About IFEX:

News by region:

IFEX Campaigns and Advocacy:

IFEX Email Products:

Opportunities and assistance:

Alerts - 2006 - April-June

---

South Korea

Supreme Court rules that some articles of newspaper law are unconstitutional

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has welcomed a South Korean Supreme Court decision which ruled as unconstitutional some articles of the law on the press and on media arbitration.

The Gambia

CAPSULE REPORT: RSF urges journalists covering African Union summit to remember repressive conditions faced by their Gambian colleagues

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an RSF open letter to journalists covering the African Union summit:

East Timor

Opposition militants raid broadcaster TVTL

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has urged the authorities and foreign forces in East Timor to secure the offices of the main media outlet after nearly 40 opposition militants raided Timor-Leste television and radio station TVTL, on 29 June 2006. They ransacked the premises, manhandled employees and demanded that broadcasts be suspended.

Nepal

Maoist leader expresses commitment to press freedom

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

Turkmenistan

Detained film collaborator being brutally interrogated, witnesses fear for his life

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling on members of the G8 countries to intervene on behalf of seven journalists and human rights activists who have been held in Turkmenistan for the past two weeks.

Pakistan

Three journalists detained overnight; several others threatened; newspaper threatened with arson

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

South Africa

FXI condemns issuing of subpoenas to ex-"Sowetan" journalists to testify in fraud trial

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is an FXI press statement:

Burma

Government allegedly blocking Gmail and G-Talk Internet services

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Burma appears to have blocked access to Gmail and G-Talk, two of the most popular Internet applications in one of the world's most restricted societies.

Cambodia

Editor receives death threats, faces legal action

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The editor-in-chief of a local bi-weekly newspaper, "Sralanh Khmer" ("Love Khmer"), has received death threats from and is the target of a legal action by a nephew of Prime Minister Hun Sen, reports coming out of Phnom Penh say. The editor reportedly is being harassed for a published article which suggests that Sen's nephew, Hun Tho, was involved in a land-grabbing case in Northeast Mondolkiri province.

Pakistan

Ruling party activists storm press club, beat journalists

(PPF/IFEX) - Activists of Pakistan's ruling Muslim League (PML-Q) party stormed the Peshawar Press Club on 29 June 2006 to foil a news conference being held there by dissident leaders of the party. The intruders, who were armed with Kalashnikovs, pistols and sticks, beat journalists and the dissident party members.

Republic of Congo

Brazzaville court suspends newspaper for six months

(JED/IFEX) - In a 28 June 2006 verdict pronounced by a Brazzaville court, the Brazzaville-based weekly "Thalassa" was banned from publication for six months. In addition, the court ordered the incineration of all the copies of the paper's edition that featured an article judged to be slanderous towards Denis Sassou Nguesso, the country's president.

Ukraine

Hearings resume in Gongadze murder trial, prosecutor says body can be handed over to Gongadze's mother

(RSF/IFEX) - The cross-examination of Mykola Protassov, one of the three policemen accused of the 2000 murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze, resumed in court on 26 June 2006. The hearing had been due to take place on 20 June but was postponed because Protassov's lawyer was ill.

Nigeria

Two journalists, awaiting trial for "sedition", released on bail

(RSF/IFEX) - On 29 June 2006, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the release on bail of Rotimi Durojaiye, aeronautics correspondent of the privately-owned "Daily Independent", and of Mike Gbenga Aruleba, presenter of a political programme on privately-owned Africa Independent Television (AIT).

Vietnam

RSF asks new president to pardon two imprisoned cyber-dissidents

(RSF/IFEX) - On 29 June 2006, Reporters Without Borders wrote to Nguyen Minh Triet, who has just taken over from Tran Duc Luong as Vietnam's president, asking him to pardon Pham Hong Son and Nguyen Vu Binh, two cyber-dissidents who are serving prison sentences of five and seven years, respectively.

Norway

As media giant purchases local company, EFJ seeks assurances of editorial independence

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a media release of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), an IFJ regional group:

Lebanon

Authorities remove article on depiction of prophet from French weekly "Courrier International"

(RSF/IFEX) - On 29 June 2006, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) protested to the Lebanese government after the authorities removed an article about the Prophet Mohammed from 280 copies of the French weekly newspaper "Courrier International" upon its arrival in Lebanon on 26 June.

Kazakhstan

Adil Soz protests new amendments to media laws proposed by Information Ministry

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - The following is a 24 June 2006 statement by the president of Adil Soz:

Paraguay

IAPA urges president to pursue probe into journalist's murder

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 28 June 2006 IAPA press release:

Mexico

Journalist suspects state governor of ordering petrol bomb attack against his home

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the 21 June 2006 petrol bomb attack on the home of journalist Manuel Acuña López, a reporter for the local daily "Por Esto", in Mérida, Yucatán state.

Kazakhstan

Journalist questioned by national security body about online article, accused of "insulting" president

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - The National Security Committee (NSC) has launched an investigation into journalist Kazis Toguzbayev, who has been accused of insulting the honour and dignity of the president of Kazakhstan, following a 3 May 2006 article on the website http://www.kub.kz, entitled "Mafia regime shadows the murderers of Altynbek Sarsenbayev". In his article, the journalist criticized the authorities for their reluctance to investigate the killing of opposition politician Altynbek Sarsenbayev. Toguzbayev said the NSC actions were illegal.

Russia

CPJ questions acquittal of two men charged in journalist's murder, urges Bush to take up Klebnikov case in talks with Putin

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ letter to US President George W. Bush:

International

CRN Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning granted to Algerian, Danish cartoonists

(CRN/IFEX) - The following is a CRN press release:

Syria

Electronic publication blocked as authorities escalate security campaign against reformers, human rights activists

(CIHRS/IFEX) - The following is a CIHRS press release:

Sri Lanka

Media freedom and freedom of expression crisis looming, warns FMM

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is an FMM capsule report:

Venezuela

IAPA calls for probe into sabotage of power lines serving newspaper

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 27 June 2006 IAPA press release:

Nigeria

Authorities arrest second leading journalist under obsolete law

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arbitrary arrests of "Daily Independent" reporter Rotimi Durojaiye and AIT television presenter Mike Gbenga Aruleba on 25 and 26 June 2006, respectively, on sedition charges under a law that was made obsolete by a 1983 appeal court ruling.

United States

Justice Department opposes any law guaranteeing journalists the right to protect sources; Republican congressman calls for legal action against "New York Times" on national security grounds

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is alarmed at both a Justice Department letter to Congress opposing any federal "shield law" guaranteeing journalists the right to protect their sources, and a call by a leading Republican congressman for the "New York Times" newspaper to be prosecuted for revealing the government's financial information-mining programme.

Burma

Court upholds three-year sentences for journalists who photographed new capital

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association condemn the Mandalay regional court's decision on appeal to uphold three-year prison sentences for photojournalist U Thaung Sein, also known as U Thar Cho, and columnist Ko Moe Thun, also known as Ko Kyaw Thwin, who writes for the religious magazine "Dhamah-Yate" (Dhamah's Shadow). The court issued its ruling on 21 June 2006, reportedly without hearing any witnesses.

Egypt

Court upholds government's right to block opposition websites

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a ruling by an administrative court attached to Egypt's council of state upholding an information and communication ministry decision in mid June 2006 that the authorities can block, suspend or shut down any website liable to pose a threat to national security.

Liberia

President appoints committee to investigate wave of attacks on journalists by state security agents

(CEMESP/IFEX) - Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has appointed a presidential committee to investigate the recent wave of harassment, intimidation, assault and molestation of journalists by state security agents.

Democratic Republic of Congo

State prosecutor fails to execute order for journalist's release

(JED/IFEX) - In a 16 June 2006 letter, Nkata Bayoyo, general inspector of judicial services and state advocate-general, demanded that the state prosecutor for the Kinshasa/Gombe High Court explain the motives for refusing to execute a 24 May order for the provisional release of Kazadi Mukendi, better known as Kazadi Kwambi Kasumpata, a journalist with the Kinshasa-based weekly "Lubilanji Expansion".

United Kingdom

IPI urges greater emphasis on independent media in government's thinking on African development issues

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is an IPI letter to British government authorities:

Palestine / Israel

Israeli authorities restrict Gaza press access

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

Nigeria

Television presenter rearrested, charged with sedition

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 26 June 2006 CPJ press release:

China

Government plans restrictions on reporting of disasters

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 26 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Kamako radio journalist freed after 48 hours in police custody

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has learned that Gaston Ngalamulume of Radio Etoile in Kamako, in the central province of Kasai Occidental, was released on 24 June 2006 after being held illegally in the town's police station for 48 hours on the orders of the local police chief. The authorities are not pressing any charges against him.

Egypt

Editor, reporter for weekly sentenced to year in jail for "insulting" President Mubarak

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

Azerbaijan

Authorities asked to explain opposition journalist's arrest on drug charge

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on the Azerbaijani authorities to shed light on the way Sakit Mirza Zahidov, a journalist with the opposition daily "Azadlig", was arrested by interior ministry anti-narcotics agents on the evening of 23 June 2006 and was placed in detention for three months on 24 June by the Nasimi regional court on a drug possession charge.

Nepal

Journalist threatened and assaulted by police following article on abduction and torture incident

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - CEHURDES has condemned threats against a journalist in eastern Nepal. According to information compiled by CEHURDES, police inspector Sudip Rajbhandari, stationed at the Area Police Office in the eastern town of Itahari, summoned Suman Puri - a reporter affiliated with "Udghosh" daily newspaper, published in the eastern town of Biratnagar - to the police office on 23 June 2006, questioned him in connection with a news item published in the newspaper, and manhandled and threatened him.

Libya

Journalist's abduction, torture and murder still unpunished one year later

(EOHR/IFEX) - The following is a 25 June 2006 EOHR press release:

Paraguay

Two community radio stations attacked by authorities in Caaguazú department, local residents assaulted and injured

(AMARC/IFEX) - AMARC expresses its deep concern over the violent police action taken on 19 June 2006 against two peasant community radio stations. The police seized equipment and assaulted local community members who rose to defend the radio stations.

Egypt

Award-winning blogger freed

(RSF/IFEX) - Blogger Alaa Abd El-Fatah was released on 22 June 2006 at about 2 p.m. (GMT). His wife said he had spent 24 hours standing in a small cell. She said he was also beaten, but she was not sure if it was by his cellmates or police officers. The authorities had not intended to free him until 23 June. It seems they brought his release forward because his family and friends were demonstrating outside the police station.

Pakistan

Two journalists released on bail after being held secretly for three months

(RSF/IFEX) - Geo TV correspondent Mukesh Rupeta and assistant cameraman Sanjay Kumar were freed on bail on 23 June 2006 after being held secretly since 6 March, probably by Pakistani military intelligence agents.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Journalist sentenced to four months in prison and payment of US$5,000 in damages

(JED/IFEX) - On 14 June 2006, Kazadi Kwambi Kasumpata, freelance correspondent for the Kinshasa-based weekly newspaper "Lubilanji Expansion", was sentenced to four months in prison and payment of US$5,000 in damages and interest for "harmful allegations" against the Protestant University of Congo (UPC).

Laos

CAPSULE REPORT: RSF urges new president to undertake radical reforms to allow emergence of an independent press

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an open letter from RSF to President Choummaly Sayasone:

Somalia

Swedish freelance photographer gunned down on Mogadishu street

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders said it was appalled by the murder of Swedish freelance photo-reporter Martin Adler, who was shot by a hooded gunman while covering a street demonstration in Mogadishu on 23 June 2006.

Egypt

Detention of two bloggers extended by 15 days

(HRinfo/IFEX) - HRinfo has welcomed the release of accused activists in state security case no. 415/2006. However, HRinfo was disappointed because the detention of both Mohamed Al-Sharkawi and Karim Al-Shaer was renewed for 15 more days.

Philippines

Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists releases "primer" on the Esperat murder case as trial begins

(CMFR/IFEX) - The following is a statement by Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, Inc. (FFFJ), of which CMFR is a member:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Journalist jailed and beaten on orders of police chief

(JED/IFEX) - Gaston Ngalamulume, a journalist with the Kamako-based and privately-owned Radio Etoile, was arrested and jailed on 22 June 2006 on the orders of Médard Kabutakapu, the local police chief. Kamako is 150 km from Tshikapa, the second city in Western Kasaï Province, in central Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sri Lanka

Government re-introduces state regulation for media

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a 22 June 2006 FMM press release:

Sri Lanka

BBC reporters denied access to war-affected area

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

Pakistan

Two television journalists kidnapped and tortured for filming airbase used by US military

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the actions of Pakistani military intelligence officers in kidnapping and torturing two journalists who filmed an airbase used by the US military in the southern province of Sindh.

Iran

Human Rights Watch urges removal of accused torturer from delegation to U.N. Human Rights Council

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

Russia

Local authorities in Ivanovo block independent newspaper's circulation

(CJES/IFEX) - On 20 June 2006, Valeriy Smetanin, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper "Ivanovo Press" based in the city of Ivanovo, appealed to CJES with a request for support. Smetanin told CJES that the newspaper, which has been published since 1997, may soon be closed because of arbitrary measures by local authorities.

Peru

Newspaper editor accuses journalist of defamation

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 22 May 2006, Luis García Miró Elguera, editor of the daily newspaper "Expreso", accused journalist Raúl Wiener Fresco of defamation, claiming that the journalist falsely accused him of insider trading in order to benefit from the process of awarding concession rights for Pisco's airport, in southwestern Peru. Wiener should have appeared at the 33rd Criminal Court on 20 June in order to present his case, but the judge agreed to postpone the hearing at the defense's request.

Botswana / The Gambia

Expelled from Botswana in 2005 for critical teachings, professor takes case to African Human Rights and People's Commission

(MISA/IFEX) - Those who thought Professor Kenneth Good's case was resolved should brace themselves for a surprise. The drama has now shifted to Banjul, The Gambia, where the indefatigable political science lecturer has lodged a complaint with the African Human Rights and People's Commission.

Iran

Cartoonist's and editor's cases to be tried by the Islamic Revolutionary Court, Justice Minister asks for "highest penalty"

(CRN/IFEX) - The following is a 21 June 2006 CRN statement:

Guatemala

Journalist insulted, shoved and threatened by police official for his reporting

(CERIGUA/IFEX) - On 24 May 2006, Guatevisión news reporter Alberto Cardona was assaulted by seven employees of the private security company Sistemas Integrales de Seguridad, who pushed him forcefully and kicked him, breaking his nose and several of his ribs. They also seized his digital camera and various valuable personal items.

Turkmenistan

CPJ condemns arrest of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist and her children, harassment of her family

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 21 June 2006 CPJ press release:

France

EFJ welcomes plan to strengthen right to protect sources

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 21 June 2006 IFJ media release:

Tunisia

Following a month-long campaign on Tunisia, WiPC calls on authorities to end persecution of writers

(WiPC/IFEX) - The following is a 21 June 2006 WiPC press release:

Nepal

RSF removes king and Maoist rebel leader from press freedom predators list

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 21 June 2006 RSF press release:

Mexico

Two years of impunity in murder of "Zeta" columnist in Tijuana

(RSF/IFEX) - On the eve of the second anniversary of the murder of Francisco Javier Ortiz Franco, columnist and co-founder of the weekly news magazine "Zeta", which took place on 22 June 2004 in the northwestern border town of Tijuana, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) voiced outrage that the case has never come to trial, despite the arrests of several suspected perpetrators and accomplices.

China

Imprisoned journalist's health deteriorating

(WiPC/IFEX) - WiPC protests the one-year prison sentence handed down to journalist Yang Xiaoqing on 15 June 2006, on extortion charges for his reporting on official corruption. International PEN considers Yang to be detained in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China became a signatory in 1998, and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

The Gambia

IPI welcomes Millennium Challenge Corporation's suspension of The Gambia from list of countries suitable for assistance

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is a 21 June 2006 IPI press release:

United States / Afghanistan

Author alleges bombing of "Al-Jazeera" office in Kabul by U.S. forces was deliberate

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 21 June 2006 CPJ press release:

International

Hague trial of Charles Taylor must be accessible to West Africans, says Human Rights Watch

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

Russia

Journalists' organisations call for abolition of criminal liability for libel

(CJES/IFEX) - The following is a 20 June 2006 CJES press release:

Philippines

Possible motives revealed in the murder of two journalists

(CMFR/IFEX) - Two peace advocates, also working as part-time journalists, were gunned down by unidentified men around 5 p.m. (local time) on 19 June 2006 in Kidapawan City, approximately 850 kilometres south of Manila.

Turkey

RSF calls for provisional release of Kurdish journalist accused of collaborating with PKK

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release on bail of Rüstu Demirkaya, a reporter with the Kurdish news agency Diha, who was placed in custody in Tunceli prison, in eastern Turkey, on 14 June 2006, on a charge of collaborating with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), also known as Kongra-Gel.

Russia

Political party, official initiate legal action against editor of independent newspaper for critical articles

(CJES/IFEX) - On 19 June 2006, the Volzhsky area court in Saratov City considered a legal action requested by the Saratov branch of the governing party Edinaya Rossiya (United Russia) to be taken against founder and editor Sergey Mihajlov of the independent newspaper "Saratovskiy reporter" ("Saratov Reporter").

Panama

IAPA concerned at bid to amend Penal Code to stiffen penalties for journalists found guilty of defamation

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 20 June 2006 IAPA press release:

Spain

IPI reminds authorities of journalists' constitutionally protected right to free expression following assault on "El Mundo" columnist

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is an IPI letter to Catalonian authorities:

Burma

Four dissidents sentenced up to 19 years in prison for anti-government poems

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) protests against the "unjust and excessive" jail sentences slapped against four dissidents by a criminal court in Pegu, north of Rangoon, on 9 June 2006, for publishing a book of poems deemed "anti-government".

Pakistan

Two television journalists missing since March 2006

(PPF/IFEX) - Mukesh Rupeta, a correspondent for Pakistan's leading television channel Geo News, and cameraman Sunjey Kumar, have been missing since 6 March 2006 from the city of Jacobabad in Sindh province.

Nepal

CAPSULE REPORT: Media sector now has "breathing space" but challenges remain, says FNJ report

(FNJ/IFEX) - The following is a 20 June 2006 FNJ capsule report:

Russia

Interior minister urged to protect threatened Tajik journalist

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on the Russian interior minister to protect Dodojon Atovulloyev, a Moscow-based Tajik journalist who has been receiving death threats. He edits "Chagory Rus", a monthly publication about Tajikistan and its relations with Russia.

Pakistan

Journalist Paryal Deyo shot by gunmen, seriously injured

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 19 June 2006 IFJ media release:

United States

Internet "neutrality" vital for free expression, says RSF

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an RSF statement:

Turkmenistan

Journalist arrested, her family members harassed

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

Afghanistan

Government tries to reintroduce censorship about the security situation

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced dismay at recent government initiatives aimed at imposing censorship and self-censorship about the security situation and the presence of foreign troops. News media editors and executives were summoned by intelligence officials and given instructions. Then a list of banned subjects was sent out to editors.

Nigeria

"National Geographic" photographer detained for four days

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

Japan

High Court reaffirms journalists' rights to protect sources

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Italy

Blogger unfairly convicted of defamation

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a 13,500-euro sentence against blogger Roberto Mancini in fines, damages and costs imposed by a court in Val d'Aosta, in northern Italy on 26 May 2006, after local journalists brought forward a defamation suit.

Philippines

Husband and wife journalists gunned down in Mindanao

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the murders on 19 June 2006 of a husband and wife who were both journalists. George Vigo, a contributor to Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN), and his wife, Macel Alave-Vigo, the presenter of a programme on radio dxND, were gunned down near their home in Kidapawan on the southern island of Mindanao.

Pakistan

Demonstrations and inquiry pledges after journalist Hayatullah Khan's murder

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has urged Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to accept the demands of journalists' organisations following the murder of kidnapped reporter Hayatullah Khan, who was found shot dead in the tribal zone of North Waziristan on 16 June 2006.

