21 Jul 2012 | Russia
The Khamovnichesky court in Moscow has prolonged the detention of three Pussy Riot members until 12 January. The term of their arrest should have expired on 24 July, but the judge complied with the prosecution’s application to prolong the detention for 6 more months.
Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Semutsevich have been accused of hooliganism for allegedly staging an anti-Putin performance in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. They face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
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13 Jul 2012 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
Indonesia’s Sampang District Court has sentenced a Shia cleric to two years’ imprisonment for blasphemy. Tajul Muluk was said to have caused “public anxiety” for his religious teachings. Witnesses said that the cleric encouraged Muslims to pray three rather than five times a day, that the Quran was no longer authentic and that followers need not make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, considered one of the five pillars of Islam. Under Indonesian law, blasphemy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
27 Jun 2012 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
The headquarters of a leading Lebanese TV station Al-Jadeed were attacked by armed men earlier this week. Five masked gunmen opened fire on the building in Beirut at 9.30pm on 25 June, and set fire to tires in the station entrance. The attack followed the airing of a controversial interview with Sheikh Ahmad Al-Assir, a Salafist Imam, who harshly criticised the Shiite Muslim leaders in the country. Al-Jadeed were forced to apologise for the interview, and any anger it had unintentionally provoked.
25 Jun 2012 | Middle East and North Africa, Tunisia
The Monastir appeal court has upheld a primary verdict in Tunisia’s Muhammad cartoon case.
In March, Jabeur Mejri and Ghazi Beji were sentenced to 7-and-a-half years in prison over the publishing of caricatures of the prophet Muhammad , and books criticising Islam. Mejri appealed the verdict, but Beji, who was sentenced in absentia fled to Europe.
Defence lawyer Ahmed Msalmi described today’s ruling as “severe”, and “incompatible with human rights”. “Such a severe verdict can be considered a form of torture,” Mslami told AFP.
“The defendant suffers from behaviour disorders, and there are also social conditions that need to be take into account”, he added.
The court had previously refused the defence team’s request to examine Mejri’s mental state.
