Jail Without Bars
Mark Townsend spent nearly two years fighting a bizarre libel case in Dubai. Here he tells of the legal limbo of the gulf city’s labyrinthine legal system
Georgia out of its mind?
If you could put the former Soviet state of Georgia on the couch, it would look like it was suffering from a particularly acute case of paranoia. But is there method in the supposed madness of Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s obsession with Russian spies? (more…)
Montenegro: Newspaper’s cars torched
Two cars belonging to Vijesti, one of Montenegro‘s most popular independent daily newspapers, were torched last Thursday. The cars were parked opposite the headquarters of the Montenegrin Intelligence Agency when the attack took place. One eyewitness reported seeing a young man pour petrol on the cars and throw a spark towards them but police have yet to make an arrest. Vijesti is one of the two biggest Montenegrin newspapers and reports regularly on corruption and government malpractice.
Pakistan: Two journalists “tortured and harassed”
Rana Yaseen and Ch Khalid Sardar claim they were “tortured and harassed” on the night of 16 July in the Bahalwapur region of Pakistan. Local journalists have since staged a protest outside the regional Press Club and are demanding immediate investigation. The Abbas Nagar Police have “registered a case” against 10 men accused of taking part in the attack but their names have not been released.