Somalia

Radio station closed, journalists harassed

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 19 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Guatemala

Camera operator assaulted in capital; marketing employee of regional newspaper beaten

(CERIGUA/IFEX) - On 13 June 2006, Carlos Morales, the camera operator for the news programme "Noti7", which is broadcast three times a day nationally on television channel Televisiete, was assaulted by private security guards in Tikal 1 neighbourhood, in Area 7 of the capital, Guatemala City.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Unknown persons write threats on the doors of a privately-owned radio station

(JED/IFEX) - On the morning of 19 June 2006, when they reached their office, Jean-Pierre Lifoli, Laurent Kangisa and Justin Lifoli - director, journalist and technician, respectively, at the Kisangani-based, privately-owned Radio Mwangaza - were surprised to find their names chalk-written on the radio station's doors. Beside the names were phrases written in Lingala, one of the four national languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): "You will find out who we are, elections are at hand, be careful." Kisangani is the capital city of the Eastern Province (in north-east DRC).

Egypt

Film banned, novel confiscated

(EOHR/IFEX) - The following is a 15 June 2006 EOHR press release:

Mongolia

Journalists denied access to information at crime prevention council meeting

(Globe International/IFEX) - On 12 June 2006, S. Munkhdalai, a reporter for the community radio station Noyon Uul, and Uvurkhangai TV journalist G. Puntsagsuren were denied information by G. Dashtudev, chief secretary of the Crime Prevention Council of the Mongolian Justice and Domestic Ministry. While S. Munkhdalai was taping a meeting about inspections at the council's Uvurkhangai aimag (province) branch, the secretary twice turned off the recorder and ordered the journalists to leave the meeting.

China

"New York Times" researcher Zhao Yan tried quickly behind closed doors, without witnesses appearing in court

(RSF/IFEX) - The way "New York Times" researcher Zhao Yan was tried on 16 June 2006 in Beijing on charges of divulging state secrets and fraud - behind closed doors, in just a few hours, without witnesses being questioned and with just documents being read out - was "disgraceful", Reporters Without Borders said.

Mexico

Oaxacan police raid radio station, detain directors, destroy equipment, during crackdown on teachers

(AMARC/IFEX) - AMARC has expressed its deep concern about the use of force to solve social conflicts, especially to quell social protest, following the incidents which occurred in Oaxaca on 14 June 2006, which included the detention of the directors of Radio Plantón 92.1 FM, a radio station which was reporting in a sympathetic manner on the teachers' protest, allowing them to voice their opinions.

Botswana

Newspaper threatened with lawsuit by national sports council

(MISA/IFEX) - The "Botswana Gazette" newspaper has been threatened with a lawsuit for damages amounting to Pula 5 million (approx. US$850,000) for allegedly defaming the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC).

Bangladesh

IFJ concerned for Khulna journalist's safety, calls for investigation into earlier assassination attempt

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 16 June 2006 IFJ open letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs:

Nigeria

Detained television presenter released, may be charged with sedition

(MRA/IFEX) - The presenter of the "Focus Nigeria" programme on the privately-owned "Africa Independent Television" (AIT), Gbenga Mike Aruleba, who was arrested on 14 June 2006 by operatives of the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria's intelligence agency, has been released.

Democratic Republic of Congo

CAPSULE REPORT: CPJ protests spate of press attacks

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 15 June 2006 letter from CPJ to Congolese President Joseph Kabila:

Colombia

CPJ alarmed by threats against press freedom group and journalists

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 14 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Croatia

RSF relieved by Hague court decision not to prosecute three journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced relief at the 15 June 2006 decision by Carla del Ponte, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), not to prosecute three extreme-right-wing Croatian journalists accused of being in contempt of court for revealing the identity of a protected witness, current Croatian President Stipe Mesic.

Jordan

Government gives intelligence agencies, police and prosecutors free rein to clamp down on legitimate speech, says Human Rights Watch

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a 17 June 2006 Human Rights Watch press release:

United States

IAPA protests expulsion of reporters from Guantánamo

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 15 June 2006 IAPA press release:

Vietnam

Government readies stricter press laws to rein in journalists

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Strict new press regulations will take effect in Vietnam starting in July 2006, reports coming out of the country say, amid signs that national leaders are growing wary of the trend toward more aggressive and enterprising journalism.

The Gambia

Editor of "Daily Observer" missing, colleagues fear he was arrested

(MFWA/IFEX) - Lamin Cham, a stringer of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in The Gambia, was arrested on 30 May 2006 by the security forces (see IFEX alerts of 6 and 2 June 2006). [Cham was released on 6 June.]

Democratic Republic of Congo

Vice president takes journalist to court for defamation

(JED/IFEX) - On 16 June 2006, Michel Mukebayi Nkoso, the publication director of the Kinshasa-based weekly "Africa News", appeared before the Gombe Deputy Public Prosecutor, Edmond Isofa Nkanga. One of the country's four vice presidents, Jean-Pierre Bemba, filed a complaint accusing the journalist of defamation.

Egypt

Blogger's life in danger after three weeks of detention and torture; Interior Ministry refuses to provide urgent medical care

(HRinfo/IFEX) - In a 15 June 2006 communiqué submitted to the public prosecutor, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) holds the Interior Ministry totally responsible for the life and health condition of blogger and prisoner of opinion Mohammad Al-Sharqawi.

Belarus

RSF backs independent newspaper editor who has sought asylum in Ukraine

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced support for the political asylum request which Andrei Shentorovich, the founder and editor of the Belarusian independent weekly "Mestnaya Gazeta", made on 14 June 2006 in Ukraine.

India

Four journalists threatened in an e-mail

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 15 June 2006 IFJ media release:

China

Yahoo! the worst offender in RSF's search engine censorship test

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 15 June 2006 RSF press release:

Pakistan

Missing journalist found killed

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

Venezuela

Chávez threatens to block licence renewal for privately-owned broadcasters opposing his government

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 15 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Thailand

Prime Minister Thaksin files another libel case against opposition, three newspaper editors

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Thai caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has filed criminal and civil defamation suits against the opposition Democrat Party and three newspaper editors, and is seeking 800 million baht (approx. US$20 million) in damages.

Venezuela

Protesting university students assault photojournalist, force another reporter to erase his photographs

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 7 June 2006, "La Nueva Prensa de Oriente" photojournalist Roberto Almeida was assaulted by university students belonging to the Black Hand Student Movement (Movimiento Estudiantil Mano Negra, MEMN). The event took place at the Oriente University in Anzoategui, northeastern Venezuela, while Almeida was covering the temporary seizure of eight public transport buses by MEMN to protest the ill-treatment of students by bus drivers. After he had taken photographs of the events, hooded individuals who identified themselves as members of MEMN demanded that he delete them. When he refused, the students hit him in the face and back and took his camera's memory stick. According to the paper's version of events, the photographer was able to escape thanks to the intervention of a municipal police officer.

Egypt

May was the worst month for freedom of expression in last quarter century, says HRinfo

(HRinfo/IFEX) - The following is a 14 June 2006 HRinfo press release:

Nepal

Maoist rebels threaten journalist

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - The Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES), a Kathmandu-based freedom of expression monitoring group, condemns the threat against journalist Binod Tripathi by Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) - Maoist rebels.

Pakistan

Two rural journalists receive threats for reporting on quasi-judicial decision of traditional feudal assembly

(PPF/IFEX) - Two rural journalists in Pakistan's southern province of Sindh received death threats from feudal lords for reporting on the quasi-judicial decision of Jirga, a traditional feudal assembly, to hand over for marriage five girls, all minors, to a rival family in order to settle a murder dispute.

Colombia

IPYS condemns threats against various journalists' organisations

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 7 June 2006, the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa), the Medios Para la Paz media group, the Prensa Rural news agency, "Actualidad Étnica" and the weekly "Voz", as well as 16 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), were declared "military targets" in an e-mail sent to these institutions by an organisation which calls itself the "Free Colombia Democratic Front". The nature and aims of this organisation are not known.

China

Journalist who denounced local corruption gets a year in prison

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the one-year prison sentence which a people's court in Longhui in the southern province of Hunan imposed on journalist Yang Xiaoqing, after convicting him on a trumped-up charge of "extortion".

East Timor

Newspaper staff attacked; reporter briefly detained

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a physical attack on 12 June 2006 on two employees of the "Timor Post" outside its premises in the capital, Dili. The newspaper, the country's leading independent daily, had previously received threats from supporters of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. A Timorese reporter working for the Associated Press was also briefly detained by Australian peacekeepers.

Democratic Republic of Congo

JED applauds provisional release of Pierre-Sosthène Kambidi, requests all charges against journalist be dropped

(JED/IFEX) - In the early evening of 14 June 2006, Pierre-Sosthène Kambidi, a journalist with the privately-owned radio station Concorde FM and a JED correspondent, was granted a provisional release by the Tshikapa Peace Tribunal. Tshikapa is the second city of the Western Kasaï Province (central Democratic Republic of Congo). After having returned home, the journalist told JED that he had posted 20,000 Congolese francs (approx. US$ 50) in bail. The journalist is prohibited from leaving Tshikapa and must make himself available to the courts at any time.

Pakistan

Six journalists injured in attack on press club

(PPF/IFEX) - About fifty individuals attacked journalists in a rural press club on 14 June 2006, injuring six newsmen. The assailants, many of whom were on a tractor, barged into the press club in Thari Mirwah, a small town located in the Khairpur district of the southern province of Sindh, and started punching, kicking and beating journalists with sticks. They ransacked the press club damaging furniture and equipment. The intruders chanted slogans against journalists.

Nigeria

Security agents raid private television station and arrest journalist

(MRA/IFEX) - On 14 June 2006, operatives of the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria's intelligence agency, invaded the premises of the country's largest private television network, the Africa Independent Television (AIT), in Abuja and arrested Gbenga Mike Aruleba, host of the popular "Focus on Nigeria" programme.

Algeria

Press freedom at risk despite release of editor, says Human Rights Watch

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

Ghana

Another minister sues two newspapers

(MFWA/IFEX) - Ghana's Minister for Communications, Professor Mike Ocquaye, filed a suit at an Accra High Court on 5 June 2006, against the publishers and editors of "Ghanaian Lens" and "Ghana Palaver", two Accra-based bi-weekly privately-owned newspapers, for allegedly defaming him.

Rwanda

Authorities urged to explain why RFI correspondent was forced to leave the country

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on the Rwandan government to explain its behaviour towards Sonia Rolley, the accredited Kigali correspondent of the French public radio station Radio France Internationale (RFI), who was ordered to leave the country on 10 June 2006 after being unable to renew her visa.

Burundi

Legal irregularities keep outspoken news agency reporter in prison

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of Aloys Kabura of the government-owned Agence Burundaise de Presse (ABP), who has been kept in detention for the past two weeks in the northern city of Kayanza by means of legal irregularities and manoeuvres by the local prosecutor. Kabura was arrested on 31 May 2006 for criticising the government while in a bar.

China

RSF calls for sanctions after beating of Three Gorges dam activist Fu Xiancai

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders urged China's foreign minister, Li Zhaoxing, to intervene in the case of Fu Xiancai, a vocal critic of the government's treatment of people displaced by the Three Gorges dam who was left paralysed from a beating after giving an interview to foreign journalists.

Argentina

Radio journalist threatened and assaulted

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 10 June 2006, unidentified individuals fired three shots at the house of radio journalist Carlos Furman, host of the programme "Destapando la olla" ("Taking the lid off the pot") broadcast on the"2 de Octubre" radio station. Furman was not at home at the time of the attack. The incident took place in the locality of Santa Elena, Entre Ríos province, northeastern Argentina.

East Timor

IFJ concerned by reports of deteriorating situation for journalists

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Liberia

Presidential bodyguards detain and harass four journalists

(CEMESP/IFEX) - On 13 June 2006, four local journalists were harassed and briefly detained at Liberia's State House, the Executive Mansion, by security personnel.

Singapore

Blogger faces sedition charges for cartoons mocking Jesus Christ, according to reports

(SEAPA/IFEX) - A Singaporean blogger faces sedition charges for posting cartoons mocking Jesus Christ, reports coming out of the city-state are saying.

Nepal

CEHURDES welcomes formation of new media commission

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - The following is a 13 June 2006 CEHURDES press release:

India

Journalist stoned to death in rural Maharashtra State

(RSF/IFEX) - A journalist was ambushed and stoned by attackers who left him fatally injured in the rural area of Takalghat, near Nagpur, in Maharashtra state, central India, on 8 June 2006. Aran Narayan Dekate died in hospital two days later.

United States

RSF calls for release of cameraman Sami Al-Haj as he completes fourth year in Guantanamo

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has reiterated its condemnation of the arbitrary detention of Sudanese assistant cameraman Sami Al-Haj of the pan-Arab TV station Al-Jazeera, who, on 13 June 2006, completes his fourth year in the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Peru

Journalist assaulted by civil servant

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the morning of 9 June 2006, journalist Eliot Coc Aguilar, editor of Radio Calor's news programme "Contacto Directo", was assaulted by Juan Valdez Inga, an administrative employee of the Local Education Management Unit (Unidad de Gestión Educativa Local, UGEL-Casma). The attack took place in Casma, Ancash region, northwestern Peru, when the journalist was gathering information at the educational institution. Valdez approached Coc Aguilar and hit him.

Colombia

FLIP declared a "military target" by paramilitary group; columnist receives similar threat

(FLIP/IFEX) - On 7 June 2006, several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including FLIP, received an e-mail message signed by the "Free Colombia Democratic Front" ("Frente Democrático Colombia Libre"). This threat follows others of a similar nature sent to the University of Antioquia, the National University, columnist Iván Cepeda and a human rights lawyers' group, the Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo.

Ecuador

WPFC urges President and other authorities to eliminate "insult" laws

(WPFC/IFEX) - The following is a 12 June 2006 WPFC letter to President Alfredo Palacios:

The Gambia

"Independent" reporter Lamin Fatty released on bail

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

China

Authorities allow opinion poll website back online

(RSF/IFEX) - An opinion poll website that was closed down in May 2006 after posting a questionnaire about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has been allowed back online. The website, Polls, ( Zhongguo Guoqing Zixun - http://www.s007s.com/ ), was given permission to resume operating on 4 June 2006 after several weeks of negotiations with the ministry of industry and information.

Azerbaijan

Interior Ministry announces criminal investigation will be conducted into abduction of journalist Bahaddin Khaziyev

(RSF/IFEX) - Police arrested a score of activists belonging to the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party on 9 June 2006 as they took part in a new protest demonstration against the abduction and vicious beating suffered by journalist Bahaddin Khaziyev. They were released a few hours later.

Serbia / Montenegro

Interior Minister urged to reopen investigation into murder of journalist Milan Pantic

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on interior minister Dragan Jocic to retake control of the investigation into the 2001 murder of journalist Milan Pantic and to combat the impunity which has allowed his killers to remain at large.

Costa Rica

Congress considering a bill that would further restrict press freedom

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 8 June 2006 CPJ letter to President Arias:

Argentina

News presenter dismissed following criticism of rally; radio programme cancelled following pressure from Santa Cruz province's deputy governor

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the deterioration in relations between the government and the press since Néstor Kirchner took over as president in May 2003 and the arbitrary measures that have been taken with increasing frequency against critical news media and journalists. These have included withdrawal of programmes, firings and the discriminatory allocation of state advertising.

Kashmir (India)

Kidnapping and attempt on newspaper reporter's life

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned an attempt on the life of Shujaat Bukhari, the Kashmir correspondent of the national English-language daily "The Hindu", on 10 June 2006 in Srinagar. He was kidnapped and driven out of the city centre, but when one of his abductors tried to shoot him, the gun jammed.

Bahrain

Draft law on public gatherings threatens freedom of expression, says Human Rights Watch

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is an 8 June 2006 Human Rights Watch press release:

Liberia

Journalist injured by bodyguards, prevented from interviewing president

(CEMESP/IFEX) - On 8 June 2006, officers of the Special Security Service (SSS) and a United States Secret Service Agent assigned to protect Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf manhandled some journalists, leaving one with a neck injury and the loss of his mobile phone.

Nepal

Journalists assaulted and threatened

(FNJ/IFEX) - An unidentified group that came on motorbikes attacked Manoj Khanal, chief editor of the national weekly "Balan Times", at around 8:50 p.m. (local time) on 10 June 2006 at Siraha, southeastern Nepal. He was attacked in relation to an article about a non-governmental organization, Bhawani Integrated Development.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Radio presenter sentenced to three months in prison for defaming provincial police chief

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has reiterated its call for the release of journalist Pierre-Sosthène Kambidi of privately-owned radio station Concorde FM after he was summarily and unfairly tried by a court in Tshikapa in the central province of Kasaï Occidental on 10 June 2006 and sentenced to three months in prison for defaming a local police chief.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Detained journalist appears in court; police commander accuses him of defamation

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 9 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Uganda

Journalists on trial for "promoting sectarianism"; trial of editor suspended

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 8 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Turkey

Court acquits fifth journalist who criticised conference ban

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed an Istanbul court's decision on 8 June 2006 to acquit Murat Belge, a columnist with the daily "Radikal", of criticising a judicial ban on a conference about the Armenian genocide, for which he had faced a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Colombia

Former mayor and two paramilitary group members charged over 2003 murder of journalist

(FLIP/IFEX) - The following is an 8 June 2006 FLIP press release:

China

Google.com accessible again inside China

(RSF/IFEX) - The Chinese authorities seem to have stopped blocking access to the international version of Google's search engine, http://www.google.com. Tests carried out by Reporters Without Borders show that it is again accessible in Beijing and Shanghai. Google's unblocking tends to confirm the theory that online censorship was stepped up for the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on 4 June. To get around Internet censorship in China, Reporters Without Borders recommends downloading DynaPass ( https://www.dongtaiwang.com/ ), a programme that has just been updated.

Sri Lanka

Private satellite broadcaster closed

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is an 8 June 2006 FMM press release:

Cambodia

Newspaper journalist arrested while covering squatter evictions

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 8 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Paraguay

Bill seen by IAPA as restricting information flow

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 7 June 2006 IAPA press release:

Democratic Republic of Congo

JED denounces journalist's arrest and detention by Tshikapa court

(JED/IFEX) - Journalist Pierre-Sosthene Kambidi, with private radio station Concorde FM, broadcast from Tshikapa, the second largest city in West Kasai province (in central DRC), and correspondent for Journaliste en danger (JED) from the same city, was arrested on 8 June 2006. He was placed in temporary detention by the Peace Tribunal of Tshikapa for "insulting" Pierre Kidogo, commander of the mobile intervention squad of the Congolese national police.

Nepal

Protestors burn copies of newspapers, threaten more action if newspaper fails to publish story on their cause; registration of newspaper stalled by official

(FNJ/IFEX) - Almost every day of the first week of June 2006, activists demanding that Nepal be once again declared a Hindu state have burned newspapers sent from the capital to Birgunj and some other areas of the Terai region of Nepal.

Mongolia

Radio station's access to information restricted by company following critical reporting on its environmental impact

(Globe International/IFEX) - T. Bayartsogt, a reporter for the community radio station Orkhon, faced restrictions in obtaining information about the activities of the Tsavchirt local lime processing company in the north Mongolian aimag [province] of Darkhan-Uul on 24 May 2006 when he entered a company production site.

Syria

Online journalist to serve six months in prison

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 7 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Ukraine

Arson attack on investigative journalist

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 7 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Sri Lanka

CORRECTION: Three journalists charged with contempt of court; Supreme Court terminates proceedings

(FMM/IFEX) - Please note, in the previous version of this alert the title mentioned that five journalists were charged with contempt of court, however only three journalists were actually charged. The IFEX Clearing House apologises for the error.

Swaziland

Court denies request for ban on media coverage of sensational murder trial

(MISA/IFEX) - On 6 June 2006, the High Court of Swaziland threw out a request for a ban on media coverage of a sensational trial of an alleged serial killer.

Guatemala

Journalist, beaten and injured by security guards, hospitalized

(APG/IFEX) - APG reiterates both its condemnation of the 24 May 2006 assault on journalist Alberto Cardona, a 24-year old reporter for the national television news programme "Telenoticiero Guatevisión", and its call for the attorney general's ministry (Ministerio Público) and the national police to capture and charge the two employees of the Seguridad Integral private security company who committed the assault during a concert by the Puerto Rican singer Dady Yankee in the Army's sport stadium in Guatemala City.

Russia

CAPSULE REPORT: RSF open letter to President Putin holds him responsible for gagging the press

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin:

Cuba

CPJ concerned about deteriorating health of two journalists

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 6 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Bangladesh

Newspaper remains closed; BNP leader suspected to be behind attacks denies involvement

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

Sri Lanka

Five journalists charged with contempt of court; Supreme Court terminates proceedings

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

Colombia

Three journalists subject to public denunciations by political figures in Ibagué

(FLIP/IFEX) - Three journalists of the programme "La Cariñosa" broadcast on Colombia's national radio network (Radio Cadena Nacional, RCN) in the city of Ibagué, Tolima department, have been subjected to verbal and written attacks by the secretary of the Liberal Party for the department, Rubiel Espinosa Triana.

