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IFEX Communiqué Vol 21, No 13

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International

Index on Censorship opens up archive to mark 40th birthday, announces free expression award winners

Index on Censorship is celebrating 40 years of existence, and wants you to be a part of it. In honour of the 40th anniversary, Index's publisher Sage has opened up the Index archive to the public for 40 days starting this week. Plus, hot off the press: the winners of Index's Free Expression Awards!

Syria

On eve of peace plan, three more journalists killed

Syrian security forces shot and killed two freelance British journalists and wounded a third during an attack on Monday in Darkoush near the Turkish border, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Meanwhile, a Kurdish citizen journalist has been kidnapped and murdered, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Bahrain

At least 31 extrajudicial killings since official commission of inquiry, says Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Since an official commission of inquiry reported last November, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has documented at least 31 "extrajudicial killings" in Bahrain. Most of the deaths were from teargas inhalation, including three in the past week alone, and three were as a result of torture in custody, says BCHR in a new report. Human Rights Watch also issued its own report following a national commission's assessment that lauded the government's progress.

Sri Lanka

State media outlets label journalists "traitors"

Sri Lankan authorities have openly threatened journalists who supported a UN resolution calling for an investigation into the country's abuse of international laws during its war with Tamil separatists, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Watch, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Officials are calling these journalists "traitors" and one threatened to break their legs.

Mali

Independent media one of the first casualties in coup

Mutinous soldiers who seized power last week from Mali's President Amadou Toumani Touré also occupied the headquarters of the state radio and TV broadcaster and interrupted other TV and radio shows, say Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Human Rights Watch. Some citizens turned to Twitter to get their news updates, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Kazakhstan

IFEX members help get editor out of jail

Independent editor Igor Vinyavsky, who was jailed on politically motivated charges of inciting hatred in Kazakhstan, has been released - in large part due to the efforts of IFEX members, reports the International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech in Kazakhstan (Adil Soz).

Europe and Central Asia

Reporters Without Borders demands access to Europe's migrant detention centres

What do the insides of migrant detention centres look like, and what actually happens in them? Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has teamed up with migrant rights groups in the "Open Access" campaign, demanding that the right of access to Europe's detention centres be granted to journalists and civil society.