15 Oct 2010 | Egypt
It’s not going well for maverick, boundary-pushing journalists this month.
In Morocco edgy magazine Nichane closed its doors, with the publisher claiming it was the victim of an advertising boycott ordered by the royal palace.
In Syria, a young female blogger who was mysteriously arrested 10 months ago, has officially been accused of being a spy for an unnamed foreign power. It remains unclear whether Tal al-Mallohi’s arrest or the espionage accusation has anything to do with her blogging activity.
Several journalists are facing jail time in Turkey, and the murder of a prominent journalist three years ago remains unresolved with no convictions.
Finally in Egypt Al-Dostour newspaper publisher Ibrahim Eissa, Egypt’s best and most provocative political columnist, was abruptly pushed out of his job and potentially blackballed.
There are two national Egyptian elections on the horizon — parliamentary next month and a crucial presidential vote next year. The authorities seem to be tightening the screws in preparation. The latest sign: new restrictions on SMS text messaging, which is frequently used as a mobilisation tool by activists. Independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm (disclosure, I work for its English language edition) speculated that the new restrictions would,
hinder the logistical capabilities of Egypt’s political opposition, which has come to depend on SMS messaging to mobilise supporters for public protests and demonstrations.
A government spokesman’s priceless response? “We are not making life difficult. We are making life organized, that is all.”
The very next day, the exact same telecommunications regulatory agency struck again. This time it moved to establish firmer control over all live television news broadcasts from Egypt.
In Saudi Arabia, the religious police have ominously started training on how to monitor Facebook, Twitter and other digital forms of social media. The Saudis, along with fellow Gulf monarchy the United Arab Emirates, continue to block the Blackberry messaging service.
14 Oct 2010 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
More than 1000 people have signed petition calling on authorities to drop trial against singer and Ferhat Tunç, who is facing a prison sentence of up to 15 years after a speech he made at a cultural festival of Siirt.
The case against the defendant is being heard at the Diyarbakir 4th High Criminal Court. During a 1 October hearing, his joint lawyers claimed that Tunç’s speech, who was this year’s winner of the Index on Censorship/Freemuse award for his propagation of freedom of speech and human rights, should be assessed within the boundaries of freedom of expression. The court postponed the case to 4 November in order to gather missing documents.
11 Oct 2010 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Turkish journalist Ismail Saymez could be jailed for 79 years if convicted of charges related to newspaper articles he has written. He has been charged with “violating the secrecy of an investigation” for his reporting on the Ergenekon trials. He also faces charges of “insult” and “attempt to influence a fair trial.” According to The International Press Institute National Committee, Saymez stated, “I only do my job as a reporter, inform the public on the events that the public is interested in, and supply them with objective information. I do not try to influence in any way. They sue me with imprisonment of tens of years on every word my newspaper reports.”
Among the articles at issue are “What Prosecutor Cihaner was asked” of 18 February, “Assassination with a tick, coup of the tea vendors” of 12 February 2010, “Cihaner: I do not know Çiçek, I did not see him – Ciçek: I do not know anybody in Erzincan” of 20 February, “Did you meet Dursun Çiçek?” of 22 February, and “Love games in Ergenekon – The Ergenekon prosecutor also took the judge’s statement” published 8 June. These articles were published in the newspaper Radikal.
His first hearing is to take place on 28 January 2011.
7 Oct 2010 | Index Index, minipost
The co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party has been convicted of ‘propaganda for an illegal organisation’ and handed a ten-month prison sentence.
Selahattin Demitras was punished for making a statement about the detention conditions of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party, imprisoned in 1999.
Demitras’s lawyer Meral Danis Bestas said that her client’s statement should be evaluated in the context of the right to freedom of expression.