Colombia

Three Barranquilla-based journalists receive phony bomb packages

(FLIP/IFEX) - Gustavo Bell Lemus, the editor of "El Heraldo de Barranquilla" newspaper, as well as two of that newspaper's columnists, Ernesto McCausland Sojo and Armando Benedetti Jimeno, received threats in the form of packages containing mock bombs. The cardboard boxes contained various wires, a watch, and a condolence card.

Palestine

Cars belonging to Al-Jazeera staff burned in broadcaster's parking lot; journalists receive death threats

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 6 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Iraq

Two "Sada Wasit" journalists facing new charges, possible prison terms; women's weekly journalist detained, facing defamation charges; CPJ sends new prime minister press freedom recommendations

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 6 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Burma

Journalist's columns banned over "International Herald Tribune" piece

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Burma's military government has ordered domestic journals and magazines to stop publishing the columns of veteran journalist Ludu Sein Win after an opinion piece critical of the junta appeared in the "International Herald Tribune" (IHT) on May 23, 2006.

Tunisia

Al-Jazeera television journalist briefly detained twice; former editor and family continually harassed since his release from prison

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 6 June 2006 CPJ press release:

International

Resolutions passed by WAN at the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum

(WAN/IFEX) - The following is a series of 6 June 2006 WAN press releases summarising resolutions passed at the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum in Moscow, Russia:

The Gambia

Journalist Lamin Cham released

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has published photographs showing the marks left on the body of a journalist from the blows he received from members of the National Guard while detained earlier this year in Gambia, where two journalists are still in detention.

International

Golden Pen of Freedom awarded to Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji

(WAN/IFEX) - The following is a 5 June 2006 WAN press release:

Democratic Republic of Congo

State prosecutor appeals Booto verdict

(JED/IFEX) - On 2 June 2006, the Public Prosecutor appealed the 30 May judgment by the Court of Peace of Kinshasa/Assosa, in the case against Patrice Booto, editor of the newspaper "Le Journal" and its supplement "Malebo Pool". He was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of US$500. Booto had even paid the fine required, as well as the court expenses, when the Public Prosecutor made the appeal.

Iraq

IFJ launches global campaign for 15 June "Day of Solidarity" with frontline journalists in Iraq

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 5 June 2006 IFJ media release:

Swaziland

Media facing possible ban on coverage of high profile murder trial

(MISA/IFEX) - On 5 June 2006, a lawyer representing a suspected serial killer asked the Swaziland High Court to ban media coverage of the historic case. The suspect, David Simelane, is charged with murdering 34 women between 1999 and 2001.

China

Google.com blocked as vice tightens on Internet users

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the current unprecedented level of Internet filtering in China, which means the Google.com search engine can no longer be accessed in most provinces - although the censored Chinese version, Google.cn, is still accessible - and software designed in the United States to get round censorship now only works with great difficulty.

Spain

Supreme Court upholds seven-year jail sentence for Al-Jazeera journalist; RSF concerned about journalist's health

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders reiterated its concern about the state of health of Al-Jazeera presenter Tayssir Allouni after Spain's Supreme Court, on 1 June 2006, upheld his seven-year prison sentence for "collaborating" with Al-Qaeda. Allouni, who has heart problems, received the sentence on 26 September 2005, when he was tried along with 23 other people on charges of being implicated in terrorist activities in Spain.

Palestine

Prime minister urged to punish gunmen who attacked TV bureau

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders condemned a 5 June 2006 attack on Palestinian national TV installations in the south of the Gaza Strip and urged Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to put a stop to violence against journalists in the Palestinian territories. Witnesses blamed the attack on gunmen of the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

International

Press freedom deteriorates worldwide, says WAN

(WAN/IFEX) - The following is a 3 June 2006 WAN press release:

Iraq

Reuters cameraman freed after 12 days in US custody

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 2 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Turkey

Writer on trial for supporting conscientious objector; several others await verdicts in climate of courtroom violence

(WiPC/IFEX) - On 7 June 2006, writer Perihan Magden will come before a court in Sultanhamet, Istanbul, to hear charges that she has "turned people against military service" in an article on a conscientious objector. The prosecution is demanding a three-year prison term. International PEN protests the trial and calls for the charges to be dropped, and for an end to the trials of over 80 other writers, publishers and journalists that are currently in process and that fall foul of international standards protecting the right to freedom of expression. The organization is also alarmed by violent incidents that have taken place at some of these trials, and that cases continue to come before the courts where evidence appears flawed and where there are allegations that torture had been used against the defendants.

Nepal

Police officer strikes journalist inquiring about alleged case of police abuse

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 3 June 2006, Gyanendra KC, a central council member of the Dhaulagiri and Myagdi branches of the FNJ and a correspondent of Channel Nepal Television, was struck by a police officer when he approached the District Police Office in Banglung, a western district of Nepal, to investigate a story.

East Timor

Violence undermining media reporting, warns IFJ

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Brazil

"Folha do Amapá" newspaper ordered to remove website issue, threatened with fine; "Correio do Estado" newspaper appeals recent gag order

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 2 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Nigeria

Newspaper correspondent arrested and questioned by security agents

(MRA/IFEX) - On 1 June 2006, Tony Eluemunor, the Abuja bureau chief of the "Daily Independent" newspaper, was arrested by officials of the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria's intelligence agency, on the orders of the agency's Director General, Colonel Kayode Are.

Thailand

Prime minister brings criminal libel charges against newspaper

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

Zimbabwe

Parliamentary committee calls for changes to exclusionary broadcasting laws

(MISA/IFEX) - Zimbabwe's Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communications has conceded that the country's broadcasting laws are prohibitive to the entry of private players.

Peru

Journalists assaulted by sports club manager

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the evening of 31 May 2006, Robin Ipanaque Hidalgo and Walter Maldonado Maguiña, journalists for Radio Melodía in Huaraz, northeastern Peru, were physically assaulted by Isaías Terry Valverde, manager of Sport Ancash professional football club.

Somalia

IFJ condemns assault on journalist by militias in Baidoa

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Peru

Political party activists assault journalist

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the morning of 29 May 2006, radio journalist Eduardo Ganoza Cochachi was assaulted by activists from the Peruvian Aprista Party (Partido Aprista Peruano), for having questioned their violent actions toward an official of the Nationalist Party (Partido Nacionalista).

China

Cyber-dissident arrested, two others forced to leave their city of residence

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the release, on health grounds, of cyber-dissident and human rights activist Guo Qizhen, who was arrested at his home on 12 May 2006 and whose health, according to his lawyer, is worrying.

Malaysia

Journalist assaulted by police while covering Kuala Lumpur demonstration

(SEAPA/IFEX) - A journalist working with Malaysia's Chinese-language online publication, MerdekaReview.com, was assaulted by police while he was covering a peaceful demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on 28 May 2006.

Lebanon

Journalist Qassir's killers still at large after one year

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 1 June 2006 CPJ press release:

Ethiopia

IFJ demands explanation from authorities for refusing entry visa to European journalists' leader

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Kyrgyzstan

Meeting participants attack television crew, break camera, seize materials

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Bangladesh

Police attack journalists protesting earlier BNP attack on newspaper; eight injured

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

The Gambia

BBC reporter arrested in widening crackdown; one detained journalist released

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 1 June 2006 CPJ press release:

International

Resolutions passed at IPI Annual General Assembly

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is a 30 May 2006 IPI public statement:

Burundi

Journalist jailed for publicly criticising the government

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

Chile

Journalists injured, detained during student strike

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 31 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Liberia

State-owned broadcaster suppresses journalists' independence

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 17 May 2006, the Liberian Broadcasting System (LBS), the state-owned broadcaster, ordered its journalists to seek clearance prior to broadcasting "corruption allegations" against government officials and other top personalities.

Bangladesh

Ruling party activists attack journalists and printing press

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 31 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Brazil

Newspaper faces very heavy fine if candidate for state governor is mentioned in any future issue

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has deplored a 29 May 2006 court decision preemptively ordering the "O Correio do Estado" daily newspaper, based in Campo Grande, the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul state, to pay a fine of 168 euros for each copy printed whenever it mentions former mayor André Puccinelli, a candidate for state governor facing federal money-laundering charges.

Iraq

Eleventh Al-Iraqiya employee gunned down in Baghdad

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced its condolences to the family of TV sports presenter Jaafar Ali, who was gunned down on the morning of 31 May 2006 in Baghdad. He was the third journalist to be killed in Iraq in the space of 48 hours and the eleventh employee of the national TV station Al-Iraqiya to be killed since the start of the war in March 2003.

Jordan

First prison sentences announced for reprinting Prophet cartoons

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders is protesting against two-month jail sentences imposed on 30 May 2006 by a Jordanian court on two journalists, Jihad Momani and Hisham Al-Khalidi, for reprinting cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that appeared in a Danish paper last year and expressed concern about journalists being harshly punished for doing so.

Swaziland

Media comes under fire for reporting on cabinet minister's educational background

(MISA/IFEX) - On 28 May 2006, a senior government official lambasted the Swazi media for publishing articles he deemed insulting to the new Minister for Health, Njabulo Mabuza, who was appointed last week in a mini Cabinet reshuffle.

International

IPI retains all countries on Watch List

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is a 30 May 2006 IPI press release:

Iraq

Wounded CBS TV correspondent flown to Germany

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 30 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Iran

Student blogger missing, may have been arrested

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders is very worried about Abed Tavanchech, a blogger and student at Tehran's Amirkabir polytechnic university, who has been missing since 26 May 2006 and may well have been arrested after posting photos and reports about the demonstrations taking place at his university for the past few weeks.

Bangladesh

IFJ condemns violent attack on journalists by ruling party

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Sri Lanka

IFJ concerned about recent death threats and public hate speech attacking journalists

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

United States

Court ruling protecting bloggers' sources hailed as "historic" by RSF

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed a Californian appeal court's "historic" decision on 26 May 2006 that online journalists and bloggers have the same right to protect their sources as other kinds of journalists. The ruling was issued in a case between the US electronics manufacturer Apple and websites that posted confidential information about some of its products.

Cuba

Reporter jailed after covering government evictions

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 30 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Egypt

Call for judicial investigation into severe beatings of political activists; journalists harassed

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

The Gambia

Three journalists detained in crackdown on US-hosted website, two still in custody

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

Pakistan

Cameraman killed while covering tribal violence, possibly in retaliation for previous report

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

Guatemala

Journalist assaulted by private security guards; APG calls for the arrest of the perpetrators

(APG/IFEX) - The following is a 26 May 2006 APG press release:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Editor of "Le Journal" sentenced to six months in prison and US$500 fine

(RSF/IFEX) - On 30 May 2006, Patrice Booto, the editor of the tri-weekly "Le Journal" and its supplement "Pool Malebo", was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of US$500 that must be paid within a week or his prison term will be extended by three months.

Peru

Journalists threatened following broadcast on corruption

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the afternoon of 25 May 2006, Walter Rocha Chocos, editor and host of AMR TV station news program "Día a Día", in Huaraz, northwestern Peru, received a threatening call to his mobile phone in which he was warned that there would be an attempt on his life. Rocha was able to record the threat. On the same day, a Red Global Huaraz journalist, Gudelia Gálvez Tafur, received a similar threat, also to her mobile phone. Both journalists stated that the voice on both phone calls was the same and that it could belong to the Head of Public Services of the Provincial Government of Huaraz, Augusto Rojo Ángeles.

Bangladesh

Journalists injured as ruling party activists attack demonstration

(RSF/IFEX) - Twenty-five journalists were injured on 29 May 2006 when members of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) attacked a demonstration in the western city of Kushtia by journalists protesting against the violence and threats many of them have received there.

Democratic Republic of Congo

RFI radio correspondent denied accreditation

(JED/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of a 27 May 2006 JED press release:

Zimbabwe

Government publishes official announcement of controversial bill to legalise interception of communications

(MISA/IFEX) - In a Government Gazette released on 26 May 2006, the government has "gazetted" [made public] its proposed Interception of Communications Bill, 2006. The bill, if passed by parliament, will make it legal for state agencies to spy upon and intercept telephone conversations, postal items and e-mail messages of private citizens.

Cambodia

IFJ welcomes decriminalisation of defamation

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Malaysia

Tamil newspaper receives phone threats, faces defamation suits

(SEAPA/IFEX) - A Tamil-language daily, "Makkal Osai", has received phone calls from individuals threatening to burn down its offices and legal notice of defamation suits after publishing reports revealing "controversial" comments allegedly made by a cabinet minister.

Malawi

Newspaper manager and reporter charged with criminal libel for article critical of health minister

(MISA/IFEX) - The general manager of Blantyre Newspapers Limited (BNL), Jika Nkolokosa, and one of his reporters, Maxwell Ng'ambi, have been charged with criminal libel for writing negatively about Health Minister Hetherwick Ntaba. Both journalists pleaded not guilty before the Lilongwe Magistrate Court on 29 May 2006.

Malawi

Journalists briefly detained for photographing vandalised plaque dedicated to Zimbabwean president

(MISA/IFEX) - On 24 May 2006, Malawi police briefly detained freelance journalist Isaac Masingati and Zimbabwean Associated Press journalist Tsvangirayi Makwazhi for taking pictures of a demolished plaque posted on a road named after Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

Nepal

Editor threatened by police official following critical article

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 29 May 2006 at approximately 1:30 p.m. (local time), Parshu Ghimire, editor of "Tarun Weekly", was threatened by Deepak Ranjit, of the police's Crime Investigation Branch, in Hanumandhoka, Kathmandu. The threat was in retaliation for an article published in "Tarun Weekly", focusing on job transfers within the police department.

Ethiopia

Three more websites inaccessible, government denies being involved

(RSF/IFEX) - Three more websites ( http://www.ethiomedia.com, http://www.freeourleaders.org and http://www.nazret.com ) have become inaccessible within Ethiopia. Information minister Hailu Berhan has insisted that his government was not involved but he has failed to explain why almost all of the opposition websites suddenly cannot be accessed.

Germany

Parliament releases report about journalists who spied for, or were spied upon by, state intelligence service

(RSF/IFEX) - The German Parliament (Bundestag) has posted on its website ( http://www.bundestag.de/aktuell/pkg/index.html ) part of a report by a former judge revealing that the country's external intelligence service, the BND, has been spying on journalists. Some passages were censored and names replaced by initials at the request of the journalists. The report was posted on 26 May 2006.

Poland

Government demands closure of far-right website

(RSF/IFEX) - On 28 May 2006, the Polish government called on US authorities to shut down the far-right Internet website Redwatch, which is run from the United States, a government spokesman said. The move follows a 24 May appeal by RSF to Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro to investigate far-right Polish groups, such as "Blood and Honour", that are publicised by Redwatch.

The Gambia

Detained journalist pleads "not guilty" to charges, editor of same newspaper in hiding

(MFWA/IFEX) - Lamin Fatty, a reporter for the Banjul-based bi-weekly "Independent" newspaper, who has been in police detention for the past seven weeks, was charged with publishing false information on 21 May 2006 by the Gambian Police Force's Crime Management Squad.

Malawi

Editor re-assigned, warned about his performance, after asking politically "sensitive" question

(MISA/IFEX) - On 19 May 2006, a day after Information Minister Patricia Kaliati lambasted him in the presence of his junior staff and reporters from other media houses, the acting managing editor of the Malawi News Agency (MANA), Don Napuwa, was transferred to the Information Ministry headquarters.

Ghana

Journalist slapped and insulted for arriving late to report on graduation ceremony

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 25 May 2006, Joyce Danso, a female reporter for the state-owned wire service Ghana News Agency (GNA), was slapped by Michael Gberbie, a 46-year old official of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG), for arriving late to report on their function. She was also insulted by the official.

Iraq

Two CBS crew members killed, a third seriously injured

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) voiced deep sadness at the 29 May 2006 death of two members of a CBS TV crew, cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan, who were killed when the US military unit in which they were embedded came under attack in Baghdad. A third member of the crew, correspondent Kimberly Dozier, was seriously wounded.

Zambia

Photojournalist harassed at press conference by opposition party supporters

(MISA/IFEX) - On 24 May 2006, Richard Mulongo, photojournalist for the state-owned daily newspaper "Times of Zambia", was confronted by two opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) cadres who attempted to bar him from covering a press briefing announcing the death of UPND President Anderson Mazoka, given by acting party President Sakwiba Sikota. The UPDN cadres accused the state media of negative coverage of the late politician.

Afghanistan

Security guards attack television crew outside Parliament

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns an attack by security guards on a three-member Ayna TV crew that went to the Afghan parliament on 27 May 2006 to cover the selection of candidates for the presidency of the Supreme Court.

France

Court gives green light for two journalists to be investigated in doping case

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a 26 May 2006 Versailles appeal court ruling confirming that Dominique Issartel and Damien Ressiot of the daily "L'Equipe" should be formally placed under investigation for "helping to violate the confidentiality of a judicial investigation" into the use of banned drugs by a cycling team.

Angola

ARTICLE 19 examines freedom of expression and access to information situation in light of upcoming elections

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 26 May 2006 ARTICLE 19 press release:

The Gambia

Website contributors and sources summoned by police, at least one journalist briefly detained; reporter Lamin Fatty still detained, charged with "spreading false news"

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

South Africa

FXI concerned about "growing trend of self-censorship" in the South African Broadcasting Corporation

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is a FXI press release:

Zambia

ARTICLE 19 examines freedom of expression and access to information situation in light of upcoming elections

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release:

United States

IAPA voices concern over any effort in US to introduce legislation that would punish disclosure of classified information

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

Egypt

Two bloggers arrested, beaten and charged

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arrests of two bloggers, Mohammed Sharkawy and Karim El-Shaer, during a demonstration at the Press Syndicate in Cairo on 25 May 2006, and the behaviour of the police in using violence to disperse protestors, and attacking "Los Angeles Times" correspondent Hossam El-Hamalwy as he was trying to cover the event.

Israel

Al-Jazeera website reporter freed for lack of evidence after six months

(RSF/IFEX) - Palestinian journalist Awad Rajoub, a reporter for the Arabic-language website of the satellite TV station Al Jazeera, was freed on 24 May 2006 after being held by the Israeli authorities for six months. He was arrested on 30 November 2005 at his home in Doura, 10 km outside the West Bank city of Hebron, and accused by the Israeli military of "threatening state security."

Poland

Threats to 15 journalists appear on neo-fascist website

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has written to Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro to alert him to serious threats being made against Polish journalists by Redwatch, an extreme right-wing group that advocates violence. Redwatch-Poland ( http://www.redwatch.info/sites/redwatch.htm ) has posted a list of 15 left-wing and far-left journalists and directly threatened them with reprisals for their anti-fascist views.

Venezuela

Editor says state assembly's request for newspaper's eviction is an attempt to silence criticism

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 25 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Egypt

Three journalists charged with defamation; three others assaulted, another abducted by mob; several journalists assaulted by authorities; five journalists' detentions extended

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 25 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Mexico

Reporter Gloria Rubí struck by singer Alejandra Guzmán

(CENCOS/IFEX) - According to Notimex news agency and "El Universal" newspaper, entertainment reporter Gloria Rubí was assaulted by rock singer Alejandra Guzmán. Guzmán had just performed as part of the eleventh anniversary celebration of the television programme "Otro rollo" when she struck the Televisa Puebla reporter and then refused to be interviewed by other reporters present.

Tunisia

Freedom of expression still under siege six months after WSIS

(IFEX-TMG) - The following is an IFEX-TMG press release:

Nepal

Protesters burn copies of newspaper; photojournalist mistreated by police

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - CEHURDES condemns the act of burning of copies of a leading newspaper by a religious group and the manhandling of a photojournalist by police personnel.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Cameraman beaten, equipment broken and confiscated by police officers

(JED/IFEX) - On 25 May 2006, cameraman Ghislain Ngatieba, of the private station Radiotélévision Groupe l'Avenir (RTG), broadcast from Kinshasa, was beaten by a group of police officers who were providing security for the musical artist Ngiama Makanda, also known as Werrason.

