12 Apr 2012 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
Eritrean journalist Yirgalem Fisseha Mebrahtu, in custody since her arrest in February 2009, was admitted to hospital in Asmara earlier this year, where she reportedly remains in a serious condition. She has been admitted to the hospital twice, once last November and again in January this year. She is under permanent guard and is allowed no visitors. She was arrested during a raid on Radio Bana on 22 February 2009, during which the station’s entire staff was detained.
11 Apr 2012 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Kuwaiti writer Mohamed al-Melify was jailed for seven years on Monday on charges of spreading false statements via Twitter. He was arrested last February, and the Kuwait Criminal Court found him guilty of spreading false news about sectarian divisions in the country and publishing insults about Shiism, in addition to charges of libel and defaming a member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, Ahmed Lari.
11 Apr 2012 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Eminent Turkish free expression champion Ragip Zarakolu was freed from prison in Turkey pending trial along with 14 others yesterday. Zarakolu, director of the Belge Publishing House, which has published works on taboo subjects such as the Armenian genocide and minority rights in Turkey, was arrested last October as part of a crackdown on those accused of supporting the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK). He was indicted on 19 March under Turkish anti-terrorism laws for “aiding and abetting an illegal organisation,” a charge that could carry a 15-year sentence.
10 Apr 2012 | Index Index, minipost
A TV cameraman has been shot dead near the Lebanon–Syria border. Ali Shaaban, from Lebanese TV channel Al-Jadeed, is believed to have been in northern Lebanese region of Wadi Khaled when Syrian soldiers opened fire on a car carrying Al-Jadeed staff. Shaaban’s colleague Hussein Khreiss said that the soldiers fired at the car, even though the crew made it clear they were not military. Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati deplored the incident, and said he would ask Syria to investigate the shooting.
