as being critical of President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration. The day before this decision was taken, journalists at TV5 Kanal...
A writer for Sabah newspaper writer has been fined TL 5,000 (€ 2500) for describing a judge as "officious."Nazli Ilicak was found guilty of "attacking personal rights" in the article from 25 May 2009 entitled "The President's immunity." Ilicak had...
On 9 June, hundreds of Kuwaitis attend a rally to call for the release of opposition journalist and lawyer Mohammed Abdel Qader Al-Jassem. Accused of harming the national interest and undermining the Kuwaiti ruler, al-Jassem has been held in...
Zhang Jianhong, prominent writer and member of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre, was released on medical parole on 5 June. Zhang was sentenced to six years in prison in March 2007 for writing articles critical of the government. He had been...
The editor of the Banjul-based The Independent newspaper, Musa Saidykhan, has informed judges that the people who tortured him in a 2006 incident were members of President Yahya Jammeh's security forces. On 3 June a community court heard that the...
Three members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party were sentenced to six months each for speaking Kurdish in an election campaign. Although the election campaigners claimed to have welcomed the meeting in Kurdish, they were sentenced...
Editors of the US-based newspaper Gambia Echo have seen access to their website from within Gambia blocked by the country's government. In a letter sent to the US State Department on June 4, the imprint's editor-in-chief claims the move is part of...
The Belarusian "Public Council of Morality" have attempted to tone down any suggestion of homosexuality during Elton John's imminent performance in Minsk. State officials have asked the singer's management for early Elton albums to ensure that they...