Egypt

African Union commission to investigate 2005 referendum day harassment of journalists

(CIHRS/IFEX) - The following is a CIHRS press release:

Sri Lanka

President orders review board to ban film "The Da Vinci Code"

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

Sri Lanka

Tamil trainee journalists harassed, forced to hide in police station for hours

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

Botswana

Photographer punched by defendant while photographing him in court

(MISA/IFEX) - On 16 May 2006, Kabo Mpaetona, photographer from the weekly newspaper "Echo", was assaulted by Gaborone businessman Robert Masitara.

Nepal

Supreme Court quashes articles that allowed government to crack down on media

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has welcomed a Supreme Court ruling on 18 May 2006 suppressing article 8 of the 1992 National Broadcasting Act and article 15 (1) of the 1991 Publications and Newspapers Act as incompatible with a constitutional provision guaranteeing press freedom.

Thailand

Bomb detonated in front of Thai Press Association

(SEAPA/IFEX) - On 23 May 2006, an explosive device made of firecracker materials was detonated in front of the Thai Press Association on Rachasima Rd. in Bangkok, causing damages to the association's marble sign.

Ethiopia

Opposition websites and blogs go down: is it censorship or a technical glitch? asks RSF

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on Ethiopia's information and culture minister, Hailu Berhan, to explain why several websites critical of the government have been inaccessible in the country since 17 May 2006.

Democratic Republic of Congo

RTMV television station attacked, forced off air again; press freedom organisation threatened; journalist kidnapped, beaten and abandoned in the countryside

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 23 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Iraq / United States

IPI welcomes report summary on US payments to Iraqi media, says propaganda operations could endanger lives of journalists

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

Argentina

More journalists complain about their e-mail accounts being hacked

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 22 May 2006, several journalists denounced the fact that unknown persons had hacked into their e-mail accounts and distributed lists of the e-mail passwords of at least 20 reporters. The accusation comes only a few days after the surreptitious monitoring and private information theft from the e-mail account of "Clarín" journalist Daniel Santoro was made public. The information in this case was about an off-the-record conversation he had with a judge regarding a drug-related case (see IFEX alert of 12 May 2006).

Russia

Story satirizing Putin's birth goal prompts government retaliation

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 23 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Attorney General's office requests three-year sentence for journalist Patrice Booto; judgement pending

(JED/IFEX) - On 22 May 2006, the Attorney General's office requested a three-year suspended prison sentence with no parole and US$1,000 fine for the director of the Kinshasa-published tri-weekly "Le Journal" and the supplement "Pool Malebo", Patrice Booto, during the Peace Tribunal proceedings in Kinshasa/Assossa.

Iran

State paper closed; editor and cartoonist arrested, charged with insulting ethnic minority

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 23 May 2006 CPJ press release:

China

Blogger still denied lawyer as he enters fourth month in detention

(RSF/IFEX) - The Public Security Bureau's formal refusal on 17 May 2006 to allow detained blogger and documentary filmmaker Hao Wu access to a lawyer on national security grounds is "absurd," Reporters Without Borders has said, as Hao began his fourth month in detention.

Peru

Journalists assaulted by politician

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 21 May 2006, Panamericana Televisión journalist Janet Mori and "El Comercio" newspaper photographer Enrique Cúneo were assaulted by Daniel Abugattás, recently elected to Congress for the political alliance Unión por el Perú (UPP). The incident occurred as the politician attempted to enter, although he was not invited, the premises where a public debate between presidential candidates Alan García (Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana, APRA) and Ollanta Humala Tasso (UPP) was about to take place. While surrounded by a crowd of people, Mori approached the politician to ask him a few questions. Abugattás grabbed the reporter's hand and snatched her microphone. Cúneo took a photograph of the assault but Abugattás charged against him, pushing the camera into his face.

Yemen

Editor stands trial in Prophet cartoon controversy, faces possible death sentence; related cases abound worldwide, says CPJ

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

Eritrea

President urged to mark independence anniversary by freeing prisoners

(RSF/IFEX) - On the eve of the 13th anniversary of Eritrea's independence, on 24 May 2006, Reporters Without Borders appealed to President Issaias Afeworki to release all of his government's prisoners of conscience, including 13 journalists being held incommunicado whose newspapers were shut down in a September 2001 crackdown.

Russia

Opposition editor freed from prison 48 hours after Supreme Court orders his release

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 19 may 2006 CPJ press release:

Colombia

Four journalists held during indigenous protest released; two of them reportedly assaulted by police

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 22 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Chad

Le journaliste Tchanguiz Vatankhah libéré après 20 jours de détention

(JED/IFEX) - Tchanguiz Vatankhah, président de l'URPT (Union des Radios privées du Tchad), a été libéré, vendredi 19 mai 2006, vers 15h00 (heure locale), après 20 jours de détention aux Services Généraux des Renseignements, à N'djamena, capitale du Tchad.

Chad

Journalist Tchanguiz Vatankhah released after 20 days in detention

(JED/IFEX) - The president of the Chad Union of Privately-Owned Radio Stations (URPT), Tchanguiz Vatankhah, was released on 19 May 2006 at approximately 3:00 p.m. (local time), after 20 days in detention at the police headquarters (Services Généraux des Renseignements) in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad.

Philippines

"Time" magazine correspondent on government's watch list, under investigation for reporting on alleged coup plot

(CMFR/IFEX) - A local correspondent for an international magazine has been put on the government's watch list to oblige her cooperation in providing information on an alleged coup plot against the president in February 2006.

Democratic Republic of Congo

RTMV resumes broadcasting from Kinshasa

(JED/IFEX) - The Kinshasa-based Radio Television Message of Life (RTMV) started broadcasting again on 17 May 2006 at 3:00 p.m. (local time) following three days of interruption after armed Congolese special services police cut its signal.

Tunisia

Authorities detain and expel international observer

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release:

Egypt

Journalist arrested and detained; four foreign journalists beaten, detained and released

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of Hamada Abdul Latif, the correspondent of the independent weekly "Al Karama" in the province of El-Dakahleya, who was arrested on 21 May 2006 while covering peasants being evicted in Dekernis, 150 km north of Cairo. He is accused of "taking photographs without permission" and "confronting the authorities."

United States

Attorney general threatens media with prosecution for "revealing classified information"

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 22 May 2006 RSF letter to the US attorney general:

Botswana

Civil servant threatens to ban "The Ngami Times" newspaper from covering council affairs

(MISA/IFEX) - The secretary of the North West District Council (NWDC), Paulos Nkoni, says he intends to ban the weekly "The Ngami Times" of Maun (northwestern Botswana) from reporting anything about his Council "after being pressured by councilors and staff".

Uruguay

IAPA concerned at jail sentence for journalist on libel charge

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

Azerbaijan

Another opposition journalist nearly killed in violent attack

(RSF/IFEX) - The abduction and severe beating on the night of 18 May 2006 of Bahaddin Khaziyev, the editor of the daily "Bizim Yol", was the second apparent murder attempt against an opposition journalist in the past three months, said Reporters Without Borders.

Syria

More activists detained for signing declaration on relations with Lebanon, 10 still held in prison near Damascus

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a 20 May 2006 Human Rights Watch press release:

Namibia

Photographer arrested for trying to take pictures of Hollywood celebrities

(MISA/IFEX) - On 19 May 2006, South African photographer John Liebenberg was arrested for trying to take photographs of the Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who are due to have their first baby soon.

Philippines

Radio journalist killed in Puerto Princesa, Palawan province, following death threat

(CMFR/IFEX) - Barely a month after a receiving death threat, a hard-hitting radio commentator was shot dead on 22 May 2006 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan province, 586 kilometers south of Manila.

Macedonia

SEEMO protests sentencing to prison of journalist for criminal defamation

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is a 22 May 2006 letter by the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate:

Brazil

Newspaper attacked, its staff assaulted, in the wake of crime wave

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 19 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Venezuela

Bolívar state legislature initiates procedure to evict newspaper, demolish its plant

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 19 May 2006 IAPA press release:

Iran

CJFE calls for immediate and unconditional release of scholar detained after questioning president's denial of Holocaust

(CJFE/IFEX) - The following is an 18 May 2006 CFJE letter to the Iranian ambassador in Canada:

Colombia

Indigenous radio station directors among four media personnel detained, television news team threatened during indigenous protests in south

(FLIP/IFEX) - FLIP is concerned about several acts of aggression against journalists in the Cauca and Huila departments during indigenous marches against the Free Trade Deal (FTA) and other public policies of concern to these communities in the country's south.

Burundi

Activist imprisoned, faces charges of "threatening state security"

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

Swaziland

"Times of Swaziland" wins appeal against excessively high damages awarded in defamation case

(MISA/IFEX) - On 18 May 2006, the Supreme Court of Swaziland reversed a July 2005 decision by the High Court of Swaziland that obliged the "Times of Swaziland" newspaper to pay Swaziland's deputy prime minister, Albert Shabangu, a staggering E750 000 (approx. US$116,000) for alleged defamation.

Philippines

Journalist assaulted by San Pablo City councillor; safety situation for journalists going from bad to worse, says IFJ

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

China

"New York Times" researcher Zhao Yan indicted again

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 17 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Colombia

Journalist flees home after death threats

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 17 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Russia

"Krestyanin" newspaper sued by official for libel, WAN concerned about suit "intended to paralyse" newspaper

(WAN/IFEX) - The following is an 18 May 2006 WAN letter to Russian authorities:

China

Detained cyber-dissident Zhang Lin requires immediate hospitalisation, says RSF

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has joined the wife of detained cyber-dissident and pro-democracy activist Zhang Lin in calling for his immediate transfer to a public hospital for an operation of a slipped cervical disc that is affecting his central nervous system.

Colombia

Radio journalist covering indigenous protest detained by police in an undisclosed location, held incommunicado

(AMARC/IFEX) - On the evening of 17 May 2006, members of the special anti-riot squad of the police, assisted by the army, detained journalist Richard Calpa, director of the indigenous radio station Totoro Stéreo. His working equipment was burned on the spot and Calpa was taken away in an armoured car. To date, his whereabouts and circumstances are unknown and AMARC fears for his life.

Kazakhstan

"Aina plus" newspaper may be driven into bankruptcy by police officers' lawsuits

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - The hearing of a lawsuit filed by Sergei Arhipov, the commander of a special police division, against PR-Agency Almaty International, which owns "Aina plus" newspaper, took place on 16 May 2006 at Medeu district court in Almaty.

Senegal

Journalist beaten by members of religious sect for criticising the sect's leader

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 5 May 2006 at about 11:00 p.m (local time), Pape Cheikh Fall, health correspondent for independent radio station RFM, was attacked by members of the religious sect Mouride Brotherhood while he was in a bar in Touba, about 250 km east of Dakar. He was attacked for allegedly criticising the sect's leader, Seigne Bethio Thioune.

Burma

Military government bans comedian from performing, writing or publishing, over BBC interview

(SEAPA/IFEX) - On 15 May 2006, prominent Burmese comedian and writer Ko Thura was banned from pursuing his profession, a punishment that apparently resulted from critical remarks about the military government that he had made over the Burmese-service radio program of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Chad

RSF concerned about detained radio journalist on hunger strike for more than two weeks

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has issued an urgent appeal for the release of Tchanguiz Vatankhah, the director of Radio Brakoss and president of the Chad Union of Privately-Owned Radio Stations (URPT), whose state of health has deteriorated markedly, according to a human rights activist who has seen him in detention.

Cuba

Two journalists arrested, one still held without charge

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the brutal and unfair arrests of Odelín Alfonso, a regular contributor to the Cubanet website, and Milisa Valle Ricardo of the Jóvenes sin Censura news agency, on 13 May 2006, and the continued detention of Alfonso without any specific charges being put to him.

Macedonia

Parliament abolishes prison sentences for press offences

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed the Macedonian parliament's approval on 10 May 2006 of a criminal code amendment proposed by the government decriminalizing defamation. Previously, journalists convicted of defamation faced up to three years in prison.

The Gambia

Journalist continues in detention without charges; newspaper remains closed, its offices occupied by security forces

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 17 May 2006 CPJ letter to Gambian President Yahya Jammeh:

Sri Lanka

Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam deny having threatened journalists

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a 16 May 2006 FMM press release:

Taiwan / International

WHO's refusal to accredit Taiwanese journalists for World Health Assembly an infringement on press freedom, says IFJ

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Syria

Detained journalist charged with "publishing false news", not allowed to see lawyer or family; another continues in detention without charges

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 16 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Côte d'Ivoire

CORRECTION: Ban on FM broadcasting by RFI lifted after 10 months

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an RSF correction:

China

CPJ investigates growing crackdown on reporting of rural unrest in special report, "China's Hidden Unrest"

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 15 May 2006 CPJ press release:

China

Cyber-dissident sentenced to 12 years in prison; website closed

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a 12-year jail sentence against a cyber-dissident and protested against the closure of a website carrying political polls.

Russia

Court frees opposition newspaper editor from pre-trial detention

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 16 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Nigeria

Television station broadcasting live National Assembly debate on prolonging the president's term receives threats, bomb scare

(MRA/IFEX) - On 15 May 2006, there was temporary disruption of the broadcast of radio and television signals at the Abuja offices of Daar Communications Limited, owners of Ray Power FM and the Africa Independent Television (AIT), following a bomb scare which led to the evacuation of journalists and workers from the premises.

Colombia

Journalist, already the recipient of death threats, receives additional threats after complaining that his state-provided bodyguard has paramilitary connections

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called for an investigation into the apparent links between the paramilitary United Self Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) and a bodyguard assigned to protect independent journalist Pedro Cárdenas.

Germany

RSF calls for full investigation into spying on journalists and release of secret report

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has urged the German authorities to carry out a full investigation into the spying on investigative journalists that was reportedly carried out by the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from the early 1990s until the autumn of 2005.

Indonesia

In journalist's brutal murder, AJI suspects a link to his work

(AJI/IFEX) - The following is a 15 May 2006 AJI press statement:

Peru

National elections jury nullifies excessive fine that threatened to shut down newspaper

(IPYS/IFEX) - The National Elections Jury (Jurado Nacional de Elecciones, JNE) has annulled the fine of 102,000 nuevos soles (approx. US$31,140) that the Special Elections Jury (Jurado Electoral Especial, JNE) of San Martín previously levied against the regional daily newspaper "Aldía". The newspaper was fined for publishing an electoral survey without having been registered in the JNE's electoral pollsters' registry.

Somalia

CAPSULE REPORT: Covering chaos: Journalists struggle to work effectively amid fighting in Mogadishu

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 15 May 2006 RSF capsule report:

Côte d'Ivoire

Ban on FM broadcasting by RFI lifted after 10 months

(RSF/IFEX) - The National Council for Broadcast Communication (CNCA) gave its permission on 12 May 2006 for French public broadcaster Radio France Internationale (RFI) to resume broadcasting in Côte d'Ivoire on FM frequencies.

Nepal

Journalist assaulted by demonstrators

(FNJ/IFEX) - At 9:30 a.m. (local time) on 16 May 2006, Dinesh Yadav, senior sub editor of Kantipur Publications, was assailed by demonstrators in Kalanki while he was on his way to Sitapaila on a news assignment.

Nigeria

Journalist receives death threats; calls for third presidential term increase pressure on news media

(RSF/IFEX) - Reacting to a heavy-handed secret police raid on a TV station on 14 May 2006, Reporters Without Borders has urged the Nigerian authorities to show more restraint towards the press and said it feared there could be more attacks on journalists critical of a proposed constitutional amendment to allow President Olusegun Obasanjo to run for a third term.

South Africa

Employee, fired for critical article, is reinstated

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is an FXI press statement:

Philippines

Despite government claims, journalists' murders go unsolved, says CPJ

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 15 May 2006 CPJ letter to President Arroyo:

Democratic Republic of Congo

JED calls for the immediate re-establishment of religious television station's signal

(JED/IFEX) - The Kinshasa-based Radio Television Message of Life (RTMV), property of the Church of the Victory Army and owned by televangelist Fernando Kuthino, has ceased broadcasting since 6:00 p.m. (local time) on 14 May 2006, after armed Congolese special services police cut its signal via the Binza Broadcast Centre.

Zimbabwe

"Daily Mirror" legal battle intensifies

(MISA/IFEX) - Dr. Ibbo Mandaza, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Zimbabwe Mirror Newspapers Group (ZMNG), has filed a High Court application for contempt of court charges against the company's directors for allegedly failing to comply with a court order to reinstate him.

Egypt

Police assault demonstrators, journalists; hundreds arrested in Cairo crackdown

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a 13 May 2006 Human Rights Watch press release:

India

Separatist threats against cable TV operators in Kashmir

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about threats by separatist groups against cable TV operators in Kashmir during the past week that led operators to suspend some entertainment channels.

Syria

Authorities arrest journalist and human rights activist Michel Kilo

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the immediate release of Michel Kilo, a Syrian journalist, human rights activist and political scientist, who was arrested on 14 May 2006 in Damascus. His wife said he had not been seen since he got a phone call in the afternoon ordering him to report to a police station.

Philippines

Photojournalist killed in Calooncan City

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

China

Guizhou province reporter Li Yuanlong tried for inciting subversion

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 12 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Nepal

Maoist-aligned trade union federation interfering in two FM stations

(FNJ/IFEX) - The FNJ, the Save Independent Radio Movement (SIRM), the Broadcasting Association of Nepal, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) and the Kathmandu Valley FM Broadcasters' Forum have expressed serious concern over Maoist threats to Kalika FM in Chitwan and Radio Birgunj in Parsa.

Mexico

Judge allows defamation suit against journalist to proceed, despite prosecutor's decision to the contrary

(IPYS/IFEX) - During the first week of May 2006, Judge Jacinto Figueroa Salmorán, of Mexico City's Eleventh District Criminal Appeals Court, decided that a defamation complaint against journalist Sergio Sarmiento, filed on October 2003 by ex-consul Humberto Hernández Haddad, should proceed.His decision has come in spite of the fact that the Federal District Attorney General's Central Prosecutor of Investigations for Civil Servants (Fiscalía Central de Investigación para Servidores Públicos de la Procuraduría General del Distrito Federal) twice decided not to proceed with the case against Sarmiento. Judge Figueroa, however, granted Hernández Haddad, the plaintiff, an appeal against these resolutions.

Philippines

Publisher threatened after exposing suspicious government contract

(CMFR/IFEX) - A local newspaper publisher has reportedly received threats after exposing a local government project involving an "anomalous" contractor in Tacloban City, located 360 miles southeast of Manila.

Kenya

One dead and three injured in raid on Christian radio station

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders expressed shock and dismay after a brutal raid on a Christian radio station in Nairobi, Radio Hope, left one person dead and three injured overnight on 12 May 2006.

Uzbekistan

One year after Andijan, foreign media and independent journalists prevented from working freely

(RSF/IFEX) - Uzbek President Islam Karimov has been at war with foreign and independent media, treating them as enemies seeking his overthrow, ever since the bloody crackdown in Andijan one year ago when his regime was responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths, said Reporters Without Borders.

Nigeria

Security agents raid television station, halt broadcast, seize master tape of documentary film

(MRA/IFEX) - On 14 May 2006, agents from the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria's intelligence service, raided the Abuja office of Daar Communications Limited, owners of Ray Power FM radio and the Africa Independent Television (AIT), and seized the master tape of a documentary film.

Philippines

Grenades found inside radio journalist's home

(CMFR/IFEX) - A hard-hitting commentator and his family escaped certain death when two live grenades failed to explode inside their residence in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, 586 kilometers south of Manila, on 24 April 2006.

Philippines

Radio journalist shot, in critical condition

(CMFR/IFEX) - On 6 May 2006, a local radio announcer was shot by unidentified men in Naga City, located 377 kilometers south of Manila.

Turkey

Interior minister urged to hunt bombers of daily "Cumhuriyet"

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders called on the interior ministry to find those responsible for terror attacks against the extreme-left opposition daily "Cumhuriyet" which has suffered three grenade attacks in less than one week.

Nepal

Journalists' organisation stormed by five men issuing death threats over report on local corruption

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 14 May 2006, local journalists of the FNJ-Ilam district branch were threatened by five individuals, including the brother of Lila Devi Shrestha, the chairperson, nominated during the Royal regime, of the District Development Committee (DDC, a local body which handles local governance). The threat stemmed from a report on alleged irregularities in the DDC that was published and transmitted on national and local media.

