24 May 2012 | Americas, Index Index, minipost
Arrest warrants were issued this week for five suspects in the kidnapping and murder of Honduran radio journalist Alfredo Villatoro. The suspects are reported to have been in possession of the chip of the mobile phone used to call Villatoro’s family. Testifying before a judge on Tuesday, three of the suspects said they had found the chip on the street. On 17 May Honduran authorities also launched an investigation against two prisoners, with the country’s National Police confirming a call was made to the Villatoro family from a jail cell while the journalist was still captive. Villatoro was a director of HRN radio, one of Honduras’ major broadcast stations.
23 May 2012 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
A group of unidentified assailants attempted to hack off the arm of a journalist in Bangladesh on Saturday (19 May). ABM Fazlur Rahman, from daily Samakal was targeted in the brutal attack after reporting on an obscene dance performance at a university in Pabna. Rahman was contacted by an anonymous caller, asking him to visit Govt Edward College campus. Upon his arrival at the campus, he was set upon by four people with machetes. The journalist has received treatment at Pabna Medical College Hospital.
23 May 2012 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
The head of a new Palestinian news channel has been arrested on undisclosed charges in Israel. Bahaa Khairi Moussa, the general director of the Palestine Prisoner Channel, which covers the conditions faced by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, was arrested on Thursday (17 May). Saher al-Qassim, the news broadcaster’s executive director, believes the channel’s specialist coverage has lead to the arrest. Moussa’s whereabouts is currently unknown.
22 May 2012 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
The body of a Pakistani journalist has been found, one day after he was abducted. Razzaq Gul, a reporter with the Express News in southern Balochistan, was found dumped near his home in Turbat on Saturday, having been shot 15 times. On Sunday, journalists in Quetta gathered to protest the murder. According to the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), Gul was the 21st journalist to die in the area. Pakistan Press International claims six journalists have been deliberately targeted and murdered in Balochistan in the last four years.
