2 Jun 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Two Shiite bloggers who were arrested for their coverage of peaceful demonstrations in Shia-majority area of Qatif have been released by Saudi security authorities. The two young men, Mustafa Badr Al-Mubarak and Sayyid Hussein Kadham Al-Hashem, were arrested on 27 April 2011 when security forces broke into their homes and confiscated their laptops. Their blogs contained extensive coverage of their involvement in human rights activism and several peaceful demonstrations. A new law passed in January 2011 requires anyone wishing to post material online to obtain a press license from Saudi authorities.
2 Jun 2011 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Journalists and protesters in Sana’a are facing gunfire and sniper attacks as fighting in Yemen’s capital city intensifies. Private satellite broadcasting station, Suhail TV, was attacked by mortar fire earlier this week. Cameras, archives and computers were severely damaged and two camera operators were injured. One Suhail TV employee has claimed that a sympathetic senior military officer warned him that snipers have been ordered to kill employees of the station on sight. Clashes between anti-government protesters and troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh has claimed over 200 lives this week, according to reports.
2 Jun 2011 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Jordanian journalist, Alaa Fazza, was released from prison Wednesday, on the orders of King Abdullah II yesterday (1 June), the country’s independence day. Fazza was been detained 14 days by a military court on charges that he had accused the government of corruption without submitting evidence to the Attorney General. In a letter to Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, King Abdullah cautioned about the “danger of the behavior of some who take the denunciation of corruption as an excuse for the character assassination of individuals and institutions.”
2 Jun 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Police in Uganda raided the offices of Prime General Supply Limited, the publishers of a bi-weekly newspaper which is critical of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government. During the raid on 25 May two senior editors and two other members of staff at Ggwanga newspaper were arrested on allegations of criminal libel. A computer and several documents concerning the activities of “Activists for Change” were also removed. Three employees have been released on police bail awaiting further questioning.
