12 Sep 2011 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Well known journalist Hadia Al-Mahdi was found dead at his home in Baghdad on 7 September. The body of Al-Mahdi was found in his home in the Al-Karada district at around 7pm. He had been shot twice in the head. It is believed that his murder was politically motivated. Madhi hosted a popular talk show called “To whoever listens” on Radio Demozy where he tackled a wide range of subjects including the Iraqi educational system and corruption. Mahdi’s murder comes almost one month after the Iraqi parliament adopted a law on the protection of journalists on 9 August.
12 Sep 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Al-Sahafa, a Sudanese independent newspaper, was confiscated by security forces on Wednesday, and the Thursday edition was also held from distribution, according to editor Annur Ahmed Annur. Earlier this week, copies of Al-Maydan, the newspaper of Sudan’s communist party, were also confiscated.
12 Sep 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Television journalist Pedro Alfonso Flores Silva died in hospital yesterday from gunshot wounds sustained in an attack on Tuesday. While riding home on his motorcycle, Flores Silva, 36, was intercepted by a taxi and shot in the abdomen by a hooded assailant. Flores Silva ran and hosted a news programme, “Visión Agraria”, during which he had made accusations of corruption against Marco Rivero Huertas, mayor of the Comandante Noel district. The journalist’s wife told reporters that her husband had received anonymous death threats for several months prior to his murder, which she believed stemmed from the accusations made in his programme.
9 Sep 2011 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Military rulers in Egypt have frozen licenses for new private satellite TV stations, claiming they are inciting violence in an “increasingly chaotic media scene.” Activists are claiming that these restrictions on freedom of expression are similar to those put in place under President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak’s previous governments had imprisoned journalists for their coverage of his health and other sensitive issues. During the protests that led to Mubarak’s downfall, authorities banned Al-Jazeera TV and revoked the press credentials of its journalists. Communication Minister Osama Heikal said the freeze was temporary.