International

WPFC expresses concern over UN Secretary General's apparent approval of "bans on interviewing terrorists"

(WPFC/IFEX) - The following is an 11 May 2006 WPFC news release:

Ethiopia

Former editor sentenced to 18 months in prison on years-old defamation charge

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 12 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Afghanistan

Members of Parliament beat cameraman; journalist threatened by provincial council

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders condemned an assault on cameraman Omid Yakmanish, of Tolo TV, the 2005 laureate of its press freedom award, who was beaten up by two parliamentarians while covering a debate in parliament.

International

CAPSULE REPORT: Press freedom has taken a beating in 2005 and early 2006, says RSF

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 10 May 2006 RSF press release:

Peru

Newspaper journalists receive death threats

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the morning of 10 May 2006, "Correo de Trujillo" journalists Luis Bahamonde and Eliana Villavicencio received death threats via two anonymous phone calls received in Trujillo, northern Peru. Bahamonde received the first call to his mobile phone. The caller made reference to an investigation which the journalist published on 7 and 10 May about the brothers Luis, Wilfredo and John Salazar Paredes, who were accused of drug trafficking and arrested on 6 May. The second call was made to the paper and was answered by Villavicencio, who received a similar threat.

Spain

RSF reintegrates ETA into its list of "press freedom predators"

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of an 11 May 2006 RSF press release:

Argentina

"Clarín" newspaper journalist denounces violation of his privacy, use of unauthorised copies of his e-mail as evidence in trial

(IPYS/IFEX) - Daniel Santoro, a journalist for the daily newspaper "Clarín" and president of the Argentinean Journalism Forum (Foro de Periodismo Argentino, FOPEA), has denounced that his e-mail was surreptitiously monitored and copied by unknown persons who did the same to that of Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas. An account of the event appeared in the newspaper on 11 May 2006.

China

Five journalists attacked while covering coal mine accident

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the physical attacks which five Chinese journalists sustained at the hands of mine employees and security guards on 7 and 8 May 2006 while trying to cover an accident in the Meihe coal mine in the northeastern province of Jilin.

Morocco

Appeal court upholds suspended prison sentence for newspaper editor

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a Casablanca appeal court ruling on 9 May 2006 upholding a suspended sentence of a year in prison and a fine of 100,000 dirhams (9,000 euros) for Driss Chahtane, the editor of the Arabic-language weekly "Al Michaâl", for allegedly libelling Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Honduras

Journalist dismissed due to political pressures reinstated thanks to national and international actions

(PROBIDAD/IFEX) - Journalist Wendy Guerra, dismissed 24 April 2006 by the owner of Canal 49 television station in Santa Rosa de Copán in western Honduras, has been reinstated in her position after an alert concerning her case was issued nationally and internationally. The journalist had been dismissed due to political pressures from the local government.

China

After pledging press freedom for Olympics, China falls far short, warns CPJ

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 11 May 2006 CPJ press release:

International

CAPSULE REPORT: IPI calls on the European Union to raise the issue of press freedom in Latin America and the Caribbean during the EU-LAC Summit in Vienna, Austria

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is an 11 May 2006 IPI press release:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Case of Patrice Booto, imprisoned for six months, transferred to peace tribunal in Kinshasa

(JED/IFEX) ? The case of journalist Patrice Booto, editor-in-chief of the tri-weekly "Le Journal" and its supplement, "Pool Malebo", published in Kinshasa, has finally been transferred to the Kinshasa/Assossa Peace Tribunal, after the State Security Court (CSE) was dissolved. According to judges interviewed by JED, the Peace Tribunal will take over the proceedings and the date for the first hearing has been fixed for 22 May 2006.

Egypt

Journalist beaten, injured by police; cameraman for Turkish broadcaster injured during attempt by police to seize his camera

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 11 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Mozambique

Three journalists released after being detained on criminal libel charges

(MISA/IFEX) - Editor Sebastiao Canjera, news editor Joao Mascarenhas, and reporter Pateque Francisco, of the community newspaper "Mabarwe", all of whom had been detained on criminal libel charges since 3 May 2006, were released on 10 May.

Mozambique

Businessman Nyimpine Chissano charged in murder of investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso

(MISA/IFEX) - The Mozambican public prosecutor's office has charged businessman Nyimpine Chissano, eldest son of former President Joaquim Chissano, in the November 2000 murder of Mozambique's top investigative journalist, Carlos Cardoso.

Chad

Detained radio journalist refuses to eat until he is allowed to see his lawyer

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the immediate release of detained radio journalist Tchanguiz Vatankhah, the president of the Chad Union of Privately-Owned Radio Stations (URPT), who has been on hunger strike since early May 2006 to demand access to his lawyer, according to a local human rights group.

Vietnam

Fledgling democracy movement under threat as hundreds join groundbreaking campaign calling for basic rights; two Internet writers charged

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is an 11 May 2006 Human Rights Watch press release:

Nepal

Three photojournalists covering student action mistreated by police, film seized

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 11 May 2006, police treated with undue force photojournalists Dhruba Kumar Rawal, Raju Mitra Khanal, and Raju Krishna Shrestha in Nuwakot, in the central district of Nepal. The incident took place while the three were reporting on an incident in which members of the Democratic Students' Alliance (Loktantrik Bidhyarthi Yuva Morcha) were staging an action to remove the photographs of the King and Queen from the government offices of the district headquarters.

Croatia

Two journalists receive death threats

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is a letter by the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate:

Egypt

At least six journalists arrested while covering demonstrations; cameramen assaulted, their cameras seized

(HRinfo/IFEX) - The following is a joint statement issued by HRinfo and 10 other signatory organizations:

International

Some of the world's most repressive countries elected to new Human Rights Council

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 10 May 2006 RSF press release:

Russia

Journalist's father gravely injured in violent assault intended for journalist

(CJES/IFEX) - Early in the morning of 11 May 2006, the 64-year-old father of REGNUM news agency correspondent Murat Gukemuhov was attacked in Cherkessk, a city in the Karachaevo-Cherkessia republic. The journalist told CJES that the day before an unknown man called the journalist's home. "My father picked up the phone. The caller offered to discuss with him my most recent publications during a meeting, which he arranged for the next morning. When I learned about [the call], I immediately understood that my father was mistaken for me since my father has been in retirement for a long time and all his life he worked in agriculture and has not had anything to do with journalism," Gukemuhov told CJES.

Mexico

Tres fotógrafas extranjeras golpeadas, abusadas sexualmente por la policía y expulsadas del país

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporteros sin Fronteras (RSF) denuncia los intolerables actos de violencia que, el 4 de mayo de 2006 en San Salvador Atenco (un suburbio de la Ciudad de México), sufrieron tres fotógrafas extranjeras. Los hechos ocurrieron en el transcurso de una manifestación por la paz organizada como respuesta a la muerte de un adolescente de 14 años, al que mataron la víspera en una actuación policial.

Mexico

Three foreign photographers beaten, sexually abused by police and deported

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders "firmly condemns" the physical mistreatment, including beatings and sexual abuse, which three foreign women photographers received from Mexico City police when they were arrested during a heavy-handed raid on a peace march in the suburb of San Salvador Atenco on 4 May 2006.

Indonesia

Journalist murdered in East Java

(AJI/IFEX) - Three days before the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, which is celebrated by journalists around the world, a local tabloid journalist in East Java was murdered. Herliyanto, 38, was found dead on 29 April 2006 in the forest near Tarokan, a village near the town of Banyuanyar, Probolinggo District, in East Java province. Police believe the cause of the death was stabbing. The villagers had earlier presumed that the corpse was that of a victim of an ordinary crime.

Honduras

Journalist assaulted, threatened by civil servant; flees country for personal safety

(PROBIDAD/IFEX) - Octavio Carvajal, journalist and host of two programmes on the Tegucigalpa-based radio station STC Noticias, has reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office a physical attack that he suffered at the hands of Marcelo Chimirri, vice-director of the state telephone company Hondutel. The journalist also announced his intention to leave the country temporarily on 11 May 2006 for fear of reprisals.

Venezuela

IPYS report on the state of freedom of expression and information in 2005

(IPYS/IFEX) - The following is an excerpt from a 5 May 2006 IPYS press release:

Maldives

Freedom of Press Bill must be amended to live up to its name, says ARTICLE 19

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release:

Democratic Republic of Congo

RAPPORT CAPSULE: RSF s'inquiète de la terreur continue que font régner certains hommes en uniforme sur les journalistes travaillant dans le Sud-Kivu

(RSF/IFEX) - Ci-dessous, un rapport capsule de RSF:

Thailand

Corporation withdraws defamation case against media activist

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

Nepal

New government annuls controversial media ordinance

(FNJ/IFEX) - In a meeting on 9 May 2006, the Council of Ministers annulled three ordinances - including the controversial media ordinance - promulgated by the former royal government.

Chad

Community radio station threatened with closure after repeated attacks

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of an RSF alert:

Egypt

Award-winning blogger among new arrests; dozens arrested for putting up posters, distributing leaflets; dozens others charged with "insulting the president", "spreading false rumours"

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

Iraq

Five journalists and media workers killed since start of month

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced shock at the death of five journalists and media assistants in the space of a few days in Iraq.

Comoros

Radio stations attacked ahead of general election

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 9 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Guatemala

Journalists' assaulters freed by court ruling, APG urges government minister to intervene, given investigation's "deficiencies"

(APG/IFEX) - The APG has asked the attorney general's ministry (Ministerio Público) to file a special appeal of the court ruling which resulted in the release of two police (Policía National Civil) officers who assaulted and threatened two "Nuestro Diario" newspaper reporters. The assault had occurred on 31 August 2004, during a violent eviction of peasants, carried out by government security forces at the Nueva Linda farm in Retalhuleu department.

Mozambique

Editor and two journalists accused of defaming businessman, arrested and held in detention

(MISA/IFEX) - On 3 May 2006, the editor and two journalists of the community newspaper "Mabarwe", published in Mozambique's Barue district, were arrested following a complaint from a local businessman that the newspaper had defamed him. The media workers are still in custody and MISA-Mozambique is attempting to secure their release.

Morocco

Convictions, ongoing legal harassment of newspapers, journalists show limits to press freedom

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a 9 May 2006 Human Rights Watch press release:

Costa Rica

Supreme Court upholds prison terms for defamation and insult

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is concerned about a Costa Rican Supreme Court decision on 3 May 2006 rejecting a newspaper lawyer's petition for article 7 of the Press Law to be struck down as unconstitutional. The article provides for prison sentences for those who use the media to "defame" or "insult".

Tunisia

Tunisia does not merit a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, say IFEX-TMG members

(IFEX-TMG) - The following is an IFEX-TMG press release:

Spain

ETA suspended from RSF's list of press freedom "predators"

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 7 May 2006 RSF press release:

Mexico

Supreme Court to rule on constitutionality of media law reforms

(AMARC/IFEX) - The following is a 4 May 2006 AMARC press release:

Peru

Journalist receives death threats

(IPYS/IFEX) - Javier Poma Sotelo, editor and host of the regional news program ATV Noticias and the program "Impacto" for channel ATV in Huaraz, northwestern Peru, has received several death threats since the early hours of 2 May 2006, via text messages to his cell phone. The threats started after Poma named César Kochi as one of the authors of the assault of which he was a victim at dawn on 2 May. The aggression took place in the discotheque "Cordillera Blanca", owned by Kochi, when Poma was discovered inside the premises detailing the activities of a group of professional footballers as part of an investigation.

Russia

Two charged in Klebnikov murder acquitted; prosecutor to appeal

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 8 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Zimbabwe

Serious threat seen in proposed law on intercepting communications

(RSF/IFEX) - A bill presented to the Zimbabwean parliament at the end of March 2006 will give the government a free hand to intercept its citizens' phone calls, e-mail messages and letters without providing any credible safeguards, Reporters Without Borders has said after obtaining a copy of the bill, the text of which is now available on the organisation's site ( http://www.rsf.org ).

Saudi Arabia

Resistance to press reform from religious and government officials, finds CPJ report

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

Malawi

Editor and journalists released on bail

(MISA/IFEX) - On 9 May 2006, the Lilongwe Magistrate Court granted bail to Robert Jamieson, owner of the "Chronicle" newspaper, and his two reporters, who were arrested on 8 May on charges of criminal libel.

Iraq

Iraqi reporter, support worker murdered south of Baghdad

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 8 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Maldives

Media legislation, harassment and intimidation all barriers to free expression, reports mission

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a joint statement by members of the Press Freedom Mission to Maldives:

Philippines

IFJ concerned about recent police statistics, suggesting majority of media murders have been solved

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an 8 May 2006 IFJ media release:

Indonesia

On the occasion of World Press Freedom day, AJI reflects on the state of the press

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

Russia

Journalist searched by police

(CJES/IFEX) - On 3 May 2006, a police patrol stopped a taxi that was transporting Fatima Tlisova, REGNUM news agency's chief editor for the North Caucasus. The incident occurred on the Cherkessk-Mineralniye Vodi highway, at a checkpoint near Suvorovskaya stanitsa. The journalist was travelling from Cherkessk to Nalchik for business-related purposes. She told CJES that a policeman, who did not identify himself, checked the vehicle and the driver's documents and then asked Tlisova to present her papers. She showed her passport and a journalist identification card. The policeman took away the passport and ordered her to take her personal effects with her and go to a police building for a personal search.

Tunisia

Harassment of Mohammed Abbou and his family intensifies

(OLPEC/IFEX) - The following is an abridged translation of a 7 May 2006 OLPEC alert:

Sri Lanka

Journalists' organizations oppose threatening demand for Tamil journalists' resignation

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a joint press release by FMM, SLWJA, FMEATU and SLMMF:

Malawi

Editor, two reporters of newspaper arrested, charged with criminal libel

(MISA/IFEX) - On 8 May 2006, the editor and two reporters of "The Chronicle" weekly newspaper were arrested and charged with criminal libel, following an article published in the newspaper that alleged that the Attorney General, Ralph Kasambara, was involved in the sale of a stolen laptop computer.

Mali

Newspaper editors fined, newspaper ordered to pay damages to politician

(MFWA/IFEX) - "L'Inter de Bamako", a weekly independent newspaper, was ordered on 26 April 2006 by a local magistrate court to pay damages of 300,000 CFA Francs (approx. US$580) to Diacounda Traore, chairman of the opposition Alliance for Democracy in Mali-African Party for Solidarity and Justice (Alliance pour la Démocratie en Mali-Parti Pan-Africain pour la Liberté, la Solidarité et la Justice, ADEMA-PASJ) for defaming him.

Mexico

Judge orders journalist and magazine to pay compensation for moral damage to first lady

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 2 May 2006, Federal District 12th civil judge Carlos Miguel Jiménez ordered journalist Olga Wornat and the weekly "Proceso" to pay 1,958,000 Mexican pesos (approx. US$180,000) as reparation to the Mexican president's wife, Martha Sahagún.

Mongolia

Television crew mistreated, denied access, their camera damaged by police when covering dismantling of protest camp

(Globe International/IFEX) - On the night of 8 May 2006, a television crew, comprised of reporters M. Batdorj and T. Orgil and cameramen B. Uuganbayar and L. Bayanbat, all from the independent television channel Eagle TV, were assaulted by policemen in Sukhbaatar Square, in the centre of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, while covering actions by Mongolian police who were tearing down the gers (traditional Mongolian dwellings) of protesters encamped in the square.

Tunisia

Journalist detained in airport by security forces, personal documents confiscated

(HRinfo/IFEX) - On 7 May 2006, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) condemned Tunisian security forces for detaining journalist and human rights activist Naziha Rajiba (who writes under the pseudonym Om Zied), at the Tunisian airport for four hours, and for confiscating personal documents and an HRinfo study she was then carrying.

Chile

Photographers assaulted during workers' march

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 1 May 2006, Associated Press photographer Santiago Llanquín and Danny Alveal, a photographer for the newspaper "Las Últimas Noticias", were wounded by persons while they were covering a march organized by the workers' union Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) to commemorate May Day in Santiago de Chile. According to witnesses, the aggression resulted from the fact that reporters and cameramen were present to record the violence and looting that broke out during the demonstration. The attackers also destroyed the media vehicles of four TV channels and stole Mega television channel's equipment.

Venezuela

Journalist convicted of criminal defamation, given suspended sentence; another faces charges for same

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 5 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Peru

Football players and discotheque owner assault journalists, seize camera

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 2 May 2006, Javier Poma Sotelo and Luis Medina Villacorta, editor and producer of the regional TV news program "ATV Noticias", and Nilton Rodríguez Soto, editor of the Red Global program "Contacto Semanal", and his assistant, César Giraldo, were assaulted by the owner of a discotheque and a group of professional football players from Club Sport Ancash. The event took place in Huaraz, capital of the Ancash region, northwestern Peru.

Venezuela

Minister takes legal action against journalist for defamation and slander

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 10 May 2006, the trial against journalist Julio Balza, columnist for the daily "El Nuevo País", will begin. Balza has been accused of defamation and slander by Infrastructure Minister Ramón Carrizales.

Maldives

Three international press freedom monitors assaulted by riot police, at least six others arrested, following government crackdown on World Press Freedom Day celebrations

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

Nepal

One journalist released, two remain in custody

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders notes the release on 3 May 2006 of Rajendra Gautam, journalist on the weekly "Jeejibisa".

International

RSF concerned about candidates for new Human Rights Council as election day approaches

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the list of candidates for the new 47-member UN Human Rights Council and the impact they could have on its credibility. The elections are to take place on 9 May 2006.

Iran

Critical commentary and reporting likely motive behind leading journalist's arrest and detention

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the imprisonment of pro-reform intellectual and journalist Ramin Jahanbeglou, who was arrested at Tehran airport on 28 April 2006 after criticising the Iranian government in a series of interviews for Canadian, Spanish and French newspapers in recent weeks. He was transferred to Evin prison on 4 May.

International

IPI names "Yemen Times" Free Media Pioneer 2006

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

Senegal

Journalist beaten by religious leader's followers

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders is outraged by a vicious attack on journalist Pape Sheikk Fall, who works for an independent Senegalese radio station, Radio Futurs Médias (RFM), in Mbacké, east of the capital Dakar.

Brazil

Community radio journalist shot and wounded; mayor's son suspected

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) voices outrage at the 2 May 2006 attack on community radio journalist Camelo Luís de Sá of Quiterianópolis in the northeastern state of Ceará, who was shot in the arm while presenting a live programme. Police said the mayor's son is suspected of being the gunman.

Singapore

Politicians file defamation charges over critical commentary

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

International

RSF annual report lists press freedom predators in the "most deadly year for a decade"

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of a 3 May 2006 RSF report:

Nepal

Soldiers beat journalists covering traffic accident involving army vehicle

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 4 May 2006, at approximately 8:00 p.m. (local time), members of the army mistreated and beat Ganesh Rai, a reporter with the daily newspaper "Kantipur"; Deepak Bhattarai, news coordinator of Kantipur Television (KTV); cameraman Shyam Shrestha; Rajneesh Bhattarai, intern reporter of KTV; and journalist Bimal Gautam as they were reporting on an accident that took place after a Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) ambulance, with license plate number Ba 1 Ja 7032, hit a passenger mini-bus coming from Bhaktapur at Babar Mahal.

Sri Lanka

Journalist arrested at UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 4 May 2006 IFJ media release:

Iran

ARTICLE 19 calls upon government to amend Press Law

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 2 May 2006 ARTICLE 19 press release:

Senegal

Criminal case against prominent journalist dropped

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

Turkey

Trials against writers, journalists and publishers continue under Article 301

(WiPC/IFEX) - On 3 May 2006, World Press Freedom Day, in Turkey trials continue against writers, journalists and publishers who have been charged with "denigration of Turkishness" under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. International PEN is calling for an end to all trials against writers for the peaceful expression of their views, and for the repeal of Article 301 that is in direct contravention of international standards that guarantee the right to freedom of expression.

Philippines

Supreme Court declares unconstitutional government's February 2006 actions against newspaper, media and activists

(SEAPA/IFEX) - On 4 May 2006, the Philippine Supreme Court rejected President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's pretenses for declaring a "state of emergency" in the country in February, and declared, among other things, that the ensuing raid on a newspaper and the threat of sedition charges against the media constituted prior restraint on the press and a violation of the Philippine Constitution.

Philippines

Armed Forces restrict media access to their general headquarters

(CMFR/IFEX) - Barely 24 hours before the annual World Press Freedom Day began on 3 May 2006, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) released a memorandum imposing restrictions on reporters' access to the military's general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Guinea

Media council suspends newspaper for two months over article critical of government

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

Iran

Prominent scholar detained incommunicado, without charge

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

Libya

Political prisoner may face death penalty for slander

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

Pakistan

Blogspot.com accessible again

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has welcomed the action of five ISPs including Paknet, a subsidiary of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company, on 2 May 2006, in ending the blocking of http://www.blogspot.com ( or http://www.blogger.com ). This blog service had been filtered as a result of a ban by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in February on blogs that had posted the controversial Mohammed cartoons ( see: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16678 ).

Paraguay

SPP 3 May statement on the state of press freedom

(SPP/IFEX) - The following is a 3 May 2006 SPP press release:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Civil society group members in Lubumbashi receive death threats

(JED/IFEX) - Made of civil society organizations and media, the DRC Natural Resources Network, set up from the Lubumbashi Workshop on "The role of media and the civil society in the natural resources exploitation in the DRC", is expressing deep concern, after its members suffered recurrent threats in Lubumbashi, capital city of Katanga Province.

Tanzania

As part of celebrations to mark World Press Freedom Day, MISA-Tanzania makes case for greater information flow

(MISA/IFEX) - The following is a 2 May 2006 MISA-Tanzania press release:

Colombia

Reuters photographer assaulted by police officer

(FLIP/IFEX) - Daniel Muñoz, a photographer with the international news agency Reuters, was attacked by a police officer during the 2 May 2006 disturbances associated with the transit strike in the capital city of Bogotá.

International

In commemorating World Press Freedom Day, IAPA calls for civil society to struggle for the right to inform and be informed

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 3 May 2006 IAPA press release:

Italy

Court frees journalist held after writing about serial murders

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

Nepal

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, CEHURDES demands release of detained journalists, asks government to give up control of state-run media

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - The following is a CEHURDES press release:

Zimbabwe

Botswana TV crew arrested, detained for two days, face possible jail sentence

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

Maldives

Ongoing attacks on press freedom amid plan for reform, warns ARTICLE 19

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 3 May 2006 joint statement by ARTICLE 19 and the organisation Friends of Maldives:

Colombia

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, FLIP presents its analysis of the state of press freedom, January-April 2006

(FLIP/IFEX) - The following is a FLIP press release:

Swaziland

Media under government pressure to establish self-regulatory mechanism

(MISA/IFEX) - The Swazi Parliament has given journalists two weeks to come up with a self-regulatory mechanism.

China

Journalist Yang Xiaoqing to be tried in court under control of officials embarrassed by his writings

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 2 may 2006 CPJ press release:

International

On World Press Freedom Day, SEAPA stresses importance of free and independent media in fighting vicious cycle of poverty

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The following is a SEAPA press release:

Swaziland

Editor receives death threats after newspaper campaign against exploitative money lenders

(MISA/IFEX) - The Chief Editor of the state-owned "Swazi Observer" newspaper, Musa Ndlangamandla, has complained of threats on his life following the newspaper's recent campaign against moneylenders or loan sharks who are exploiting desperate Swazis by charging interest on loans which are three times more than the legal interest rate limit.

Swaziland

Government soon to draft long-overdue Freedom of Information Act, says minister

(MISA/IFEX) - On 27 April 2006, the Swaziland Minister for Public Service and Information, Themba Msibi, announced that the Swazi government has commissioned consultants to draft the long-overdue Freedom of Information Act.

International

Censorship, state monitoring and control and corporate complicity mire online free expression: RSF annual report

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

Indonesia

Newspaper staff strikes over new chief editor; AJI calls for dialogue, urges charges against two journalists be dropped

(AJI/IFEX) - The following is a 30 April 2006 AJI statement:

International

IFJ launches Fourth Annual South Asia Press Freedom Report

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

International

On World Press Freedom Day, AMARC calls for media law reform to support community radio

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

Iraq

Journalists from Kurdish weekly face arrest, trial

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 2 May 2006 CPJ press release:

International

North Korea tops CPJ's "10 Most Censored Countries" list

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 2 May 2006 press release:

Cuba

On World Press Freedom Day, IAPA calls for attention to plight of imprisoned journalists

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

Russia

Opposition editor placed in two-month pre-trial detention

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 2 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Zimbabwe

Musician receives death threats

(MISA/IFEX) - On 1 May 2006, prominent Zimbabwean musician Hosiah Chipanga was forced to pull out of the Workers Day celebrations organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), following anonymous death threats received on his mobile phone.

International

Journalists and media workers should organise to face the global challenges facing the continent, urges IFJ

(IFJ/IFEX) - IFJ Africa statement for World Press Freedom Day

International

Asia still plagued by the old demons of authoritarianism: RSF annual report

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

Sri Lanka

Gunmen attack Jaffna-based newspaper, killing two staff members and injuring two others

(FMM/IFEX) - Free Media Movement (FMM) is shocked to report that "Uthyan", the Tamil-language daily newspaper with the largest circulation in the capital of Jaffna, was attacked by unknown gunmen, resulting in the death of two media workers on the eve of World Press Freedom Day.

International

WPFC statement on 3 May 2006, World Press Freedom Day

(WPFC/IFEX) - The following is a WPFC press release:

Brazil

President to sign the Declaration of Chapultepec on World Press Freedom Day

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 1 May 2006 IAPA press release:

Nepal

FNJ statement on the recent crisis, the new political situation, and prospects for press freedom

(FNJ/IFEX) - The following is a 1 May 2006 FNJ press release:

Philippines

Media organizations and journalists condemn investigation of critical television programme, urge citizens to defend press freedom

(CMFR/IFEX) - The following is a 2 May 2006 joint statement by CMFR and several other organizations:

International

On 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, IPI highlights the relationship between the death of a journalist and communication

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

International

Journalists must fight corruption, says IFJ President at UNESCO celebrations in Sri Lanka

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

International

PINA marks World Press Freedom Day's importance

(PINA/IFEX) - The following is a PINA press release:

Cameroon

Journalist beaten at opposition rally

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 1 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Chad

Radio director arrested, held incommunicado on eve of elections

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 1 May 2006 CPJ press release:

Nepal

CEHURDES condemns intimidation of journalists by Maoist cadres in the capital

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - CEHURDES has condemned the acts of intimidation and threats against a group of journalists by Maoist cadres in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu.

Denmark

Two journalists indicted for reporting on Iraq intelligence

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

Yemen

Newspapers' trial over publication of Prophet cartoons postponed; editors still detained under illegal circumstances

(HRinfo/IFEX) - The following is a 27 April 2006 HRinfo press release:

Mexico

Two measures approved in Mexico City to protect journalists

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 28 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Russia

Journalist's house searched by government militia

(CJES/IFEX) - On 27 April 2006, staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) of Karachaevo-Cherkessia conducted a search in the house of the parents of Fatima Tlisova, a correspondent of REGNUM news agency. Tlisova is officially registered as a resident of that house.

Yemen

Journalist Abdulfatah al-Hakimi attacked with gas

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 28 April 2006 CPJ press release:

International

CAPSULE REPORT: Press under threat in key Asian, African countries; longer-term pattern of decline noted in Latin America and former Soviet Union

(Freedom House/IFEX) - The following is a 27 April 2006 Freedom House press release:

Cambodia

Imprisonment removed as penalty for defamation; AFEC and ARTICLE 19 call on authorities to fully decriminalize defamation

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is an AFEC and ARTICLE 19 joint statement:

Ethiopia

CPJ report finds no merit to charges against jailed Ethiopian journalists

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

International

CAPSULE REPORT: Despite improvements, region continues to rank lowest for press freedoms

(Freedom House/IFEX) - The following is a 27 April Freedom House capsule report:

Singapore

Opposition party ordered to withdraw podcast from website

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has accused the Singaporean government of placing increasing curbs on online free expression after the electoral authorities ordered the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) to withdraw a podcast from its website on 26 April 2006, 10 days before parliamentary elections.

China

Still no reaction from Yahoo! after fourth case of collaboration with police uncovered

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders called on Yahoo! to withdraw its Internet servers from China as a fourth case was revealed of the company's collaboration with Chinese police that led to the jailing of a cyber-dissident.

Brazil

IAPA calls for action in unsolved murder of journalist

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 27 April 2006 IAPA press release:

Sri Lanka

Tamilnet editor's murder still unpunished after one year

(FMM/IFJ/RSF/IFEX) - The following is a joint media release by the Free Media Movement (FMM), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF):

Yemen

Journalist subject to death threat; campaign of intimidation continues against another

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

Pakistan

Authorities block access to Baluch nationalist sites

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a decision by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on 25 April 2006 to block four Baluch nationalist websites for carrying "misleading information." The move comes two months after the PTA blocked access to 12 websites displaying the controversial Mohammed cartoons.

Sri Lanka

Socially critical film faces possible government ban

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

Denmark

"Significant escalation of risk" for Danish cartoonists, warns CRN after reports of threats by Osama Bin Laden

(CRN/IFEX) - According to a 24 April 2006 Reuters UK release, comments recently attributed to the al Qaeda leader raised the general level of threat against the 12 Danish cartoonists who had produced the controversial cartoons for the "Jyllands-Posten" newspaper. Speaking in the context of the cartoons, bin Laden was quoted as saying, "Heretics and atheists, who denigrate religion and transgress against God and His Prophet, will not stop their enmity towards Islam except by being killed."

Egypt

Two newspaper journalists covering demonstrations detained; press freedom activist detained briefly; Al-Jazeera bureau chief released

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 27 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Belarus

Police detain two journalists preparing to cover opposition rally

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 27 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Cuba

Cubanet contributor threatened under Law 88, confined to home

(RSF/IFEX) - Roberto Santana Rodríguez, a contributor to the Miami-based website Cubanet, has been harassed by Department of State Security agents since February 2006 and ordered to stop writing, RSF said on 27 April, reiterating its criticism of the use of Law 88 (about Cuba's independence and economy) to threaten dissidents with heavy prison sentences.

Taiwan

Daily fines for reporter who refused to disclose his sources

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a Taipei court's decision on 24 April 2006 ordering "United Daily News" reporter Kao Nien-yi to pay a fine of 30,000 Taiwanese dollars (770 euros) every day until he revealed his sources for a report about a financial scandal. The order was enforced three days running before being suspended on 27 April.

Egypt

Al-Jazeera's Cairo bureau chief arrested for broadcasting "false information"

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of Al-Jazeera TV's Cairo bureau chief, Hussein Abdel Ghani, who was arrested on 27 April 2006 for broadcasting "false information likely to harm the country's reputation." Detained in the resort town of Dahab, where he went to cover the Sinai bombings of the past few days, he was taken to Cairo for questioning by state security investigators.

Liberia

Oil company director sues "The Telegraph" for defamation

(CEMESP/IFEX) - The sixth judicial Circuit court in Monrovia has summoned the management of one of Liberia's weekly newspapers, "The Telegraph".

China

RSF calls for journalist Shi Tao's release on medical grounds

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the declining health of journalist Shi Tao and the conditions in his prison, calling for his release on medical grounds. Shi was sentenced to 10 years in prison in April 2005 on information provided by Yahoo!, which hosted his e-mail account.

Belarus

Authorities deny entry to Polish television journalists seeking to cover Chernobyl commemoration rallies

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 26 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Kazakhstan

Opposition journalist viciously beaten, second assault on him in two months

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 26 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Palestine / Israel

Journalists attacked in Nablus by Israeli soldiers

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 26 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Canada

Media ban on return of dead soldiers from Afghanistan

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has protested against the 22 April 2006 ban imposed by the federal government on TV coverage of the return of soldiers killed in Afghanistan. On the evening of April 25, the media were not allowed into the military airbase at Trenton, near Toronto.

Peru

Supporters of presidential candidate assault journalists

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 21 April 2006, a group of supporters of Ollanat Humala Tasso, presidential candidate for the political association Unión por el Perú (UPP), assaulted the journalists who were covering the taping of a publicity video in the country club Portada del Sol in Chosica, a district of Lima. When he noticed the presence of media cameras, the candidate decided to suspend the taping of the video, got into his car and left. His security personnel stopped the journalists from following him. It was then that his supporters started throwing stones at the reporters and their media vehicles.

Nepal

FNJ expresses "delight" about resolution of crisis, demands compensation for journalists harassed, detained and tortured

(FNJ/IFEX) - The following is a 25 April 2006 FNJ press release:

Philippines

Congress approves bill on protecting sources for online news

(CMFR/IFEX) - In an effort to strengthen press freedom, the House of Representatives has passed a bill that would include journalists in the broadcast industry, wire agencies and Internet publications among those who are exempted from revealing the identities of confidential news and information sources.

China

After two months without news, authorities accused of "kidnapping" blogger

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has said it considered Chinese blogger Hao Wu to be the victim of state abduction as more than two months have gone by since his arrest by the National Security Bureau in Beijing without his family getting any news about him. His lawyer has not been allowed to see him, but has been told his client is under house arrest.

Philippines

Newspaper editor, columnists ask Justice Department to dismiss "inciting to sedition" charges filed by police

(CMFR/IFEX) - An editor-publisher, charged last month with inciting to sedition, has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss the case against her and two other columnists.

Burma

Three students face trial for pro-democracy poem, five others released

(RSF/IFEX) - The authorities have freed five of the seven students from Pegu University (north of Rangoon) who were arrested on 29 March 2006 for publishing a pro-democracy poem, Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association have noted. They were released on 10 April.

Philippines

Court seeks government response to petition denouncing official acts of press harassment and censorship

(CMFR/IFEX) - On 7 April 2006, the Court of Appeals (CA) asked the Executive Department to answer the petition, submitted by a group of media organizations and journalists, questioning the government's actions against press freedom.

Tunisia

Journalist ends hunger strike; government commitments unfulfilled following WSIS II, say IFEX-TMG members

(AMARC/HRinfo/WPFC/IFEX) - The following is a 24 April 2006 press release by three members of the IFEX-TMG who participated in a mission to Tunisia:

Serbia / Montenegro

ANEM asks public broadcast agency to clearly explain broadcast licencing decisions

(ANEM/IFEX) - The following is a 25 April 2006 ANEM statement:

Liberia

Three newspapers face Senate accusations of publishing "false stories"; two reporters briefly detained by soldiers

(CEMESP/IFEX) - On 25 April 2006, three newspaper executives (Stanley Seakor of the "Analyst", Kenneth Best of the daily "Observer", Tom Kamara of the "New Democrat") appeared before the Senate Committee on Information and Broadcasting after being summoned by the body.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Arrested journalist transferred to state penitentiary

(JED/IFEX) - Kazadi Kwambi Kasumpata, freelance correspondent for the weekly newspaper "Lubilanji Expansion", in Kinshasa, was transferred to the state penitentiary, Centre pénitentiaire et de rééducation de Kinshasa (CPRK) on 22 April 2006 after spending 48 hours in detention in the Gombe High Court prison.

Nepal

CEHURDES calls upon the new government to annul anti-media ordinances

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - The following is a 25 April 2006 CEHURDES press release:

United Kingdom

Terror laws will have "chilling effect" on legitimate debate, says ARTICLE 19

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 24 April 2006 ARTICLE 19 press release:

Peru

Protestors attack radio station over "one-sided" coverage

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 25 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Serbia / Montenegro

Television station closed, its licence revoked, for criticising public broadcast agency

(ANEM/IFEX) - The following is an ANEM statement:

Ethiopia

Two more journalists sentenced to jail on old charges

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 25 April 2006 CPJ press release:

The Gambia

Police prevent "Independent" staff from reopening the paper

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 25 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Russia

Newspaper fined by court over libel suit initiated by Belgorod governor

(CJES/IFEX) - On 21 April 2006, a court in the Obtyabrskiy district of Belgorod began hearing a lawsuit filed against "Moscovskiy Komsomolets v Belgorode" newspaper by Belgorod region Governor Evgeniy Savchenko for the protection of his honour, dignity and business reputation.

Zimbabwe

MISA-Zimbabwe analyses the constitutionality of the Interception of Communications Bill 2006

(MISA/IFEX) - The following is a 24 April 2006 MISA-Zimbabwe capsule report:

Thailand

Violent protestors disrupt academic seminar on current political crisis

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) condemns the latest violent protest against an academic seminar as an act of "hooliganism" that threatens to undermine the right to free expression and to free assembly, rights that apply to all regardless of political perspective.

The Gambia

"The Independent" allowed to reopen; reporter still held

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 24 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Cambodia

In historic move, prime minister says he will decriminalize defamation

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed Prime Minister Hun Sen's decision on 21 April 2006 to abolish imprisonment for defamation in Cambodia and urged other countries in Southeast Asia to follow suit, calling it an essential step towards real and lasting press freedom.

Nepal

Two journalists beaten, injured by police in Dillibazaar

(FNJ/IFEX) - Two Nepal One television journalists - senior reporter Tilak Koirala and reporter Janak Pandit - were injured when policemen beat them on the evening of 23 April in Dillibazaar, Kathmandu. They were stopped by the police on the streets as they were returning home and badly beaten, said Pandit.

Liberia

Appeal to new police chief after two reporters beaten by police

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on the new head of the Liberia National Police, Beatrice Munah Sieh, to take energetic measures to ensure respect for the work of the press after two reporters were beaten by police officers while covering the eviction of street vendors in Monrovia on 20 April 2006.

Mexico

"El Universal" reporter harassed, threatened by union activists; demonstrators protest outside "La Crónica de Hoy" offices

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 24 April 2006 IAPA press release:

Iraq

Radio reporter's murder brings total number of journalists killed since 2003 to 88

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the murder of Koussai Kahdban, an Iraqi journalist with local radio station Al-Bilad, who was shot by gunmen on 22 April 2006 in Baghdad. His death brought the number of journalists and media assistants killed in Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003 to 88, of whom 12 have been killed since the beginning of 2006.

Venezuela

Former official files defamation complaint against journalist

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 7 April 2006, "Últimas Noticias" journalist Jorge Chávez was notified of a legal action filed against him by the former official of the Metropolitan Police Foundation Director's Office, Óscar Arapé, for defamation and slander. The complaint was filed at the 11th Control Court, headed by Judge Juan Carlos Villegas.

Russia

Television journalist and camera operator detained in Kola, Murmansk region

(CJES/IFEX) - On the morning of 18 April 2006, a news crew of the regional television company TV-21, comprised of journalist Dmitriy Sergeev and cameraman Valeriy Gavel, was detained in the city of Kola. The journalists were preparing a television story on the Russian president's plenipotentiary envoy Ilya Klebanov and his visit to Murmansk.

Peru

Electoral jury imposes disproportionate fine on regional newspaper

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 11 April 2006, the newspaper "Aldía" was fined by the Special Electoral Jury (Jurado Electoral Especial, JEE) of the San Martín region, northeastern Perú, after publishing, on 14 March, the results of a survey about the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections without having been registered in the National Electoral Jury's (JNE) electoral pollsters' registry. The fine amounts to 102,000 nuevos soles (approx. US$30,000). As a result, the newspaper faces imminent closure due to financial distress.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Journalists beaten by Republican Guard officers; JED implores government to ensure security of journalists and media outlets as election campaigning gets underway

(JED/IFEX) - Anselme Masua, 42 years, a journalist with Radio Okapi - a joint project by the United Nations Mission in Congo and the Swiss Hirondelle Foundation - was beaten on the morning of 24 April 2006 in Kisangani, the capital of Oriental province in northeastern DR Congo, by Republican Guard military officers.

Honduras

Journalist dismissed to gratify local government officials

(PROBIDAD/IFEX) - Reporter Wendy Guerra, of the television station Canal 49 in Santa Rosa de Copán, in western Honduras, was dismissed by the station owner Amid Cárdenas, a former member of parliament for the governing Partido Liberal (Liberal Party), in retaliation for a critical report on municipal affairs.

Russia

Television journalist's camera seized, newspaper journalist briefly detained, his camera seized

(CJES/IFEX) - Police staff seized a television camera from Roman Korolenko, a journalist of Russia TV channel, as well as a still photography camera from Sergey Miheev, a correspondent of "Kommersant-Daily" newspaper. The incident happened on 20 April 2006 in the Krasnogorsk district of the Moscow region, where the journalists had arrived to film a fire at a construction site which claimed the lives of 11 people.

Nepal

Journalist injured by police in Shantinagar; blocking of mobile phones in capital impeding coverage of protests

(FNJ/IFEX) - Journalist Kedar Koirala was injured when security personnel indiscriminately charged at and clubbed him with batons while he was covering the pro-democracy protests organised by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) defying government shoot-to-kill curfew orders at Shantinagar, Kathmandu on 23 April 2006 at around 11 a.m. (local time).

Republic of Congo

Weekly editor accused of defamation and propagating false news in Brazzaville

(JED/IFEX) - Fortune Bemba, editor of the Brazzaville-based weekly "Thalassa", was charged on 21 April 2006 with defamation, attack on the honour of the head of state and propagation of false news by the public prosecutor Dinard Moubanga Mokonji.

Kazakhstan

CAPSULE REPORT: Legal situation for media deteriorating; three more newspapers face continued sanctions over registration requirements

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - The following is a 19 April 2006 Adil Soz capsule report:

Indonesia

Officials deny entry to US journalist who covered war in Aceh from rebels' side

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced dismay at the action of Indonesian immigration officials in denying US journalist William Nessen entry on 19 April 2006 and it called on foreign minister N. Hassan Wirajuda to ensure that he will be allowed to enter Indonesia freely in future.

Colombia

Senate commission shelves bill that would have broadened definition of criminal defamation offences by journalists, media

(FLIP/IFEX) - The following is a 20 April 2006 FLIP press release:

South Africa

President decides not to sign problematic bill; FXI calls on government department to stop drafting unconstitutional legislation

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is an FXI press statement:

India

Armed separatists kidnap editors, threaten newspaper in Manipur

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the behaviour of militant groups in the northeastern state of Manipur and said it backed the six regional dailies that did not publish on 19 April 2006 in protest against the action of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) in abducting their editors and threatening the "Imphal Free Press" newspaper.

Democratic Republic of Congo

A second journalist arrested in defamation case

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders condemned the abusive jailing of journalists after the arrest on 20 April 2006 of a second journalist of the weekly "Lubilanji Expansio" in connection with a defamation case.

Argentina

Political programme cancelled by Tucumán television station, host alleges political interference

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is concerned about the unexpected cancellation of a political programme called "Periodismo de Verdad" ("True Journalism") by Canal 5 ATS television channel, in the northwestern province of Tucumán. It had been hosted for more than six years by Enrique "Harry" García Hamilton, the editor of the province's leading daily, "La Gaceta".

Nigeria

Regulatory authority lifts restrictions on sanctioned radio station

(MRA/IFEX) - Nigeria's broadcast regulatory authority, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has lifted the restrictions, including a partial shut down, which it imposed on a privately-owned radio station, Freedom Radio, on 28 March 2006 for its alleged violation of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

Russia

Journalist's accreditation to access city legislature revoked without due process after she authors critical report

(CJES/IFEX) - The Agency of National News (ANN) announced on 19 April 2006 that its correspondent Alla Tuchkova's accreditation card to the Moscow City Duma (the city legislature, MCD) was siezed on 18 April by employees of the press service of the MCD.

Saudi Arabia

Journalist, accused of un-Islamic writings, released after signing statement, barred from leaving country

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 20 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Tunisia

A second "Al-Chourouk" journalist goes on hunger strike; journalist Slim Boukhdir's health deteriorates

(RSF/IFEX) - Another Tunisian journalist is on hunger strike. It is Shéhérazade Akacha, who began her hunger strike on 19 April 2006 in protest against her dismissal from the pro-government daily "Al-Chourouk" for revealing details of her interrogation and harassment by the newspaper's management after she refused to let others "dictate" an article she wrote for the 7 November 2005 supplement. A transcript of the interrogation was posted on the Tunisnews.Net website.

Democratic Republic of Congo

IFJ denounces ransacking of Butembo radio station

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

Mexico

Bill to decriminalize defamation goes to Senate for ratification; National Congress upholds professional secrecy for news sources

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 20 April 2006 IAPA press release:

Philippines

Local radio station faces possible suspension after mayor's accusation

(CMFR/IFEX) - A local FM radio station in Kabacan, Cotabato, around 1,100 kilometers south of Manila, faces suspension after the mayor accused it of operating illegally.

Democratic Republic of Congo

A weekly editor released after 72 hours of incarceration

(JED/IFEX) - The Kinshasa-based weekly "Lubilanji Expansion" managing director, Mr Arthur Tshimanga Kaputu was released on 21 April 2006 after 72 hours of incarceration. Kaputu was released after the arrest on 20 April in late afternoon of Mr Kazadi Kasumpata, the real author of the article in question.

Iraq

Following threats, house of press freedom worker target of armed assault

(EOHR/IFEX) - The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) and the Iraqi Journalists Rights Defense Association (IJRDA) condemn the armed assault targeting the home of journalists' rights worker Yasser Abdel Amir.

Nepal

Community radio station in Dang forced to suspend news programme, authorities cut telephone line; AMARC condemns renewal of media ordinance

(AMARC/IFEX) - The following is a 19 April 2006 AMARC press release:

Ethiopia

Journalist detained two months, faces anti-state charge

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ letter to the Ethiopian prime minister:

The Gambia

Two journalists released; third still in custody

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

Vietnam

Government harasses two journalists

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

Nepal

Seven journalists injured when shot, beaten in Jhapa; 13 others injured in Fidim; newspaper distribution halted by curfew

(FNJ/IFEX) - At least five journalists were severely injured when security personnel opened fire on a demonstration organized by the seven opposition parties in Chandragadhi, in the eastern district of Jhapa, on the afternoon of 19 April 2006. The injured journalists were there to report on a demonstration. The injured journalists are Umakant Khanal of "Purbanchal Dainik", Narayan Khadka of "Nepal Samacharpatra Daily", Sekhar Sedhai, Tika Ram Neti and Santosh Dhakal. Dhakal, a trainee journalist, sustained bullet wounds to his head, and Khanal and Khadka sustained bullet wounds on their legs.

Maldives

"Minivan" journalist sentenced to life imprisonment; editor charged; another journalist questioned

(RSF/IFEX) - The conviction on 19 April 2006 of "Minivan" journalist Abdullah Saeed and his sentence to life imprisonment was engineered by the authorities in order to harm the country's only opposition newspaper, Reporters Without Borders has said, calling for his retrial by an impartial court and urging President Gayoom to keep his promise to allow more press freedom.

Venezuela

Newspaper editor sentenced to 18 months in prison for publishing paid advertisement critical of police official

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 11 April 2006, Mireya Zurita, current editor of "El Siglo" newspaper, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for authorizing, in 2003, the publication of a press release which suggested that Deputy Police Inspector Terry Rojas, head of investigations at the Institute for Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas, CICPC) of the state of Aragua, northern Venezuela, was responsible for the misplacement of a batch of drugs.

Nepal

CAPSULE REPORT: Over 200 journalists arrested, 31 in custody; media group resists pressure to alter reporting, staff released; new media law appealed

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 18 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Nepal

BBC correspondent, Nepal TV reporter beaten; FNJ chapter president arrested; journalist's detention extended; police allegedly involved in journalist's abduction

(FNJ/IFEX) - The authorities have extended the detention of Shyam Shrestha, editor of "Mulyankan Weekly", by another three months under the Public Security Act. Shrestha was arrested on 19 January 2006 by security forces at his residence, along with human rights activists and senior leaders of the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), in an attempt to derail the SPA's protest demonstration. Shrestha remains in detention at the No. 2 Post of the Armed Police Force at Maharajgunj. The authorities have also extended the detentions of Nepali Congress leader Narhari Acharya, human rights activist Krishna Pahadi, and civil society leaders Dr. Devendra Raj Pandey and Dr. Mathura Prasad Shrestha, by another three months.

Nepal

CEHURDES denounces 18-hour curfew in Kathmandu, denial of media passes, indiscriminate shooting in eastern Nepal

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - CEHURDES denounces the decision of the royal government to impose an 18-hour curfew in the capital, Kathmandu, on 20 April 2006, apparently to thwart a major rally being planned by the opposition parties.

Belarus

CPJ condemns attempts to close independent weekly newspaper "Nasha Niva"

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

Italy

Crime journalist critical of official investigation into murder case detained, faces defamation charges

(CPJ/IFEX) -The following is a CPJ letter to President Berlusconi:

China

Renewed judicial proceedings against detained researcher called "aberration"

(RSF/IFEX) - The reopening of judicial proceedings against detained "New York Times" researcher Zhao Yan, whose release had been awaited since 17 March 2006, is an "aberration," Reporters Without Borders has said, calling for him to be freed at once.

China

Yahoo! implicated in third cyber-dissident trial; US company's collaboration with Chinese courts highlighted in Jiang Lijun case

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has obtained a copy of the verdict in the case of Jiang Lijun, sentenced to four years in prison in November 2003 for his online pro-democracy articles, showing that Yahoo! helped Chinese police to identify him.

United States

Al-Jazeera cameraman, detained in Guantanamo since 2002, refused treatment for throat cancer; RSF calls for his release after receiving new information from lawyer

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) voiced concern about detained Sudanese cameraman Sami Al-Haj of the pan-Arab TV station Al-Jazeera, and reiterated its call for his release in the absence of specific charges after speaking to his London-based lawyer, Clive Stafford-Smith. Arrested by the Pakistani army on the Afghan border in December 2001, Al-Haj has been held at the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) since 13 June 2002.

Botswana

MISA clarifies process for drafting of media bill

(MISA/IFEX) - The following is a MISA Botswana statement:

Morocco

Appeal court upholds exorbitant damages award against "Journal Hebdomadaire"

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the Rabat appeal court's 18 April 2006 decision to uphold a damages award of 3 million dirhams (270,000 euros) against the "Journal Hebdomadaire" newspaper in a libel suit brought by the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Centre (ESISC), a think-tank based in Brussels.

Moldova

ARTICLE 19 urges reconsideration of draft Audiovisual Code

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release:

Kazakhstan

Journalist's apartment robbed, links made to reporting

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - On 11 April 2006 in Almaty, unknown individuals broke into the apartment of Ramazan Yesergepov, a journalist for "Alma-ata info" newspaper, in his absence. The intruders forced Yesergepov's entrance door open and stole some gold items from his house. The police arrived 45 minutes later, saying they did not have enough gasoline to get to Yesergepov's home faster. Yesergepov believes the burglary was related to his reporting, in particular to a number of critical articles published in recent editions of the paper.

Pakistan

Eight media workers injured in bomb blast while covering religious celebration in Karachi

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Nepal

Ten more journalists beaten, injured; whereabouts of journalist arrested in Lalitpur unknown; three journalists, driver arrested in Singhadurbar

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 17 April 2006, at least eight journalists were injured when security personnel attacked them while they were covering a peaceful protest organized by the Seven Party Alliance in Sunsari, an eastern district. The security personal deliberately attacked them despite knowing that they were journalists. The injured journalists are Amar Khadka, Santosh Yadav, Suman Puri, Som Nath Bastola, Khagendra Upreti, Gajendra Dahal, Bimal Man Shrestha and Prem Bastola.

Uruguay

RSF urges government to shed light on suspicious theft of journalist's documents

(RSF/IFEX) - Important and confidential military documents were stolen from investigative journalist Eduardo Preve, of the TV news station Canal 10, in Montevideo on 26 March 2006, three days after he had received them from a source. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged the Uruguayan government to pledge to shed light on the suspicious theft.

Russia

On anniversary of hostile takeover of independent TV station, protests against Kremlin control of broadcast media

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 17 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Bangladesh

Ruling party uses force to stop conference on press freedom

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has deplored threats by a ruling party MP and his supporters that forced the cancellation of a conference about press freedom and demanded a public apology from him.

Egypt

Imprisoned opposition leader investigated for "insulting" president, denied right to disseminate written material, told by prison authority to cease criticisms

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Humar Rights Watch press release:

Peru

Television journalist assaulted

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the evening of 12 April 2006, ATV HBO television journalist Máximo Silva Chávez was attacked by two strangers after he took a taxi home.

Colombia

TV reporter killed covering mudslide

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 17 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Burundi

Police hold journalists hostage at parliamentarian's home after ruling party quarrel

(RSF/IFEX) - The action of the Bujumbura police in holding around 20 journalists hostage at the home of parliamentarian Mathias Basabose for more than seven hours on 17 April 2006 was "absurd and astounding," said Reporters Without Borders. The reporters had been invited to a press conference about Basabose's expulsion from the ruling party.

Kazakhstan

Editor of "Versiya" newspaper assaulted in Pavlodar

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - On 13 April 2006 at approximately 7:00 p.m. (local time), the editor of "Versiya" newspaper, Yaroslav Golyshkin, was assaulted by two unknown persons on the porch of his house in Pavlodar, northern Kazakhstan

Nepal

Journalist assaulted for reporting attack on colleague; "Bimarsha" newspaper vehicle attacked; CEHURDES founding secretary assaulted; journalists arrested in Baglung released

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of a 14 April 2006 CEHURDES press release:

Chad

BBC correspondent beaten and questioned by soldiers; special envoy from Radio FM Liberté in Mongo found safe and sound

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of an RSF press release:

Nepal

Journalists suffer severe beatings and injuries as dozens arrested in Hetauda, Baglung, Gausala, Putalisadak and Dailekh; authorities try to block TV broadcasts; Maoist rebels prevent distribution of newspaper

(FNJ/IFEX) - Deepak Adhikary, executive member of Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Makwanpur branch was arrested at his residence at Hetauda, district headquarters of Makwanpur on 13 April 2006 at 6:00 p.m. (local time). According to Girija Adhikary, Birgunj correspondent of "Prateek Daily", he was brutally beaten during the arrest and is now severely injured. His thumb has been broken and his back and knee have also been injured. At the time of arrest, he was wearing a jacket with a "Press" emblem. He has not been provided with necessary medication while in custody. He is being detained at the Hetauda district police office. Girija Adhikary was himself also mistreated by security personnel at 8:55 a.m. on 13 April. He was on his way home as the curfew was imposed from 9:00 a.m. Security personnel also beat him.

Nigeria

Detained publisher released, faces criminal charges; two other newspaper employees released

(MRA/IFEX) - Alfred Egbegi, publisher of the weekly newspaper "Izon Link", who was arrested by the police in Yenogoa, the Bayelsa state capital in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria on 12 April 2006, has been released from custody, but is now facing criminal charges in court.

Colombia

President verbally attacks media for reporting allegations of criminal activity by intelligence agency

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

China

WTO members urged to oppose a new wave of Chinese media restrictions

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on World Trade Organisation (WTO) member states to oppose a series of restrictive measures just adopted by the Chinese government which are a complete violation of WTO principles and will jeopardise the liberalisation and development of the Chinese media. China joined the WTO in 2001.

Colombia

FLIP condemns paramilitary video accusing journalist, priest, former mayor and presidential candidate of being guerrilla group "spokespersons"

(FLIP/IFEX) - Journalist Hollman Morris, director of the television programme "Contravía", has complained to FLIP about the circulation of a video from an organization calling itself the "Social Front for Peace" ("Frente Social por la Paz", FSP), accusing him of being an international spokesman for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC), the country's largest guerrilla group.

Maldives

New offensive against "Minivan"newspaper, with one correspondent arrested and another prosecuted

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced deep concern about a wave of harassment and arrests of journalists working for the opposition newspaper "Minivan".

Russia

Prosecutor files criminal libel charges against editor; copies of newspaper seized by police

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 14 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Kyrgyzstan

Human rights activist assaulted, seriously injured after organizing protest against organized crime

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a 14 April 2006 Human Rights Watch press release:

United States / China

Yahoo! employees get chance to see Chinese detainee videos outside company's headquarters

(RSF/IFEX) - A Reporters Without Borders team stationed itself with a video player outside Yahoo!'s California headquarters on 7 April 2006 and stopped employees as they left the building, offering to show them videos filmed in China of people criticising Yahoo!'s cooperation with the Chinese police.

China

Writer Li Jianping tried for online pro-democracy articles

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 12 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Ghana

Minister sues three independent newspapers for alleged defamation

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 7April 2006, Ghana's deputy minister of Trade and Industry, Kofi Osei Ameyaw, filed a suit against "The Insight", a tri-weekly independent newspaper, and two other bi-weekly independent newspapers, "Ghana Palaver" and "Ghanaian Democrat", in an Accra High Court, for allegedly defaming him.

Turkey

Human Rights Watch researcher detained in Kurdish area, to be deported

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a 12 April 2006 Human Rights Watch press release:

Nepal

Four journalists arrested in Myanglung, another beaten and injured by police; other journalists released after detentions in Kathmandu and Pokhara

(FNJ/IFEX) - Four journalists, including FNJ's Terhathum chapter treasurer Chatra Rimal and central FNJ representative Uddhav Timilsina, were arrested on 12 April 2006 in Myanglung, district headquarters of the eastern district Terhathum.

Nigeria

Publisher, two other newspaper employees arrested and detained

(MRA/IFEX) - On 12 April 2006, Alfred Egbegi, publisher of the weekly newspaper "Izon Link", was arrested by the police in Yenogoa, the Bayelsa State capital in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria.

Nepal

Detained journalists in Chitwan released; others forcefully arrested, beaten in Kathmandu, Udayapur, and Dailekh

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 12 April 2006 at 10:45 a.m. (local time), more then two dozen journalists were arrested, with undue force, from Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu, while participating in a peaceful rally organized by the FNJ's Kathmandu Chapter to protest recent government attacks on media and freedom of expression.

Pakistan / United States

Missing journalist rumoured to be in US custody; CPJ asks authorities to reveal all information on case

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 11 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Jailed publisher suffering from severe health problems

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 11 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Pakistan

Director of Baluchi-language TV station goes missing in Karachi

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about Munir Mengal, the head of Baloch Voice, a Baluchi-language TV station based in the United Arab Emirates, who has been missing since he arrived in the southern city of Karachi on a flight from Bahrain on 7 April 2006. His family thinks Pakistani military intelligence officers arrested him at the airport.

The Gambia

Third journalist with "The Independent" arrested

(RSF/IFEX) - A third journalist with the privately-owned biweekly "The Independent", Lamin M. Fatty, was arrested at his home on 12 April 2006, two weeks after the Criminal Investigation Department closed down the newspaper on 28 March and arrested its managing director, Madi Ceesay, and editor, Musa Saydikhan, who are still being held at the headquarters of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

Australia

ARTICLE 19 calls on the Australian government to review its sedition laws

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 12 April 2006 ARTICLE 19 press release:

Venezuela

Minister asks government directorate to monitor news coverage of recent events and mete out any necessary sanctions

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 6 April 2006, Minister for Communications and Information William Lara asked the Social Responsibility Directorate, the institution in charge of verifying the observance of the Radio and Television Social Responsibility Law, to thoroughly examine the news coverage by TV channels and radio stations of the murder of three kidnapped children, their driver and a photographer, as well as the demonstrations which have taken place in recent days. The Directorate has been asked to evaluate if any regulations have been violated, to decide on the penalty to be applied if they have, and to mete out any sanctions.

Peru

Journalist forced to leave country due to repeated death threats

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 5 April 2006, Marilu Gambini, a journalist for the programme "Confidencial" broadcast on TV channel 31, left the country with her two young children after having received another death threat on 28 March. The authorities have not yet identified the source of the threat. Gambini has been threatened and beaten several times because of her investigations into drug trafficking in Chimbote, northwestern Peru.

Nepal

Plainclothes police, soldiers infiltrate journalists' peaceful protest gatherings

(FNJ/IFEX) - On the morning of 12 April 2006, Assistant Sub-Inspector Sailesh Giri and policeman Ram Hari Karki, both in plainclothes, infiltrated a protest gathering of journalists at Bhrikutimandap. The FNJ had organized the peaceful demonstration to protest recent attacks on media persons.

Indonesia

Bookstores, magazine sellers, hotels and publisher threatened by citizens over launch of Indonesian "Playboy" magazine

(AJI/IFEX) - The following is a 9 April 2006 AJI statement:

Nigeria

Newspaper publisher fears for his life after receiving threatening calls over critical article

(MRA/IFEX) - On 11 April 2006, Alfred Egbegi, publisher of the privately-owned weekly newspaper "Izon Link", based in Yenogoa, the Bayelsa State capital in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria, expressed fear that his life may be in danger as officials of the state government and security operatives were harassing him over a story published in the current edition of the newspaper.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Presidential candidate calls "Africa News" journalist before the courts on charges of libel and defamation

(JED/IFEX) - Mrs. Wivine N'Landu Kavidi, candidate for the forthcoming presidential election in the DR Congo, and her political party the UDR (Union pour la Défense de la République) have called upon the Kinshasa-based weekly "Africa News" journalist, Kisungu Kas and the publication's editor, Michel Mukebayi Nkoso, to appear before the Kinshasa/Gombe Peace Court, on 11 April 2006. According to the indictment terms, a copy of which JED has been able to obtain, Mrs N'Landu has accused the paper and its journalists of "falsification and of false rumours", "defamation"and "public libel and insult". The candidate has urged the Court to sentence the paper and its journalists to a fine of US$100,000 for reparation damages.

Chad

Rebels capture radio reporter in the central city of Mongo

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the fate of FM Liberté reporter Eliakim Vanambyl, who was captured by rebels of the United Front for Change (FUC) when they took the central city of Mongo on 11 April 2006. There has been no word of him since then.

Saudi Arabia

Detained journalist taunted in police cell, his lawyer denied access

(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:

Peru

Judge rescinds arrest orders for mayor and municipal councillor in radio presenter's murder

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) voiced dismay today at a judge's decision in the Amazonian city of Pucallpa on 7 April 2006 to rescind the orders, issued four days before by another judge, for the arrest of mayor Luis Valdez Villacorta and municipal councillor Solio Ramírez Garay. Valdez and Ramírez are believed to be behind the 21 April 2004 murder of Alberto Rivera Fernández, a presenter with the radio station Frecuencia Oriental.

Peru

Police intimidate radio journalists, summoning them over an accusation made by interviewees

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 3 April 2006, Radio La Salle of Urubamba journalists Dante Sanchez and Carlos Luna were summoned by police to make a statement about an interview broadcast on 9 March. The reporters' two guests accused the region's police of extortion and included the city's chief of police in their accusation. The journalists will not respond to the summons, as they believe it to be a form of intimidation. The incident took place in Urubamba, Cusco region, in southeastern Peru.

Russia

Reporter's death prompts questions among family, colleagues

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 11 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Armed men break into cameraman's house, steal materials

(JED/IFEX) - JED is expressing deep concerns and consternation following the attack on a Lubumbashi-based private television cameraman by armed men. Lubumbashi, the main city of the Katanga Province, is located in the South-East of the DR Congo .The press freedom organization is once more urging the government to guarantee media professionals' safety, at a time when the Congo is getting closer to general elections. JED recalls that this is the second time a journalist has been similarly attacked for simply doing his job. It is worth noting that on 28 May 2005, Jean Ngandu, a local UN radio station journalist escaped a murder attempt, on his way back home from work. No thorough investigations have been carried out so far to shed light on this grave case of death threat, despite the varied requests made by JED.

Kazakhstan

"Alma-ata info" newspaper facing charges

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - The "Alma-ata info" newspaper is facing charges under article 342 of the Administrative Code of Kazakhstan, for allegedly violating the law on mass media. A lawsuit has been filed by the local government's internal politics department in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In its lawsuit, the Almaty City council claims "Alma-ata info" newspaper failed to reregister after having changed its thematic focus. Internal Politics Department head Zhanbolot Murazalin said the paper had published advertisements without having reregistered its new thematic direction. He added, "There was no word about the closure." He believes the paper may get the maximum possible punishment of a 206,000 tenge (approx. US$1600) fine.

Iraq / United States

Reuters inquiry finds US shooting death of journalist "unlawful"

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 10 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Nepal

Journalists covering protests arrested, beaten in Chitwan and Pachthar

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 10 April 2006, at around 2:00 p.m. (local time), in Ratnanagar, Chitwan, various journalists reporting on protest activities organized by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) were beaten by police, even after displaying their press credentials. Assaulted were: Keshav Bhattarai, an FNJ central council member, and Narayan Dhungana, reporter from the publication "Bargikrit Dainik".

Ukraine

Editor beaten in Kyiv

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 10 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Nepal

Journalists covering protests severely beaten by police; reporter's camera seized

(FNJ/IFEX) - Police personnel brutally beat four journalists in Boudha on 10 April 2006 at around 5 p.m. (local time).

Nepal

More journalists arrested, beaten by police, while reporting on protests

(FNJ/IFEX) - Jagat Saud, correspondent of "Farwest", and Prayag Joshi, correspondent of "Sudur Sandesh", were arrested on the morning of 10 April 2006 in Dhangadi, the district capital of Kalali in western Nepal, while reporting on activities of the democratic movement organized by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA).

Nepal

Ninety-seven journalists arrested and 24 injured in six days; government urged to allow all journalists to move about freely

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Withot Borders has called on the Nepalese government to stop arresting journalists and other media workers, 97 of whom have been detained and 24 others injured during nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations since 5 April 2006, and to allow all journalists to move around freely so they can do their job.

Nepal

More journalists arrested with excessive use of force; army personnel throw rocks at newspaper office

(FNJ/IFEX) - At least 18 journalists were arrested, with an excessive use of force, at around 1:00 p.m. (local time) on 9 April 2006. Those arrested included Dipak Gyawali, secretary for the FNJ in Rupendehi; as well as the journalists Kamala Kunwar, Dinesh Pande, Sher Bahadur K.C., Dipendra Baduwal, Dipendra Kunwar, Top Raj Sharma, Amrit Giri, Yub Raj Pande, Hari Sundar Washi, Shyam Lal Pokhrel, Siddhi Charan Bhattrai, Laxman Paudel, Manoranjan Sharma, Arjun Shrestha, Ramesh Pokhrel, Pradip Acharya and Krishna Pokhrel.

Uruguay

Journalist's documents for murder investigation stolen

(IPYS/IFEX) - In the early morning of 26 March 2006, Canal 10 television channel journalist Eduardo Preve was robbed of several documents related to his ongoing investigation of the murder of chemist Eugenio Berríos, which took place in 1993. People linked to the dictatorial governments which ruled in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay during the 1980s were allegedly involved in the murder.

Colombia

Demobilised paramilitary involved in murder of Montería journalist; authorities capture three suspects, a fourth still at large

(FLIP/IFEX) - The Prosecutor General's Office, with support from the national police's Criminal Intelligence Investigations Unit (Seccional de Inteligencia Judicial Investigativa de la Policía Nacional, SIJÍN) in Córdoba, has captured three of the alleged murderers of journalist Gustavo Rojas Gabalo. According the Córdoba police commander, Colonel Jaime Orlando Velasco, two of them are demobilized members of paramilitary groups.

Nepal

FNJ branch leaders arrested in Baglung, Butwal and Dailekh

(FNJ/IFEX) - FNJ Dhaulagiri Branch Secretary Hari Narayan Gautam was arrested on the morning of 9 April 2006 in Baglung, the largest centre in the Dhaulagiri zone. He was arrested while reporting the news on the democratic movement organized by the Seven Party Alliance.

Nepal

Beatings, arrests of journalists continue across the country; curfew passes denied some media groups

(FNJ/IFEX) - Police injured at least seven journalists in Baglung on 8 April 2006, when the journalists were covering the news of a peaceful protest organized by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) in the district capital.

Pakistan

Supreme Court upholds life imprisonment for editor Rehmat Shah Afridi

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has deplored the Pakistani Supreme Court's 6 April 2006 decision to uphold a life sentence imposed on Rehmat Shah Afridi, the former editor for the "Frontier Post" and "Maidan" daily newspapers, for alleged drug trafficking. Afridi has been insisting on his innocence ever since his arrest by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in 1999.

Thailand

Programme director dismissed from TV station for critical reporting

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has expressed dismay that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has announced his resignation, continues to harass the independent press, with criminal cases against at least six journalists and media for "defamation".

Philippines

Justice department removes controversial prosecutor from editor's murder case

(CMFR/IFEX) - The prosecutor handling the case of slain editor-publisher Philip Agustin recently was relieved by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Botswana

Controversial Mass Media Bill headed for Parliament

(MISA/IFEX) - Botswana's Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, Pelonomi Venson, has announced that she will be presenting the controversial Mass Media Bill to Parliament. The proposed law has been rejected by media practitioners because they feel there was no extensive consultation with all stakeholders.

Israel

UK court rules military shooting of filmmaker in Gaza was murder

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 5 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Nigeria

Journalists assaulted by policemen while covering protest

(MRA/IFEX) - On 7 April 2006, Attah Ikharo and Jerry Adamu, two journalists with a privately owned television station, Degue Broadcast Network (DBN), were beaten by policemen, led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the Garki Police Station in Abuja, Femi Ogedengbe.

Cuba

CPJ concerned by reports of mistreatment of jailed journalists; news agency director detained briefly, threatened

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 6 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Philippines

Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism faces additional libel suits

(CMFR/IFEX) - The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) received notice of yet another complaint from a controversial audio technician, who this time, filed five libel suits against the organization on 27 March 2006 in Quezon City.

Saudi Arabia

Journalist detained for writings about religious extremism

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

United States

TV reporter's name posted on police website's wanted section in retaliation for hidden camera report

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned a Florida police association for posting the name of WFOS TV-CBS 4 reporter Mike Kirsch in the "Be On the Look-Out" (BOLO) section of its website, which is normally reserved for fugitives from justice and missing persons. This was done after Kirsch used a hidden camera to produce a report about the difficulty of filing a complaint against a police officer in South Florida police stations.

Democratic Republic of Congo

"La Tolérance" managing editor freed on bail after 33 days in detention

(JED/IFEX) - On Thursday 6 April 2006, in the late afternoon, managing editor Jean-Pierre Pambu Lutete, of the Kinshasa-based "La Tolérance", was released. This was possible after JED (Journaliste en Danger) posted US$40 in bail.

Syria

Website editor arrested

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arrest and detention of writer and website editor Mohammed Ghanem, who was arrested at his home in the northeastern city of Ar Raqqah on 31 March 2006 by military intelligence officers.

Peru

Arrest warrant issued for mayor and former court official accused of journalist's murder

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 3 April 2006, the Coronel Portillo Criminal Court in Pucallpa, issued a warrant for the arrest of mayor Luis Valdez Villacorta and former court official Solio Ramírez Garay, alleged intellectual authors of the murder of journalist Alberto Rivera Fernández, which took place in April 2004. Both of the accused are on the run. Pucallpa is in the Ucayali region, eastern Peru.

Nepal

Protesting journalists and others covering protests arrested, one beaten; journalists arrested on 6 April released

(FNJ/IFEX) - Five journalists were arrested at 7:45 a.m. (local time) on 7 April 2006 in Hetuada, while participating in a peaceful rally organized by the Professional Alliance for Peace and Democracy (PAPAD) and other professional organizations to protest the arrests of journalists and professionals over the prior two days. Police also charged at protestors with batons.

Philippines

Local mayor threatens closure of Mindanao radio station, utters death threat to anchorman

(CMFR/IFEX) - Accused of slandering the local government, a radio station was threatened by a town mayor on 5 April 2006 in Valencia City, Bukidnon, approximately 830 kilometers south of Manila.

Iraq / United States

Detained CBS cameraman acquitted of charges

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 5 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Bulgaria

Bomb explodes at home of investigative journalist

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 6 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Venezuela

Photographer gunned down near anti-crime protest

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

Guinea

Authorities suspend sales of "Jeune Afrique" magazine for articles criticising president

(MFWA/IFEX) - The Guinean authorities on 30 March 2006 suspended the sale of "Jeune Afrique", a Paris-based weekly independent magazine, for publishing articles on President Lansana Conte that allegedly could "undermine the sovereignty of the country".

Egypt

Conference participants decry government efforts to silence judiciary

(CIHRS/IFEX) - The following are excerpts from a CIHRS statement:

Moldova

Media NGOs ask Parliament to allow civil society input into draft audiovisual legislation

(IJC/IFEX) - The following is a 3 April 2006 letter to the Moldovan Parliament:

Russia

Journalist assaulted, injured by Interior Ministry officer; court proceedings stalled by defence lawyer's absence

(CJES/IFEX) - The first trial sitting on the case of the beating of First Channel television journalist Olga Kiriy was postponed in Vladikavkaz, capital of the republic of North Ossetia, on 5 April 2006. The defendant, Senior Lieutenant Georgiy Totoev, a Ministry of Internal Affairs employee, assaulted Kiriy on 3 February at the central clinic hospital of Vladikavkaz, where she arrived with her television crew to film a report about the victims of explosions in Vladikavkaz game clubs. As a result of the attack the journalist sustained a concussion and numerous other injuries.

Morocco

"Journal Hebdomadaire" target of steady government harassment

(OLPEC/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of a 5 April 2006 OLPEC press release:

Niger

Government blocks reporting on hunger, withdraws accreditation of BBC television crew

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 5 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Tunisia

Journalist launches hunger strike in protest over constant harassment

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of a 5 April 2006 IFJ media release:

Nepal

Twelve protesting journalists arrested in Birgunj; 5 more arrested while covering protest in Ilam

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - CEHURDES condemns the detention of over a dozen media personnel across the country on the first day of the four-day-long general strike called by the seven party opposition alliance. The strike is the inaugural action in the alliance's peaceful movement against the 14-month-old direct rule of King Gyanendra.

Singapore

Government steps up online censorship in run-up to elections

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned rules gagging free expression online, in the same way as for traditional media, in the run-up to parliamentary elections in Singapore.

Zambia

Interim ruling allows government to postpone need to obtain parliamentary ratification of nominees for broadcasting authority bodies

(MISA/IFEX) - The state has succeeded in blocking the country's main media bodies from forcing it to take names of proposed Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) board members to Parliament for ratification until September 2006.

Colombia

Video's accusation against journalist provokes concern for his safety

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 4 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Nepal

Journalist harassed, briefly detained by Maoists

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an open letter to the Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) - Maoist:

Thailand

Police ban edition of political journal after articles on king

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 4 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Nepal

More journalists arrested at second rally, subsequently released together with colleagues detained earlier

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 5 April 2006, at around 3:30 p.m. (local time), at least 24 journalists were arrested while participating in a peaceful protest organized by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists. Among those arrested were Shiva Gaunle, vice-president of Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Hemanta Kafle, FNJ treasurer, Purna Basnet, FNJ Central Committee member, and senior journalist Kanak Dixit. The demonstrators were protesting the arrest of 37 professionals, including 13 journalists, at a protest rally organised by the Professional Alliance for Peace and Democracy (PAPAD) earlier the same day.

Nepal

Journalists forcefully arrested at protest as municipalities ban rallies; student correspondent and activists arrested

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

The Gambia

Two detained journalists under pressure to reveal sources for publishing alleged participants of planned coup

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced alarm at the impunity with which the Gambian government has been able to illegally detain Madi Ceesay, the managing director of the biweekly newspaper "The Independent", and Musa Saydikhan, its editor, for the past week.

Uzbekistan

Journalist released after year in jail for "anti-constitutional activity"

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 4 April 2006 CPJ press release:

China

Reporter arrested, in continuing detention after alleging local corruption

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

Zimbabwe

IPI disappointed by African Union's slow progress in criticising Zimbabwe's record on human rights, press freedom

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is an IPI letter to the chairman of the African Union and the United Nations secretary-general:

Vanuatu

PINA pleased with response to its concerns over police treatment of photographer

(PINA/IFEX) - The Pacific Island News Association is pleased to be able to report that a satisfactory resolution has been identified in the recent incidents involving the "Vanuatu Daily Post" and its photographer, Marc Neil-Jones. PINA had previously reported that Neil-Jones was assaulted, improperly imprisoned and confined for a considerable length of time.

Mongolia

CAPSULE REPORT: Journalists investigated over article critical of politicians

(Globe International/IFEX) - Globe International is deeply concerned about civil and criminal defamation charges brought against researchers and journalists by Mongolian politicians, including the current President N. Enkhbayar, and urges these politicians to respect press freedom and freedom of expression as guaranteed under the Mongolian Constitution. Globe International considers that by prosecuting journalists, these politicians are attempting to intimidate the media into not reporting criticism.

Burma

Seven students arrested for publishing a poem

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association have voiced outrage at the arrests on 29 March 2006 of seven students from the University of Pegu, north of Rangoon, for writing and publishing a pro-democracy poem. Their arrests came five days after journalists U Thaung Sein and Ko Moe Htun were sentenced to three years in prison for photographing and filming in the new capital of Pyinmana.

Russia

U.S. journalist returns home after interrogations

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 3 April 2006 CPJ press release:

Honduras

Congress member tries to strangle indigenous journalist

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for Liberal Party representative Romualdo Bueso Melghem, the vice-president of the parliamentary commission for ethnic minorities, to be stripped of his parliamentary mandate for assaulting and trying to strangle journalist Martha Vásquez, a member of the Lenca indigenous group.

Nepal

Amendments to terrorism law potentially criminalise the basic act of supplying information, IFJ warns

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:

Iraq

Cyber-dissident Kamal Sayid Qadir released

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders welcomed the release on 3 April 2006 of jurist Kamal Sayid Qadir, an Austrian national of Kurdish origin, arrested on 26 October 2005 for posting "defamatory" articles about the authorities in Kurdistan.

Mexico

Report on disappeared journalist Alfredo Jiménez Mota inaugurates anti-impunity campaign

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 31 March 2006 IAPA press release:

Cameroon

Addressing media "crisis" requires eliminating prison sentences, says RSF

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 3 April 2006 RSF letter to the economy and finance minister:

Philippines

Tarclac City newspaper journalist shot to death

(CMFR/IFEX) - On 2 April 2006, a community journalist was gunned down by unidentified men on his way home in Tarlac City, located approximately 110 kilometers north of Manila.

Thailand

Pro-Thaksin mob attacks on media continue; media group headquarters vandalised, pay television network editor assaulted

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 1 April 2006 statement issued by the Thai Journalists' Association:

Haiti

On the sixth anniversary of Jean Dominique's murder, Haiti's new president urged to reopen the case

(RSF/IFEX) - On the eve of the sixth anniversary of Radio Haïti Inter director and political commentator Jean Dominique's murder on 3 April 2000 in Port-au-Prince, Reporters Without Borders has added its voice to all the tributes being paid to Dominique and urged President-elect René Préval, who will be sworn in on 14 May 2006, to give a solemn undertaking to reopen the case.

Democratic Republic of Congo

"L'Eclaireur" editor freed on bail

(RSF/IFEX) - Jean-Louis Ngalamulume, the editor of the newspaper "L'Eclaireur", was freed on the evening of 31 March 2006 after paying US$40 in bail. He had been detained since 31 January.

Hong Kong (China)

ARTICLE 19 calls for measures to strengthen Radio Television Hong Kong's independence

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release:

Malaysia

Press self-censoring its coverage of fuel price hike protests

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Malaysia's mainstream press self-censored its coverage of recent public protests against fuel price hikes to avoid courting government's disapproval and a possible "selective" crackdown, says SEAPA.

Russia

Newspaper editor arrested in case stemming from Chechnya coverage

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

Peru

Advisor to congressional candidate threatens journalists

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 30 March 2006, journalists Manuel Caballero Vidal, a reporter for Channel 13, and Alex Mautino Vidaurre, of Radio Melodía, were threatened by lawyer Danilo Duarte Jácome. Duarte is campaign adviser for José Malqui Beaz, a candidate for Congress representing Ancash region, of the political group Unidad Nacional. The incident took place in Huaraz, capital of Ancash, northwestern Peru.

China

Chinese activists call for repeal of Internet "11 commandments"

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed the courage of the pro-democracy activists and lawyers who on 28 March 2006 dared to speak out publicly against violations of online free expression and launched a petition for the repeal of a six-month-old law that marked a much tougher government stance towards the Internet.

Hong Kong (China)

Legal action targets Yahoo for privacy violation in jailed journalist's case

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 31 March 2006 CPJ press release:

Tunisia

Jailed writer ill, subjected to "mistreatment and harassment", says CPJ; harassment of editor and family intensifies

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 31 March 2006 CPJ press release:

Algeria

Journalist pressured by police to reveal sources

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an abridged translation of a 31 March 2006 IFJ media release:

Russia

Russian authorities in Dagestan detain, question US journalist

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 31 March 2006 CPJ press release:

Nigeria

Local government chairman, policeman assault photojournalist covering census exercise

(MRA/IFEX) - On 21 March 2006, Dare Fasube, a photojournalist with the "Vanguard" newspaper assigned to cover the national housing and population census exercise at the Ibadan North East Local Government Area in Oyo State in southwest Nigeria, was attacked by Mr. Gbenga Adewusi, the chairman of the local government.

Nigeria

Regulatory agency imposes sweeping sanctions and partially shuts down private radio station for alleged breach of broadcasting code

(MRA/IFEX) - On 28 March 2006, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Nigeria's regulatory agency for the broadcast media, imposed sweeping sanctions, including a partial shutdown, on a privately-owned radio station, Freedom Radio, for allegedly violating the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.