Court suspends opposition paper for insulting the president

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 22 December 2005 CPJ press release:

National Security Council bans satellite channel Saba TV

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has deplored the banning of satellite TV station Saba TV by Iran's Supreme National Security Council as one more example of the battle by the country's media for freedom of expression.

Newspaper photographer beaten unconscious by police in Oyo State

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has reiterated its dismay about police violence against journalists in Nigeria after a newspaper photographer was beaten senseless on 22 December 2005 by police working for the Oyo state governor. It was the 19th case of police brutality against the media to come to the press freedom organisation's attention this year in Nigeria.

Ban on foreign stations puts cable TV operators under pressure

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned an order issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on 22 December 2005 instructing cable TV operators to stop carrying some 30 foreign TV channels, threatening fines and arrest. Most of the banned channels are Indian.

Two journalists face prison sentences; columnist summoned and interrogated by state security officials

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the continued hounding of journalists in Egypt and called on President Hosni Mubarak to keep his pledge, made to parliament on 19 December 2005, to allow press freedom to flourish.

CPJ deplores new law that criminalizes criticism of the state and Lukashenko

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 22 December 2005 CPJ press release:

"New York Times" researcher Zhao Yan charged with leaking state secrets

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 23 December 2005 CPJ press release:

CPJ protests criminal prosecution of local reporters

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 23 December 2005 CPJ letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari:

WPFC calls for dismantling of Catalan regulatory body urging revocation of radio network's license

(WPFC/IFEX) - The following is a 23 December 2005 WPFC letter to Catalan authorities:

Two journalists charged with "false reporting", remanded in custody

(MRA/IFEX) - On 23 December 2005, two journalists with the privately-owned radio station Rhythm 93.7 FM, in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State in the Niger Delta region, were arraigned before a Port Harcourt High Court on charges of broadcasting "false information" and remanded in custody until 3 January 2006.

Radio station director freed on bail

(RSF/IFEX) - The director of the privately-owned Voice of the People radio station, John Masuku, who was arrested on 19 December 2005, was freed on December 23 on bail of 4 million Zimbabwean dollars (approximately 40 euros) but will have to report to the police every week. He is due to appear before the Harare high court on 13 January 2006 on a charge of owning and using broadcast equipment without a licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ).

Newspaper office attacked by armed men opposed to pro-dam advertisements

(PPF/IFEX) - On 23 December 2005, a group of armed men threw a petrol bomb into the offices of the Sukkur edition of the Sindhi-language daily newspaper "Khabroon," setting the reception area on fire. The attackers hurled threats at the newspaper staff and fired shots into the air.

Journalist threatened for reporting on police involvement in criminal activities; RSF urges transfer of investigation to federal authorities

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on the federal authorities to take charge of investigating attempts to intimidate crime reporter Claudia Padilla Pacheco of the local daily "Correo" in Celaya, in the central state of Guanajuato. The journalist received threats after she wrote two investigative reports about the alleged implication of local police in criminal activity.

Government encroaches on broadcast council's jurisdiction with frequency pledge

(ANEM/IFEX) - The following is an ANEM press release:

Member of National Assembly assaults journalist

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 8 December 2005, Moussa Aksar, managing editor of the independent weekly newspaper "L'Evenement," was assaulted by a member of the National Assembly, Sanoussi Jakou, for allegedly tarnishing the image of the legislator's family.

High court judge dismisses lawsuit charging government with suppressing free speech

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) has expressed alarm over the recent ruling by a Singaporean High Court judge to dismiss a lawsuit which charged the country's public institutions with trampling the rights of their citizens to free assembly and free speech.

BBC reporter briefly detained by border guards

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - The following is a 22 December 2005 statement by the National Association of Independent Mass Media of Tajikistan (NANSMIT), an Adil Soz partner:

Former "Bangkok Post" editor sues daily, claims interference in paper's editorial policy by management and government

(SEAPA/IFEX) - On 20 December 2005, a former senior editor of Bangkok's English daily, "Bangkok Post", sued the newspaper for unfairly sacking him in August following a publication on the newspaper's front page of a "flawed" report he was responsible for about cracks in the runway of Thailand's new international airport.

Journalist sentenced to eight-month suspended prison term

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 20 December 2005, the Magistrate Court in Agadez, a town about 1000 km from Niamey, sentenced Hamed Assaleh Raliou, a regional correspondent of Radio France International (RFI), to an eight-month suspended prison term for allegedly defaming Yahya Yandaka, the governor of the region.

Journalist violently beaten by police

"(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of RSF's statement: