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Alerts - 2006 - July-September

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Russia

Perm newspaper staff experience further harassment, searches and detentions

(CJES/IFEX) - A series of searches was conducted at the apartments of staff members and others associated with the newspaper "Permsky Obozrevatel" on the morning of 27 September 2006.

Ghana

Policemen assault, briefly detain radio journalist

(MFWA/IFEX) - Lawrence Addo Kyeremeh, a reporter for independent local radio station Happy FM, was violently attacked and detained on 26 September 2006 by five police officers at the police station in Kaneshie, a suburb of the capital, Accra.

Liberia

Ruling party threatens action against "opposition" journalists

(CEMESP/IFEX) - The chairman of the ruling Unity Party of Liberia, Dr. Charles Clarke, has threatened to take actions against journalists who he claims are "card carrying member of opposition political parties".

Botswana

Government official warns media to be patriotic

(MISA/IFEX) - The deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology, Andrew Sesinyi, has warned government media that they should exercise "maximum patriotic solidarity, collective responsibility, allegiance to country and nation" when reporting on controversial issues, such as Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve (CKGR).

Singapore

Government revokes sales permit of "Far Eastern Economic Review"

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The Singapore Government has revoked the sale and distribution permit for the "Far Eastern Economic Review" after the monthly magazine failed to comply with two requirements under the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act, reports the local Channel News Asia television channel on its website.

Zimbabwe

MISA-Zimbabwe harassed by state media body

(MISA/IFEX) - On 28 September 2006, the state-controlled Media and Information Commission (MIC) attacked the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe for portraying itself to the donor community as "regime change activists" who will repeal the country's restrictive media laws.

Philippines

Journalists demand repeal of libel law following multiple lawsuits from president's husband

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) is petitioning Congress to repeal the law on libel, calling it "an outdated law that has been used not so much to protect the innocent as to shield the guilty."

Thailand

Military head says interim Constitution will protect media

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The Thai military chief who led the coup against ousted caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has assured the local media that civil liberties and media freedom are well protected under the interim Constitution.

Indonesia

Law challenged by activist and lawyer charged with defaming president

(SEAPA/IFEX) - An Indonesian political activist who was arrested for defaming President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is asking the country's Constitutional Court to review the defamation articles in the Criminal Code.

Philippines

Police hot on trail of Aklan broadcaster's killer

(CMFR/IFEX) - The town mayor charged with the killing of Aklan broadcaster Herson Hinolan has gone missing, following the upgrading of the case from homicide to murder.

Serbia

Parliament re-adopts problematic amendments to Broadcast Act

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

Somalia

Islamic court militias arrest three journalists in Kismayo, close down their radio station

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on Union of Islamic Courts militias in Kismayo to let the privately-owned HornAfrik radio station work unmolested, after they briefly arrested three of its journalists on the morning of 29 September 2006 and threatened them with sanctions if they continued to refer to the UIC's activities.

Sri Lanka

Defence Ministry imposes unofficial censorship on media

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

Azerbaijan

Editor receives two-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay sizeable damages for investigation of interior minister

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the two-year suspended sentence, passed by the Yasamal district court in Baku on 26 September 2006, against the editor of "Realny Azerbaidjan" newspaper, Eynulla Fatullayev, for allegedly libelling and insulting interior minister Ramil Usubov.

Peru

Journalist's contract not renewed for having referred to her own professional conduct; colleague threatened for defending her

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 26 September 2006, journalist Karina Borrero was in effect fired from TV Perú, the state-owned television station, after she declared publicly that she would no longer work for it if it started flattering the government. Afterwards, María del Pilar Tello, president of Peru's Radio and Television Institute (IRTP), which administrates the channel, stated that Borrero had effectively fired herself when she said what she did. Tello stated that Borrero had been disloyal to the station. Even though the journalist's contract had expired on 7 September, IRTP's administration had given their word that they would renew it, so she had continued working.

Burundi

Radio station director forced into hiding again by continued government harassment

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

Palestine

Molotov cocktails thrown against house of television station manager previously subject to death threats

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is an IPI letter to the president of the Palestinian National Authority:

Colombia

Photojournalist struck at labour demonstration, national union leader condemns assault

(FLIP/IFEX) - Colprensa news agency photojournalist Raúl Arboleda was assaulted by a demonstrator participating in the marches organised by the trade union centrals in Bogotá on 26 September 2006.

Canada / China

Chinese journalist Jiang Weiping wins inaugural PEN Canada One Humanity Award

(PEN Canada/IFEX) - The following is a 28 September 2006 PEN Canada press release:

Togo

Radio journalists harassed by military

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 27 September 2006 IFJ media release:

Egypt / Tunisia

Governments ban newspaper editions on pope's controversial comments

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

Iran

Freedom House opens space for freedom of expression with launch of "Gozaar", a journal on democracy and human rights

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

Iran

Independent news website closed, blog platform briefly blocked

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the closure of Advar News ( http://www.advarnews.org/ ), a news website linked to an independent student group called the Unity Consolidation Bureau, which has been shut down ever since intelligence agents raided its office on 19 September 2006. A blog service, http://www.persianblog.com, was also briefly blocked "by mistake" by Iranian Internet Service Providers.

Thailand

Media groups continue to pressure for protection of press freedom; previously detained television director released

(SEAPA/IFEX) - In a rare show of unity, the Thai media will call on the Council for Democratic Reform (previously called Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy) on 29 September 2006 to obtain the Council's assurance that people's right to free expression and press freedom will be clearly stated and adequately protected in the interim Constitution.

Kazakhstan

CAPSULE REPORT: CPJ urges examination of Kazakhstan's press freedom record, says President Nazarbayev has left "repressive mark"

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

United Kingdom

RAPPORT CAPSULE: Le spectre du journaliste Martin O'Hagan plane toujours alors que le processus de paix relègue la lutte contre l'impunité au second plan, explique RSF

(RSF/IFEX) - Ci-dessous, une version abrégée d'un communiqué de presse de RSF daté du 27 septembre 2006:

Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)

CAPSULE REPORT: Spectre of journalist Martin O'Hagan's unsolved murder refuses to fade as press freedom takes a back seat on the road to peace, says RSF

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

Sri Lanka

FMM, journalists' organisations concerned about self-censorship, sensationalist reporting on escalating violence

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a joint statement by FMM, the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), the Federation of Media Employees Trade Union (FMETU), the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF), and the Sri Lanka Tamil Journalists Alliance (SLTJA):

Russia

Mayor asks for editor and newspaper to be charged with criminal defamation

(CJES/IFEX) - Ulan-Ude Mayor Gennady Aidayev has asked the prosecutor's office of the Republic of Buryatia to initiate a criminal case against Inna Savchenkova, editor of the newspaper "Nomer Odin", whom he accuses of slander. The city of Ulan-Ude is the capital of the Buryat Republic, located in southeast Russia.

India

Six journalists seriously injured in police publicity stunt accident

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

Serbia

Journalist given two-year suspended sentence in defamation case

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is a 27 September 2006 letter by the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate:

United States

US military at Guantánamo threaten imprisoned Al-Jazeera cameraman's lawyer, try to discredit him

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has voiced outrage at US military attempts to threaten and discredit British lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith, who is defending an Al-Jazeera cameraman, Sudanese citizen Sami Al-Haj, held at the US navy's Guantánamo Bay base since 13 June 2002. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is trying to claim that Stafford-Smith encouraged three Guantánamo Bay detainees to commit suicide.

Yemen

CAPSULE REPORT: Press freedom and freedom of expression "the victims" of the elections, says HRinfo

SOURCE: Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo), Cairo

Zambia

MISA highlights bias in news coverage ahead of local elections

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

International

RSF urges OIF Secretary-General Abdou Diouf to use Francophone summit to set deadline for decriminalising press offences

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

Vietnam

RSF calls on Canada's PM to raise cases of cyber-dissidents at francophone summit

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has written to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking him to use the Francophone Summit being held in Bucharest on 28-29 September 2006 to raise the cases of four jailed Vietnamese cyber-dissidents with Vietnamese officials attending the summit. Nguyen Vu Binh, Truong Quoc Huy, Le Nguyen Sang and Huynh Nguyen Dao are all in prison for having expressed their views on the Internet.

Uzbekistan

Missing journalist found forcibly detained in psychiatric hospital; imprisoned journalist shows signs of mistreatment

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

Honduras

Journalist avoids defamation trial without being obliged to retract his reports

(PROBIDAD/IFEX) - Rural journalist Óscar Valdez, director of the television programme "La otra cara", broadcast by Telecab company and Radio Antena 5 radio station in the city of Catacamas, Olancho department, northeastern Honduras, has emerged unscathed by a defamation and slander action, after reaching an agreement with the plaintiffs, thus avoiding a public trial.

Uruguay

Supreme Court reinstates criminal libel verdict against journalist

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

Honduras

Transparency Law bill up for final debate

(PROBIDAD/IFEX) - After meeting with a delegation from the Civic Alliance for Democracy (Alianza Cívica por la Democracia, ACD), National Congress president Roberto Michelleti announced that the third and final debate on the proposed Transparency Law, which concerns public access to information, will be held in two weeks' time. "However," said Michelleti to the ACD delegates, "I am going to ask a favour of you: do not come to impose your will on us, but to engage in a dialogue.

Honduras

Owner of private security company now seeking to avoid court proceedings after accusing journalists of defamation

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF is concerned about the harassment and intimidation of journalists with the Tegucigalpa-based Association for a Fairer Society (Asociación por una Sociedad más Justa, ASJ) by a privately-owned security company, Delta Segurity, ever since ASJ accused it of violating the rights of its employees.

Argentina

Draft law aims to censor media coverage believed potentially "harmful for young people"

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 25 September RSF letter to the governor of La Rioja province:

The Gambia

No end in sight for abuse of press freedom as newly re-elected president intimidates media

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 23 September 2006, Gambian president Yahya Jammeh repeated one of his long standing anti-press statements, hinting that he would be more ruthless in dealing with journalists and the media in his third five-year term of office.

Guatemala

Journalist's murderers convicted, sentenced to long prison terms

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 21 September 2006, the El Progreso Sentencing Court (Tribunal de Sentencia) convicted Marco Antonio Boche Galicia and José David Morales Franco of the 28 September 2004 murder of journalist Miguel Morales Quiñónez, and sentenced them to 20 and 14 years in prison, respectively.

Thailand

Journalists demand media protection in interim Constitution

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Amidst a stabilising environment with no further reports of community radio stations being shut down, a group of Thai media organisations has issued an open letter to the military rulers demanding protection for the media in the interim Constitution that will take effect on 3 October 2006.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Two television stations resume broadcasting after fire

(JED/IFEX) - Four days after a fire of unknown origin broke out at the Canal Congo Television (CCTV) and Canal Kin Television (CKTV) outlets, these stations can broadcast again.

Namibia

MISA condemns former president's lawsuit against newspaper

(MISA/IFEX) - The following is a MISA statement:

Pakistan

Possible motives revealed in murder of slain journalist's young brother

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

Guatemala

Suspected murderer of journalist Eduardo Maas captured

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 12 September 2006, police arrested Byron Orlando Velásquez Jacinto, a suspect in the 10 September murder of radio journalist Eduardo Maas, which occurred in the town of Cobán, north of Guatemala City. According to the prosecutor's office, the suspect's appearance matches a witness's description.

Mexico

Members of activist social organisation assault and threaten news agency director

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the afternoon of 24 September 2006, members of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (Asamblea Popular del Pueblo de Oaxaca, APPO) threatened Ricardo Rocha, journalist and director of the news agency Detrás de la Noticia (DDN), and stripped him of his work equipment. The incident took place when Rocha was interviewing several legislators in the lobby of the Hotel Camino Real in the state of Oaxaca, southern Mexico.

Namibia

Former president and "founding father of the nation" sues local newspaper

(MISA/IFEX) - On 26 September 2006, "The Namibian" newspaper reported that former head of state and president of the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), Sam Nujoma, is suing the daily for N$5 million (approx. US$650,000) because, he alleges, the newspaper implied he is corrupt.

International

IFJ calls on FIFA to lift ban on investigative reporter

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

Democratic Republic of Congo

Journalist released on bail after spending 14 days in prison

(JED/IFEX) - The editor of the Kinshasa-based weekly "Tapis Rouge", Feu D'or Bosange, was released on bail on 25 September 2006 at 5:00 p.m. (local time), after having spent 14 days in detention. According to his bail conditions, Bosange will have to appear every Tuesday and Thursday before the Kinshasa/Gombe High Court (TGI).

Serbia / Kosovo (Serbia)

Journalist assaulted by security officer of Kosovo Assembly

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

Niger

Appeals court upholds 18-month jail sentences for journalists

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

Brazil

Legislative representative's adviser assaults journalist

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 17 September 2006, "Bom Dia" newspaper reporter Karla Konda was assaulted by Mauricio Gouveia, campaign adviser of state legislative representative Campos Machado, when she was covering an electoral party which was allegedly organized to gather votes. Such meetings are forbidden by the law. The event took place in the town of Catanduva in the state of Sao Paulo, in southeastern Brazil.

Iran

Former MP tortured to make him "repent" for his criticisms of judiciary and intelligence services

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

Mexico

Members of activist group threaten journalists

(IPYS/IFEX) - In the early morning of 19 September 2006, various journalists were threatened by members of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (Asamblea Popular del Pueblo de Oaxaca, APPO) when the journalists passed near an APPO barricade around the radio station Grupo Oro, which has been occupied by APPO since 21 August. The incident took place in the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico.

Zimbabwe

Court denies government's bid to further postpone trial of radio station's directors

(MISA/IFEX) - On 25 September 2006, a Harare magistrate refused to place on further remand the directors of Voice of the People (VOP) radio station, who are accused of broadcasting without a licence.

Sudan

President urged to guarantee no recurrence of 12-day wave of censorship

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on President Omar Al Bashir to guarantee there will be no recurrence of a 12-day wave of censorship of Khartoum-based daily newspapers, the end of which was announced by one of his vice-presidents on 18 September 2006.

South Africa

FXI welcomes court ruling on attempted gagging of "Mail & Guardian" newspaper

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is a 21 September 2006 FXI media release:

Pakistan

Journalist brutally tortured, then released; 6-year-old brother of slain journalist also murdered

(PPF/IFEX) - Saeed Sarbazi, senior sub-editor of "Business Recorder" daily newspaper and the joint secretary of the Karachi Press Club (KPC), returned home in the early hours of 23 September 2006, after being abducted three days earlier, allegedly by intelligence agents. According to Sarbazi, he was dropped from a truck, blind-folded, in a suburb of Karachi.

Ghana

GJA threatens legal action against attackers of journalists

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 21 September 2006, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) threatened legal action against persons or groups of persons who physically attack journalists while they carry out their legitimate duties, because "the rising incidence of physical attacks on the media by individuals poses a serious threat to press freedom and the right of people to know".

Thailand

Military clamps down on local, provincial government bodies; critical website suspends webboard following "a disturbance"

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The ruling military junta in Thailand has banned political activities of Tambon (a local government body) and provincial administrative organisations following reports that some had tried to organise rallies against the military in northern and northeast Thailand.

Russia

Police seize 70,000 copies of newspaper

(CJES/IFEX) - Seventy thousand copies of "Vechernyaya Perm" newspaper were seized by law enforcement officials in the town of Berezniki, Perm region on 21 September 2006.

Philippines

Journalist Edgar Amoro's alleged murderer caught by Pagadian police

(RSF/IFEX) - Mohammed Maulana, the alleged murderer of journalist Edgar Amoro, was arrested on 18 September 2006 in Pagadian (the capital of Zamboanga del Sur province on the southern island of Mindanao). Maulana was caught with three accomplices while committing a robbery and is now being held in Pagadian's provincial prison. He is suspected of murdering Amoro in February 2005 because Amoro was the key witness in the May 2002 murder of fellow journalist Edgar Damalerio, 13 May 2002.

Iran

Government accuses journalists of being Western spies

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

Singapore

Journalist detained, faces deportation, prevented from covering trial

(SEAPA/IFEX) - A foreign reporter who has been following a trial in Singapore was detained while attempting to re-enter the country on 24 September 2006, reports "The Epoch Times".

South Africa

Constitutional Court rejects appeal against decision to prohibit broadcasting from courtroom

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is a 21 September 2006 FXI media release:

Vietnam

Cyber-dissident released, sent back to United States

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

Pakistan

Musharraf government ignores promises to protect journalists

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

Turkey

Prime minister talks of amending "national identity" article used to prosecute writers and journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders gave a cautious welcome to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comment on novelist Elif Shafak's 21 September 2006 acquittal on a charge of "insulting national identity," in which Erdogan spoke of amending the article of the criminal code that allowed her to be prosecuted.

Venezuela

Journalist assaulted at opposition march

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 19 September 2006, "El Nacional" newspaper journalist Paulimar Rodríguez was assaulted by women presumed to be followers of President Hugo Chávez when she was covering a march by opposition presidential candidate Manuel Rosales in the Antímano area of Caracas. The police prevented the incident from escalating.

United States

CPJ concerned by jail sentences imposed on two U.S. reporters

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

Russia

Journalist on trial for satirizing Putin

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

Thailand

Television station director taken into military custody, whereabouts unknown

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

Bangladesh

Journalist brutally murdered; ruling party activists suspected

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

Thailand

Internet now censored, website removed, over 300 community radio stations shut down, self-censorship on the rise as military rule continues

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The Internet is the latest medium under threat in military-ruled Thailand, as media conditions continue to deteriorate in the first days of the military takeover. The overall environment for the press is unstable, and is being undermined by the day.

Peru

Journalist and family receiving threatening calls and messages, journalist accused of extortion

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 18 September 2006, journalist Raúl Vento García informed IPYS that he and his family have been receiving threatening telephone calls and e-mail messages since the beginning of September, warning him that they would be assaulted, without explaining the motives.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ruling party politician suspected by crowd, security guards of starting fire in opposition party's broadcasting building

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

Pakistan

Another journalist goes missing in Karachi

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced deep concern about the disappearance of journalist Saeed Sarbazi, 65, who has not been seen since he left home on the morning of 20 September 2006 in Karachi. Sarbazi works for the privately-owned, English-language "Business Recorder", Karachi's only business daily.

Iran

Blogger Mojtaba Saminejad gets early release after nearly 18 months in prison

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has welcomed the early release of blogger Mojtaba Saminejad, who was serving a combined sentence of two years and 10 months in prison. He was formally freed on 12 September 2006 but had in fact been on home leave since June. Arrested in February 2005, he spent nearly 18 months in prison for a few messages posted on his blog.

International / Iran

First IPA Publishers' Freedom Prize goes to courageous Iranian publisher Shahla Lahiji

(IPA/IFEX) - The following is a 21 September 2006 API press release:

Indonesia

Court deems basis of editor's indictment "inaccurate", but still considers his publishing of cartoon a crime

(AJI/IFEX) - On 20 September 2006, the South Jakarta District Court made a preliminary decision against Teguh Santosa, the executive editor of "Rakyat Merdeka Online". In the ruling, the judicial panel agreed with the defense made by Santosa's attorneys, the Advocacy Team to Defend Journalists, that the legal basis for the indictment was inaccurate.

Syria

Arrest of fourth online journalist in 16 months makes Syria Middle East's biggest jail for cyber-dissidents

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of online journalist Muhened Abdulrahman, arrested on 7 September 2006 for posting articles on independent news websites, and urged diplomats in posts in Damascus to intervene on behalf of the four cyber-dissidents now in Syrian jails.

Benin

All journalists freed, no charges laid

(RSF/IFEX) - The four journalists that had been under arrest in Benin since 15 September 2006 were released on 18 and 19 September, after being interrogated by the state prosecutor.

Benin

Four journalists arrested in four days

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders is demanding the release of four Beninese journalists, the first to have been detained since 2004. Until these detentions, the country had shown a marked improvement in the state of the freedom of the press.

Nepal

Maoists enroll one journalist and another's wife in Maoist organisations without their consent

(FNJ/IFEX) - Maoists visited the residences of two journalists on 19 September 2006 in the journalists' absence, and "enrolled" one journalist's wife in the Maoist party, and a second journalist in a Maoist-aligned farmers' organisation. In both cases, "enrolment" was done without the individuals' consent, by issuing a receipt for membership that the individuals had not signed. The Maoists also ordered the journalists' family members to cook for them.

Nepal

Maoist activists assault, injure journalist, damage his motorcycle

(FNJ/IFEX) - Bhaskar Ojha, a photojournalist for "Samaya Weekly" newspaper, was assaulted by Maoist activists on 18 September 2006.

United States

Blogger Josh Wolf ordered back to prison

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has accused the US justice system of "persecuting" freelance video journalist and blogger Josh Wolf after three appeal court judges decided, on 18 September 2006, to revoke his bail and send him back to prison for refusing to hand over his unedited video footage of a demonstration to a grand jury.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Editor jailed for criticising public tax director

(JED/IFEX) - Since 16 September 2006, Mr. Feu d'Or Bosange, the editor of the Kinshasa-based newspaper "Tapis Rouge", has been detained in a Kinshasa penitentiary (Centre Pénitentiaire et de Rééducation de Kinshasa, CPRK). The editor was charged with "defamation and damaging allegations", against the head of the public tax office (Direction Général des impost, DGI), Mr. Sam Bokolombe.

China

Three cyber-dissidents arrested and websites closed in new wave of Internet censorship

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of three cyber-dissidents who have been arrested since 6 September 2006 - Zhang Jianhong, Yang Maodong and Chen Shuqing - and voiced concern about an increase in the censorship of online publications.

Turkey

Journalist faces possible imprisonment for biography on Atatürk's first wife, another acquitted of "insult to Turkishness" charges

(WiPC/IFEX) - Author Elif Shafak was acquitted of charges of "insult" at a 21 September 2006 hearing held before Beyoglu Court of First Instance in Istanbul. International PEN is delighted by this outcome, considering the trial against Elif Shafak to have been in direct violation of her right to freedom of expression. She was charged with "insult" to Turkishness under article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for comments made by fictitious characters in her best-selling novel "Baba ve Pic" ("Father and Bastard").

Thailand

Military asserts rules for media following coup, silences dissenting voices, arrests demonstrators

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Two days into the peaceful military takeover in Thailand, freedom of expression and the media are under threat as the interim Administrative Reform Council moves to isolate deposed caretaker prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and clamps down on the expression of criticism against the coup.

Iraq

Correspondent detained again by Iraqi security forces

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

Pakistan

Government opponents in "Free Kashmir" face torture, censorship and political repression, says Human Rights Watch report

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

Sri Lanka

Supreme Court rules international covenant that protects press freedom to be invalid domestically

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a 20 September 2006 FMM press release:

International

CPJ special report "Deadly News" documents and analyses 15 years of journalist murders

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

Côte d'Ivoire

Editor, journalist arrested, detained and summarily tried but spared punishment in defamation case

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 18 September 2006, a magistrate court in Plateau, a suburb of Abidjan, fined "Le Jour Plus", a pro-opposition daily newspaper, 15,000,000 CFA Francs (approx. US$29,000) for allegedly defaming President Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone Gbagbo.

Pakistan

Protests calling for implementation of the Seventh Wage Award vital to ensuring a free and independent media, says IFJ

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

Ghana

Journalist assaulted by minister's wife and her companions

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 15 September 2006, David Tamakloe, a reporter with "The Enquirer" bi-weekly newspaper, was violently attacked by Mercy Anane, wife of Ghana's minister of road transport, and four others, for allegedly taking pictures of her (Anane).

The Gambia

Journalist, previously detained for "biased reporting" and removed from his post, reinstated

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 8 September 2006, Dodou Sanneh, a journalist working with the state-owned Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS), was arrested and detained at a secret location by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) for alleged biased reporting.

Russia

Journalist covering fire assaulted by security guards

(CJES/IFEX) - On 18 September 2006, Ekaterina Archikova, correspondent for the Moscow-based informational radio station City FM, was beaten in the "Luzhniki" market as she was investigating a fire then in progress.

Eritrea

RSF marks tragic anniversary of 18 September 2001

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an 18 September 2006 RSF press release:

Peru

Murder suspect's friends and relatives threaten to kill journalists

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the afternoon of 19 September 2006, a murder suspect's friends and relatives threatened to kill three journalists for revealing the suspect's name. The murder had taken place in the city of Pacasmayo, La Libertad region, in Peru's northwest.

Peru

Mayoralty candidate's son assaults radio journalist

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the night of 17 September 2006, radio station La Caribeña journalist Hemeter Gerónimo Córdova was assaulted by Hubert Martínez Espítiritu, whose father is running for mayor of the city of Piscobamba, Ancash region, in the country's northeast.

Cuba

One journalist arrested, another, imprisoned and awaiting sentence, goes on hunger strike

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has voiced alarm at the renewed harassment of independent journalists, with Odelín Alfonso's arrest by state security agents at his Havana home on 16 September 2006 and the delayed verdict in the trial of Alberto Gil Triay Casales, who began a hunger strike on 13 September in Valle Grande prison in west Havana in protest against the seven-year sentence he faces on a charge of "subversive propaganda.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Two television channels destroyed by fire in Kinshasa, JED demands immediate investigation

(JED/IFEX) - Only a week after their broadcast programming had resumed, after being suspended by the illegal and unfair cutting of their signal for 21 days, both of the television channels, Canal Congo Television (CCTV) and Canal Kin Television (CKTV), were shut down again in the early evening hours of 18 September 2006, by a mysterious fire which broke out and caused extensive damage. CKTV is privately-owned by vice-president, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, who is a candidate in the second runoff of the presidential election.

Thailand

Following coup, military seizes satellite operations, temporarily interferes with broadcasts; media situation uncertain, says SEAPA

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Press freedom and access to information in Thailand following a military coup against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra appears to be normalizing, one day into the military takeover, but an interruption in news flow on local and cable channels in the first hours of the putsch, and the military's assertion of ownership over the airwaves, underscore an unstable and unpredictable environment for the press.

Honduras

Broadcast journalist sued for alleged defamation and slander

(PROBIDAD/IFEX) - Journalist Óscar Valdez, director of "La otra cara" television programme, broadcast by Telecab company and Radio Antena 5 radio station in the northeastern department Olancho, is facing a lawsuit for alleged defamation and slander for having broadcast information about alleged irregularities in the sale of light bulbs or floodlights that consume less energy.

Uzbekistan

One journalist disappears, another is arrested

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

Cambodia

Editor fined for alleged defamation under UNTAC law

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an 18 September 2006 IFJ media release:

Ukraine

Radio journalists kidnapped and assaulted; broadcasting director assaulted; television crew denied access to conference

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 14 September IFJ media release:

Ukraine

Killers of journalist Georgy Gongadze still unpunished six years later

(RSF/IFEX) - Those who planned the murder of the opposition journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000 are still walking free and have not been named. The trial of three policemen accused of executing him resumed in Kiev on 14 September 2006 but many obstacles mean the case is a still a mystery.

Nepal

Newspaper office padlocked shut by Maoist student group following critical article

(FNJ/IFEX) - A group of people padlocked the newspaper office of the Morang-based newspaper "Mofussil Weekly" on 15 September 2006. It was padlocked in response to the newspaper having published a report that said a Maoist cadre, Bhim Tamang, had tried to sexually assault a minor girl.

Mexico

Mexico City police beat three journalists from television documentary company

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has condemned the beating which three journalists working for the Canal 6 de Julio television documentary production company - Mario Viveros Barragán, Juan Pablo Ramos Jiménez and Miguel Angel Fuentes Cortina - received at the hands of police officers when they filmed them arresting a youth gang in the centre of the capital on the night of 15 September 2006.

Burundi

News agency reporter gets five months in prison for criticising government in a bar

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced "deep concern about the future of democracy in Burundi" after Aloys Kabura, the state-owned Agence Burundaise de Presse's correspondent in the northern city of Kayanza, was sentenced on 18 September 2006 by a court in Ngozi to five months in prison for "rebellion" and "defamatory statements."

Mongolia

Newspaper journalists repeatedly threatened over critical articles

(Globe International/IFEX) - In the northern province of Huvsgul, a journalist and her coworkers have repeatedly received threats from businessmen concerning critical articles.

Bolivia

Protesting newsvendors block sales of newspaper, seize copies, assault its employees

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is an 18 September IAPA press release:

Eritrea

Journalists still jailed incommunicado after five years, brutal conditions and three deaths reported

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

Egypt

EOHR releases 2005 annual report on freedoms situation

(EOHR/IFEX) - The following is an 18 September 2006 EOHR press release:

Mozambique

Press law under review

(MISA/IFEX) - The first phase of reviewing Mozambique's 1991 press law, long regarded as one of the most enlightened pieces of media legislation in the world, concluded on 15 September 2006, announced the director of the government press office (GABINFO), Felisberto Tinga.

Philippines

President's husband suing 42 journalists for defamation

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an 18 September 2006 IFJ media release:

Iraq

Television correspondent murdered in Ramadi following death threats from insurgents

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 18 September 2006 CPJ press release:

Côte d'Ivoire

Court imposes heavy fine on three journalists for insulting president

(RSF/IFEX) - On 18 September 2006, Coulibaly Seydou, the managing editor of the privately-owned daily "Le Jour Plus", Frédéric Koffi, its editor, and Edouard Gonto, one of its journalists, were jointly fined a total of 15 million CFA francs (22,867 euros) by an Abidjan court for "contempt of the head of state" in an article that said President Gbagbo's wife was partly to blame for the dumping of toxic waste in Abidjan.

Tunisia

Journalist from website http://www.bakchich.info expelled

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has criticised the Tunisian authorities for expelling French journalist Léa Labaye, of the satirical website http://www.Bakchich.info, who was sent back to Paris immediately after arrival in Tunisia on 16 September 2006, without any official explanation.

Nepal

Journalists attacked by mob, their lives threatened, while covering activism by "untouchables"

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 17 September 2006, journalists, a group of Dalits (untouchables), and human rights activists from an organization that advocates for the rights of Dalits were all attacked by a mob.

Uruguay

Journalists assaulted upon questioning general about human rights violations during dictatorship

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 13 September 2006, a group of journalists was assaulted by unidentified persons when they attempted to approach General Gregorio Álvarez, de facto president of Uruguay in the seventies and eighties during the military dictatorship. The incident took place following a ceremony honouring a retired army colonel, in the premises of the Military Club in Montevideo.

Cuba

State security agents arrest, jail independent journalist in Havana

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the detention of Ahmed Rodríguez Albacia, 21, a member of the independent news agency Jóvenes sin Censura, who was arrested without charge by state security agents in Havana on 15 September.

Pakistan

Police officer implicates "The News" journalist in murder following critical articles, reports on extra-judicial killings

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

Uzbekistan

Newspaper editor stabbed, seriously wounded

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - Saidburkhon Kadyrov, chief editor of the youth-oriented newspaper "Bokhoro Yoshlari," remains in critical condition after being stabbed with a knife by an unidentified young man on 13 September 2006.

Pakistan

Three television journalists severely beaten by police; cable operators told to stop broadcasting television channel

(PPF/IFEX) - Police in Lahore, the capital city of Punjab, Pakistan's largest province, brutally assaulted and injured two journalists and a cameraman on 17 September 2006. The journalists were assaulted by the police at the venue of a public rally by a religious political party.

Taiwan

Journalists attacked by demonstrators supporting President Chen

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned physical attacks on four journalists by participants in a 25,000-strong demonstration in support of President Chen Shui-ban on 16 September 2006, a day after an estimated 360,000 took part in a protest calling for the president's resignation in the wake of a series of financial scandals allegedly involving his wife.

Iraq / United States

AP photographer held by US military for months without charge

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

Iran

Appeals court upholds one-year jail sentence of Kurdish journalist

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

Niger

A third journalist sentenced to prison for publishing "false information"

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

Zimbabwe

Journalist granted bail

(MISA/IFEX) - Mike Saburi, a freelance cameraperson arrested together with leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) ahead of planned nationwide demonstrations, were granted bail on 15 September 2006 and remanded to 3 October for trial.

International

Civil society organisation launches "Transparency Charter" for international financial institutions

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 17 September 2006 ARTICLE 19 press release:

Kenya

Two journalists harassed while covering global youth summit

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

Pakistan

Violence against journalists continues with a murder, beating and shooting

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders said it was deeply saddened by the murder of Maqbool Hussain Sail of the Online news agency, who was gunned down on 15 September 2006 in Dera Ismael Khan, in North-West Frontier Province, as he was going to see a local politician at his home. The killing followed attacks on at least two other journalists in the past few days.

Nepal

Media commission submits recommendations to government

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

Sudan

Authorities intensify newspaper censorship and seizures

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

Honduras

Journalists harassed after investigating private security companies

(PROBIDAD/IFEX) - Journalists with the Civil Association for a More Just Society (Asociación civil por una Sociedad más Justa, ASJ) have been subject to harassment and a series of acts of intimidation since mid-August 2006. The perpetrators are personnel with the private security company Delta Segurity, who are reacting to recent investigative articles that exposed the company's contravention of labour laws.

Cambodia

Editor, in exile due to death threats over critical article, granted asylum in Thailand

(SEAPA/IFEX) - You Saravuth, the former editor of local bi-weekly newspaper "Sralanh Khmer" ("Love Khmer"), has been granted asylum in Thailand by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the newspaper's current editor, Thach Keth, on 25 August 2006.

United States

Prosecutors try to send blogger Josh Wolf back to prison

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a motion filed by US federal prosecutors on 14 September 2006 calling for the rescinding of a decision to release San Francisco-based video journalist and blogger Josh Wolf on bail pending the outcome of his appeal. If the motion is accepted, Wolf would return to prison until the appeal court issues a ruling on his case in November.

China

Cyber-dissident Zhu Yufu freed, but fellow-activist He Depu still held as health declines

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced relief upon learning that cyber-dissident and pro-democracy activist Zhu Yufu was released on 14 September 2006 upon completing a seven-year sentence for "subversion." Zhu was arrested in June 1999 in Hangzhou, in the southeastern province of Zhejiang, along with three other members of the unrecognised China Democracy Party (CDP).

Iran

Authorities boast of success in Internet filtering

(RSF/IFEX) - Iran is doing its utmost to isolate its citizens from the rest of the world by purging the Internet of independent content, in the name of "morality," says Reporters Without Borders, noting that the authorities even brag about the success of their censorship.

Ireland

IFJ urges defeat of planned privacy law that will stifle journalism

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

South Africa

Court gags newspaper in response to public official's legal action, setting disturbing precedent, says FXI

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

Burundi

Journalists receive death threats as ruling party supporters target radio station in aggressive campaign

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the growing hostility of the ruling party's supporters towards the privately-owned radio station Isanganiro. The station's editor is the target of a campaign of threats and smears and one of its journalists was roughed up during a ruling coalition meeting.

Cambodia

New law will restrict Members of Parliament from expressing opinions freely

(SEAPA/IFEX) - On 30 August 2006, the Cambodian National Assembly adopted a law that will restrict its members from expressing opinions freely during the exercise of their duty.

The Gambia

Public TV reporter freed after a week in secret police custody, then fired

(RSF/IFEX) - Dodou Sanneh, a reporter employed by the state-owned Gambia Radio Television Services (GRTS), was freed on 14 September 2006 and then fired from his job after being held for a week at the headquarters of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in Banjul. No charges were brought against him.

Zimbabwe

Cameraman beaten by police, detained, for filming police crackdown on union demonstration

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

Kenya

Journalist harassed, receives death threats, and is living in exile, over defending himself against attack by first lady

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is a 14 September 2006 FXI press release:

Côte d'Ivoire

Managing editor, journalist and editor charged with "offence against the head of state"

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders urged the Ivorian justice system to accept that journalist Edouard Gonto and managing editor Coulibaly Seydou of the privately-owned daily "Le Jour Plus" have been treated unfairly and should be acquitted.

Yemen

Government blocks websites, harasses journalist, as elections approach

(HRinfo/IFEX) - On 11 September 2006, HRinfo condemned the blocking of independent websites and the harassment of journalists by the Yemeni government, as the 20 September presidential elections approach.

Turkmenistan

Journalist Ogulsapar Muradova dies violently in prison

(RSF/IFEX) - Calling for a full investigation into how journalist Ogulsapar Muradova died, RSF voiced concern about the two people who were tried and convicted with her at the same secret trial on 25 August 2006, one of whom was a fixer for the French television production company Galaxie-Presse.

China

Judges barred from talking to the press

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the Chinese government's decision, announced by the official news agency Xinhua on 13 September 2006, to ban judges from talking to the press, as well as the increasing tendency for state agencies to say only their spokesperson is authorised to talk to journalists.

South Africa

Police violently repress demonstrations and deny freedom of expression to poor communities

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of a 12 September 2006 FXI media release:

Mexico

Community radio station journalists receive death threats

(AMARC/IFEX) - AMARC again expresses its deep concern over threats issued against community radio stations in Mexico. The most recent target is the staff of the community radio station La Voladora Radio, located in Amecameca de Juárez, in the state of Mexico.

Indonesia

Five Australian journalists expelled

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders voiced concern at the Indonesian authorities' treatment of five Australian journalists, including Channel Seven presenter Naomi Robson, who were arrested, questioned and on the point of being expelled for travelling to Papua, which is closed to the press.

Latvia

Journalists' telephone conversations with sources taped by government, leaked to media

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

South Africa

FXI releases report on violations of the right to demonstrate and to express dissent

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is a 9 September 2006 FXI media statement:

Singapore

Prime minister and his father sue "Far Eastern Economic Review" for libel

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father, former premier turned Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, are suing the "Far Eastern Economic Review" (FEER) for libel, reports Reuters.

Ghana

Newspaper editor harassed, chased by guards of suspected drug criminal

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 12 September 2006, Andrew Edwin Arthur, editor of 'The Independent", a tri-weekly newspaper in Accra, was chased by security personnel guarding the confiscated residence of Kwabena Amaning, a suspected drug criminal who is on remand for drug related offences.

Pakistan

Senior journalist brutally beaten by minister's security guards

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

Iraq

Two journalists shot and killed in separate attacks

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 13 September 2006 CPJ press release:

Nepal

International mission appeals to media commission to bring freedom of expression up to international standards

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

Iraq

Tikrit-based woman journalist Kalchan Al-Bayati freed after being held by Iraqi authorities

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced relief on learning that Iraqi journalist Kalchan Al-Bayati was released on 13 September 2006 after being held by the authorities for two days. She said she was not mistreated while in custody and that she was detained on suspicion of helping the rebel groups about which she is currently preparing an article.

Sudan

Four dailies hit by wave of censorship

(RSF/IFEX) - A wave of government censorship that has affected four Arabic-language daily newspapers - "Al-Ayam", "Al-Sahafa", "Al-Sudani" and "Rai-al-Shaab" - in the past week is without precedent since President Omar Al Bashir announced the lifting of state of emergency laws in July 2005, Reporters Without Borders has said.

Pakistan

Government remains silent on findings of investigations into journalist Hayatullah Khan's murder

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced dismay about the silence with which the Pakistani authorities, including Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani, have greeted the findings of the two reports they have received about the kidnapping and murder of Hayatullah Khan, a journalist based in North Waziristan who worked for the Urdu-language daily "Ausaf" and the European Press Photo Agency (EPA).

Iraq

RSF concerned over arrest of woman journalist by Iraqi security forces

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the immediate release of Khalchan Al Bayati, a contributor to the Arabic-language daily "Al Hayat" and critic of the US occupation, who was arrested at her home in Tikrit on the night of 11 September 2006 by Iraqi security forces and was taken to an unknown location.

Côte d'Ivoire

Two journalists arrested for linking president's wife to toxic waste dumped in Abidjan

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern at the arrest of Coulibaly Seydou, the managing editor of the privately-owned daily "Le Jour Plus", and Edouard Gonto, one of his journalists, because of an article claiming the president's wife, Simone Gbagbo, was partly responsible for the dumping of toxic waste in Abidjan.

Botswana

Civil servant threatens to sue "The Ngami Times" weekly for defamation

(MISA/IFEX) - The secretary of the North West District Council (NWDC), Paulos Nkoni, has threatened to sue the weekly, "The Ngami Times", of Maun (north west of Botswana) for what he calls an article that seriously demeaned his reputation as a public officer and defamed his name.

International

MISA annual meeting highlights ongoing media freedom and free expression violations in region

(MISA/IFEX) - The following is a MISA communiqué:

Zambia

Television crew from state-owned broadcaster harassed by crowd at opposition rally

(MISA/IFEX) - On 26 August 2006, a reporter and a cameraman working for the state-owned Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) were harassed by a crowd at a rally featuring opposition Patriotic Front (PF) President Michael Sata in the Chawama Township of Lusaka.

Serbia

Journalist receives death threats

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

Peru

Journalist repeatedly intimidated

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 6 September 2006, journalist Luis Crisólogo Espejo denounced being the victim of a number of threats by unidentified persons. According to the journalist, the harassment began on 28 August when a car with tinted windows sped towards him and continued on 5 September when he realized that he was being filmed from a parked van.

Somalia

Radio Jowhar resumes broadcasting after agreeing to tight restrictions on musical content

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

Bolivia

Molotov cocktails thrown against television station headquarters; reporter threatened

(IPYS/IFEX) - During the early hours of 8 September 2006, unidentified persons threw two molotov cocktails against the facilities of the state television station Channel 7, in the city of Santa Cruz, eastern Bolivia.

Iraq

Journalist had received death threats prior to his murder

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

Moldova

Interior Ministry searches television station, arrests employee

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

Uzbekistan

RSF expresses surprise at UNESCO award for President Karimov

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

Armenia

Opposition editor sentenced to four years in prison on dubious charge

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

Iran

Authorities close prominent critical daily and a monthly, lift ban on another newspaper

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

The Gambia

Public TV reporter detained secretly because of his election coverage

(RSF/IFEX) - The unlawful arrest and detention of Gambian public television reporter Dodou Sanneh in an undisclosed location since 7 September 2006 has been forcefully condemned by Reporters Without Borders as another episode in a systematic crackdown on the press by President Yahya Jammeh's government.

Cambodia

Journalist gets death threats over corruption reports

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders is extremely concerned about death threats made against TV journalist Soy Sopheap after he made revelations on air about accusations of corruption against officials and members of the military.

Cuba / International

Member countries reminded of Non-Aligned Movement's goals as Cuba takes over presidency and hosts summit

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

Liberia

Journalists reject committee report on beating of journalists by state security personnel

(CEMESP/IFEX) - The Special Presidential Committee set-up to investigate the allegations of beatings of several journalists by officers of the Special Security Service at Executive Mansion, the seat of Liberia's presidency, has released its report.

Peru

Four journalists threatened, accuse chief of police

(IPYS/IFEX) - Since July 2006, four journalists have been threatened with assault in the city of Casma, in Ancash region of northeastern Peru. They accuse Casma's chief of police, Major Marino Jiménez Carrera, of being responsible for the threats. The journalists are Pablo Carrión Hurtado, Ronald Márquez Rosales, Gustavo Samame León and Aldo Meza Torres. All of them have reported on administrative irregularities in the city's police force.

China

New regulations reinforce Xinhua news agency's control over foreign news agencies

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced dismay at the government-run news agency Xinhua's announcement, without any prior consultation, of new regulations reinforcing its commercial and editorial control over the distribution of foreign news agency content within China. The organisation called for a joint reaction from the US, European and Japanese governments to this new attempt to restrict the free flow of information.

Liberia

Opposition politician threatens legal action against newspaper

(CEMESP/IFEX) - An opposition politician of the Liberia Action Party, Counselor Varney Sherman, has threatened to take "The Analyst" newspaper, one of Liberia's dailies, to court.

Sudan

"Chicago Tribune" journalist Paul Salopek released with interpreter and driver after being held for one month

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders hailed the 9 September 2006 release of "Chicago Tribune" correspondent Paul Salopek and his two Chadian assistants, interpreter Suleiman Abakar Moussa and driver Idriss Abdulraman Anu, who were arrested in the western Darfur region on 6 August while Salopek was working on a report on the Sahel for "National Geographic" magazine.

China

Journalist Ching Cheong to appeal against unfair verdict

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has said it backs the decision of Ching Cheong, of the Singapore daily "Straits Times" in Hong Kong, to appeal against his five-year prison sentence for "spying".

Liberia

Government cancels radio talk show; programme host receives death threat

(CEMESP/IFEX) - On 10 September 2006, local government authorities of Margibi County in rural Liberia ordered the cancellation of a talk show on local community radio station Radio Kakata in Kakata, Margibi County.

Democratic Republic of Congo

JED appeals to UN special representative to ensure respect for press freedom

(JED/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of a 5 September 2006 JED open letter to William Lacy Swing, special representative of the UN secretary general in DR Congo:

Guatemala

Journalist shot to death, another receives death threat

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders voiced alarm at a series of assaults on press freedom in Guatemala: the murder of Eduardo Maas Bol, of Radio Punto, shot dead in Cobán, central Guatemala on 9 September 2006, and a murder attempt and death threats against other radio journalists.

Colombia

Military official prohibits screening of documentary film

(FLIP/IFEX) - A few hours before the debut screening of a documentary film on the massacre of Mapiripán, a colonel of the army demanded the film's content be altered. When the filmmakers refused, the military official prohibited its screening. It was to be show as part of the event "Week for Peace", organised by various Colombian civil society groups.

Egypt

Reuters journalist harassed by state security

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about Summir Said, a young woman journalist working for the Reuters bureau in Cairo who is being harassed by the security services. Security agents made threats when they went to her home on 7 September 2006, saying she would regret it if she did not report at once to their headquarters in the south Cairo district of Lazoghly.

Somalia

Radio station closed and reporter arrested at behest of Islamic courts

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned punitive measures taken by Somalia's Islamic courts against the press in the past few days, including the closure of the privately-owned Radio Jowhar and the arbitrary detention for 48 hours of Osman Adan Areys, a journalist based in the central city of Beledweyn.

Sri Lanka

Government-controlled national broadcaster discontinues dramatic series

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a 10 September 2006 FMM press release:

Lithuania

Newspaper issue seized; editor briefly detained; newsroom, editor's home searched and hard drives confiscated

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

Iraq

"Al-Sabah" journalist gunned down, another seriously wounded in Baghdad

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the murder of journalist Abdel Karim Al-Roubai, a senior technician with the government daily "Al-Sabah", who was shot dead on 9 September 2006 while travelling in a car in Baghdad. Another employee of the newspaper who was with him in the car, Ahmed Sami, was seriously wounded.

Thailand

Following request for review by media group, court finds controversial Printing Act "constitutional"

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Thailand's Constitutional Court has ruled that an article in the 1941 Printing Act is constitutional, rejecting arguments from media groups that the challenged provision undermines free speech and press freedom guarantees that are also enshrined in the national charter.

Sri Lanka

Tamil newspaper pleads for protection from attacks

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

Peru

Prosecutor demands four-year prison sentence for journalist accused of obstructing justice

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 24 August 2006, State Prosecutor Pedro Angulo Arana requested a four-year prison sentence for journalist Humberto Ortiz Pajuelo, accused of committing a crime against the administration of justice by concealing evidence. The requested penalty also includes the payment of 10,000 nuevos soles (approx. US$ 3,200) in civil reparations. Ortiz has been charged with concealing evidence and negotiating its sale, thereby interfering with a criminal investigation.

Brazil

Electoral court censors blog that posted cartoon of senatorial candidate; website host shuts down blog

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has criticised the state of Amapá electoral court for ordering a blogger to withdaw a cartoon of a senatorial candidate on 17 August 2006. It also criticised UOL, the Brazilian company that hosted the blog, for closing it down a few days later although the blogger, Alcilene Cavalcante, said she removed the cartoon as soon as she was notified of the court's order.

South Africa

IPI urges exemption of print and electronic media from Films and Publications Amendment Bill

(IPI/IFEX) - The following is a 7 September 2006 IPI letter to South African President H.E. Thabo Mbeki:

Peru

Widow of murdered journalist takes government before IACHR over absolution of suspected killers

(IPYS/IFEX) - The following is a 7 September 2006 IPYS press release:

Cameroon

Editor released after being held by military security for five days

(RSF/IFEX) - Duke Atangana Etotogo, the managing editor of the privately-owned monthly "L'Afrique Centrale", was released on the afternoon of 7 September 2006 after writing a letter of apology to the president and the defence minister, one of his close friends, Venant Mboua, told Reporters Without Borders.

Sri Lanka

Armed group threatens newspaper in Jaffna

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

Serbia

Guest on B92 media group's programme had received death threats prior to explosions outside broadcasting offices

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has deplored a new threat to the independent broadcasting group B92 with explosions near its offices in Belgrade and called on police to thoroughly investigate.

Iraq

Journalist, on trial for defamation, missing; two others abducted

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

Indonesia

Website editor tells court posting Mohammed cartoons did not insult Islam

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned journalist Teguh Santosa's trial on charges of insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, which began on 31 August 2006 and resumed on 6 September, when Santosa testified in court in defence of his decision to post three controversial Mohammed cartoons on the website he edits, Rakyat Merdeka.

Philippines

Police officer and two other suspects arrested for attempted murder of tabloid reporter

(RSF/IFEX) - On 7 September 2006, the police announced that three people had been arrested for the attempted murder of reporter Roger Panizal of the tabloid newspaper "Tiktik" on 14 August in Valenzuela, near Manila. One of the detainees is a police officer. Another is suspected of being the mastermind.

Iraq

Government suspends Al-Arabiya TV over sectarian violence claim

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

International

Press freedom sidelined in EU-China and ASEM 6 debates

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

Peru

Radio journalists receive death threats

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the morning of 6 September 2006, four unidentified women threatened to kill Radio Capullana journalists Marco Rumiche and Patricia Navarro. The threats were made at the door of the radio station. According to Rumiche, the assailants did not mention their specific motives but hinted that their threats were related to accusations broadcast by the journalists. The event took place in the town of Sullana, Piura region, northwestern Peru.

Kazakhstan

Journalists, media freedom advocates protest regressive media legislation

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - Media advocacy organizations and media outlets in Kazakhstan are calling on the international community and democratic forces of the country to protest the recently adopted "Yertysbayev amendments" to the country's media legislation.

Bangladesh

Three journalists suffer harassment by politicians, one beaten at behest of ruling party parliamentarian

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the beating received by local reporter Mizanur Rahman Kawser on the orders of Manjurul Ahsan Munshi, a parliamentary representative for the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), in the city of Comilla on 3 September 2006. Kawser is also being harassed at Munshi's behest and has been held for several days on a theft charge. He was freed on bail on 5 September.

Venezuela / Trinidad and Tobago

Suspect in journalist's murder arrested in Port of Spain; RSF urges Venezuela to seek his extradition

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has welcomed the arrest in Trinidad and Tobago of Ceferino García, suspected head of a drug cartel, alleged to have ordered the murder of Mauro Marcano, a programme host on a local Venezuelan radio station, Radio Maturín 1.080 AM, and columnist with the Venezuelan daily newspaper "El Oriental".

Sudan

Editor, previously persecuted for controversial articles, kidnapped and beheaded

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

South Africa

Health officials prohibited from speaking to media about HIV and AIDS

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

Burundi

Ruling party leader makes threatening comments towards media in public address

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has said it was appalled by ruling party chief Hussein Radjabu's threatening comments towards the press on 3 September 2006 and, in particular, his personal attack on Emmanuel Nsabimana, a journalist with Radio ONUB, a station operated by the local UN mission.

Kazakhstan

Journalist charged with insulting president

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - Journalist Kaziz Toguzbayev was charged on 28 August 2006 with insulting the honor and dignity of President Nursultan Nazarbayev under article 318 of the Criminal Code. The charges stemmed from a 2 April article he wrote, titled "Roman Catholic Pope and Astana Pope - feel the difference," on the political news site http://www.kub.kz

Brazil

Censorship and seizures in runup to general elections

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has condemned measures taken by courts in Brasilia and the southeastern state of Minas Gerais aimed at gagging the press just a few weeks before the 1 October 2006 general elections.

Venezuela

Protesters assault journalist

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 7 August 2006, journalist Manases Capriles, of the daily newspaper "El Siglo", was assaulted by a group of protesters, supporters of the independent political movement known as "ROGE", when he was covering a protest in the town of Turmero, Aragua state, in central Venezuela.

Cameroon

Editor, ill and on hunger strike, detained by military security

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders is astounded at the actions of Cameroon's military security, which has been secretly holding Duke Atangana Etotogo, managing editor of the new privately-owned monthly "L'Afrique centrale", since 3 September 2006. He was arrested after publishing articles exposing corruption and inefficiency in the army.

Venezuela

Police officer detains graphic reporter and deletes photographs

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 10 August 2006, César David Bracamonte, a photographer for the daily "El Siglo", was detained by an Aragua State police officer when he was covering a raid in the city of Maracay, central Venezuela. The policeman snatched his camera and deleted the photographs.

Australia

High Court decision undermines the public's right to know

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

Iran

Judicial officials step up harassment, interrogation and jailing of journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the increasing judicial harassment of Iranian journalists in the past several weeks, which has included prison sentences and summonses for interrogation.

Nepal

International Advocacy Mission for Press Freedom aims to help reform media policy

(FNJ/IFEX) - The following are excerpts from FNJ press releases of 4 and 2 September 2006:

Guatemala

IAPA calls for modification of government decree that limits press freedom

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 31 August 2006 IAPA press release:

Vietnam

US national among three arrested cyber-dissidents

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders wrote on 6 September 2006 to the US, French and Finnish ambassadors in Hanoi urging them to intervene on behalf of three cyber-dissidents, known under the pen-names Nam Tran, Nguyen Hoang Long and Huynh Viet Lang, held in custody in Vietnam since mid-August. Finland is currently president of the EU.

Bolivia

IAPA and national press association urge Constituent Assembly to adopt principles of Declaration of Sucre

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

Côte d'Ivoire

Ruling party activists assault journalists

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 29 August 2006, a group of activists of the ruling party, Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), heckled and rained insults on journalists who were covering a press conference for asking "wrong questions".

Brazil

Judge orders magazine copies to be seized, photos to be removed from website

(IPYS/IFEX) - During the second week of August 2006, all unsold copies of the ninth edition of the Social Observatory's magazine, "Revista del Observatorio Social", were seized. The order was issued by Ouro Preto's ordinary court in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, because of a report with the title "The Stone Age", published on 9 February, which had denounced the use of child labour in the region's talc mines. The ruling by Judge Lucía Magalhaes Albuquerque Silva states that the photographs of the children working among the rocks were published without their parents' authorization. The magazine was also ordered to remove the photographs from its web page.

Serbia

ANEM calls for more active government defence of media, after talk show host and guest intimidated

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

Democratic Republic of Congo

Three arrested for murder of journalist Bapuwa Mwamba

(JED/IFEX) - The National Police's Kinshasa Provincial Criminal Investigation Unit (Inspection provinciale de la police nationale ville de Kinshasa, IPK) has released the names of journalist Bapuwa Mwamba's three presumed killers. Mwamba was killed at his Kinshasa/Matete home on the night of 7 to 8 July 2006.

Venezuela

Television station crew denied access to military hearing, briefly stopped while exiting base

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 17 August 2006, a Globovisión television station cameraman and his assistant were detained by members of the Military Police at Checkpoint 1 of the military facilities at Fuerte Tiuna, in Caracas, as they were leaving the premises in one of the station's cars, after being denied access to a hearing in the Army Prosecutor's offices. The guards only allowed them to leave when the reporter informed the television station, which immediately started broadcasting the situation live. According to Globovisión, the reporters had asked for permission to cover the hearing.

Honduras

Television journalist faces legal action for defamation; sports reporter assaulted by soccer player

(PROBIDAD/IFEX) - An education ministry official has initiated a legal action for defamation against Francisco Romero, host of the political affairs programme "Hablemos de Noche", broadcast on the Tegucigalpa-based television station Canal 45. The action stems from Romero's having discussed corruption on his programme two weeks before.

China

Apple subcontractor Foxconn drops lawsuit against two "China Business News" journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders welcomed the 4 September 2006 decision of Taiwanese company Foxconn, an Apple subcontractor, to drop a defamation case against two journalists from "China Business News".

China

"New York Times" researcher Zhao Yan appeals against three-year sentence on fraud charge

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced support for "New York Times" researcher Zhao Yan's decision to appeal to the Beijing High Court against his three-year prison sentence for allegedly swindling a peasant. One of his lawyers, Guan Anping, told Agence France-Presse on 4 September 2006: "We lodged an appeal today. He believes there were no grounds for his conviction. He denies stealing any money and has asked several times to be give a lie detector test."

Sudan

Photographer and human rights activist Tomo Kriznar gets presidential pardon

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed the news that Slovenian photographer and human rights activist Tomo Kriznar was given a presidential pardon on 2 September 2006 but the organisation stressed the need to obtain the release of three other foreign media workers still being held in Sudan's western Darfur region.

Sri Lanka

Maharaja Television employee released after being held more than 15 hours

(RSF/IFEX) - Thavarajah Thavamni, a Tamil employee of Maharaja Television (MTV), was released during the evening of 1 September 2006, more than 15 hours after she was kidnapped in Colombo. Her abductors are said to have been military intelligence officers who wanted to interrogate her about what she did when she was working for the Sri Lankan central bank.

Mexico

Grenade attack on "Por Esto!" newspaper office in Mérida injures three

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders is concerned about a 1 September 2006 grenade attack on the headquarters of the Mérida-based daily "Por Esto!" that injured three employers. It follows a similar grenade attack on the newspaper's Cancún branch on 23 August and a petrol bomb attack on one of its journalists two days before that (see IFEX alerts of 29 and 25 August 2006).

Niger

Two journalists sentenced to 18 months in prison with no parole

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 1 September 2006, a regional court in Niamey sentenced Mamane Abou, publication director, and Oumarou Keita, managing editor of the weekly "Le Republicain", to 18 months in prison each on two counts of "publishing false information" and "defaming the state of Niger". The court also fined Abou and Keita 5 million CFA Francs (approx. US$9,700) each.

China

Cyber-dissident begins third week in detention, another faces trial for subversion

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of cyber-dissident and pro-democracy activist Deng Yongliang, who was arrested on 18 August 2006 as he was travelling to Yinan, in the eastern province of Shandong, to cover the trial of the dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng. The organisation also called for the release of Guo Qizhen, a cyber-dissident who is due to be tried for "subverting state authority" on 12 September in Cangzhou, in the central province of Hebei.

Sri Lanka

Gunmen kidnap young Tamil woman employed by television group in Colombo

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced deep concern about the 1 September 2006 abduction in Colombo of Thavarajah Thavamni, a young Tamil woman employed by Maharaja Television (MTV). The motives for the kidnapping are not yet known but her uncle, opposition parliamentarian T. Maheswaran, told Reporters Without Borders it could be linked to her work for the media.

Liberia

Minister threatens libel suit against newspaper

(CEMESP/IFEX) ? "The News" newspaper, one of Liberia's leading dailies, has been threatened with a lawsuit by Liberia's assistant finance minister, Aletha Browne.

Liberia

President attacks journalists' ethics in recent speech, calls for media reform

(CEMESP/IFEX) - Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has angrily attacked Liberian journalists, describing some of them as "check-book journalists".

United States

Blogger freed after 30 days in jail; case still looms

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

Bahrain

Counter-terrorism bill threatens freedom of expression, as government censors Internet

(EOHR/IFEX) - The following is a 30 August 2006 EOHR capsule report:

Liberia

Protesting students assault journalist, damage his camera, chase off other journalists

(MFWA/IFEX) - Robert Jadoe, photo-editor and senior reporter of the "New Vision", a pro-government newspaper, was assaulted on 25 August 2006 by angry students of the University of Liberia for photographing their protest against the school authorities.

The Gambia

Lack of press freedom and access to information means "free and fair" presidential election is impossible, says RSF

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 31 August 2006 RSF capsule report:

Croatia / Rwanda

RSF publishes report on Rwanda tribunal's disturbing precedents as ex-Yugoslavia tribunal fines Croatian journalist

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 31 August 2006 RSF press release:

Iraq

Trial of three "Sada Wasit" journalists resumes; one of the journalists previously abducted and tortured

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

Peru

Unidentified men assault radio journalist

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the evening of 29 August 2006, journalist Orlando Calderón Flores was assaulted by four men when he was on his way home. The event took place in the town of Sicuani, Cusco, in southeastern Peru. Calderón does not know why he was attacked, but he doesn't rule out that it may be because of his work as a journalist.

Niger

Newspaper journalist and radio station manager in detention, newspaper editor on wanted list

(MFWA/IFEX) - Salif Dago, a journalist with "L'Enquêteur", a bi-monthly privately-owned newspaper, who has been charged with publishing false news, made his first appearance at a regional court in Niamey on 1 September 2006.

China

Apple iPod subcontractor reduces damages claim against journalists to token amount

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed a decision by an Apple Computer subcontractor in China, the Taiwanese company Foxconn, to reduce the amount of damages it is requesting in its libel suit against two "China Business News" journalists from 30 million yuan (approx. 3 million euros) to the token sum of 1 yuan (approx. 10 euro cents).

Philippines

President's husband suing journalists after allegedly having their programme cancelled, also suing "Daily Tribune" columnist and "Malaya" newspaper publisher

(CMFR/IFEX) - Jose Miguel Arroyo, the husband of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is planning to file a libel suit against Ramon, Raffy, and Erwin Tulfo for their alleged "rehashed and malicious lies."

United States

Two "San Francisco Chronicle" reporters face possible imprisonment for withholding sources

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates its call for the release of young freelance journalist Josh Wolf when his case comes before a federal appeal court. Wolf has been in prison since 1 August 2006, after being held in contempt of court for refusing to surrender video footage to the police (See IFEX alerts of 2 and 1 August 2006).

Philippines

House of Representatives approves bill that will lessen use of libel suits to harass media

(CMFR/IFEX) - In a recent positive development, the House of Representatives approved, on third and final reading, House Bill 77, requiring libel suits against journalists, publications or broadcast stations to be filed at the regional trial court of the province or city where the journalist, publication or broadcast station holds its principal office.

Venezuela

Regional newspaper photo-journalist assaulted by police

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 26 August 2006, Adrián Salazar, a photo-journalist for "Nueva Prensa del Oriente" daily newspaper, was beaten and insulted by two policemen of the municipality of Simón Rodríguez, in the state of Anzoátegui, eastern Venezuela. Salazar does not know why he was attacked, although he does not rule out that it may be because of his work as a journalist.

Sudan

Police arrest three reporters and beat Al-Jazeera cameraman at Khartoum demonstration

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the violence with which the Sudanese police dispersed a demonstration in central Khartoum on the afternoon of 30 August 2006, arbitrarily arresting at least three journalists. The demonstration was called by a score of opposition parties in protest against fuel and sugar price hikes.

Cambodia

Officials bar French filmmaker from leaving the country in bid to extort money

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the action of Cambodian officials in banning French journalist and film-maker Daniel Laine from leaving the country, in an attempt to make him comply with an undertaking he signed under duress during a previous trip to Cambodia in 2003, promising to send them US$125,000 (approx. 97,500 euros) on his return to France.

Philippines

Former president files libel case against journalist, editors, sources for articles on alleged corruption

(CMFR/IFEX) - On 3 August 2006, former president Joseph Estrada filed a Php30-million (approx. US$582,000) libel action against the staff of a Manila-based newspaper and two individuals for allegedly accusing him of malicious charges.

Philippines

Congressman sues journalist for libel

(CMFR/IFEX) - A local journalist was recently sued for libel by a congressman in Pampanga, 80 kilometers north of Manila.

Philippines

Broadcaster's 32-year prison sentence for libel upheld by appeals court

(CMFR/IFEX) - The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the conviction of a journalist on 14 counts of libel arising from several articles he had written nearly a decade ago about a customs officer.

China

"Straits Times" correspondent Ching Cheong receives five-year prison sentence

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced dismay on learning that on 31 August 2006, a Beijing court sentenced Ching Cheong, the Hong Kong-based correspondent of Singapore's "Straits Times" newspaper, to five years in prison for spying. He is the second journalist employed by a foreign news organisation to receive a prison sentence in the past week.

Sri Lanka

Despite release of kidnapped Tamil journalist, climate of fear persists

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders voiced relief on learning that Nadarajah Guruparan, the news director of the Colombo-based Tamil radio station Sooriyan, was freed early on 30 August 2006 after being held for 20 hours by his kidnappers, who told him he had been abducted "for a purpose".

Sri Lanka

Abducted journalist Nadaraja Guruparan released

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a 30 August 2006 FMM press release:

Australia

MEAA releases 2006 report, describes "continuation of the dramatic decline of press freedom"

(MEAA/IFEX) - The following is the introduction to the MEAA report "The media muzzled: Australia's 2006 press freedom report":

Nepal

Journalists, newspaper threatened by former public official over critical article

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 28 August 2006, Bhola Mahato, the former chairman of Hariharipur Village in Dhanusha, an eastern district of Nepal, threatened media workers against reporting news about the village.

Venezuela

Murdered journalist had previously received death threats

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 29 August 2006 CPJ:

Australia

Contempt case at odds with planned legislation to protect journalists' confidential sources, says MEAA

(MEAA/IFEX) - The following is a 24 August 2006 MEAA media release:

Mexico

Oaxacan community radio station forced to close by armed PRI sympathisers; another harassed by municipal authorities

(AMARC/IFEX) - AMARC roundly condemns the acts of aggression which have forced the closure of Nandía community radio station, committed by Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI) sympathisers closely tied to the municipal high school in the community of Mazatlán de Villa de Flores, located in Oaxaca state. It also condemns the harassment of Radio Calenda community radio station, located in San Antonino, near Oaxaca city, by the president of the community council.

Iran

PEN Canada welcomes release from prison of Iranian-Canadian scholar Ramin Jahanbegloo

(PEN Canada/IFEX) - The following is a 30 August 2006 PEN Canada press release:

Vietnam

Writer Pham Hong Son released from prison with conditions

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

Pakistan

BBC reporter's brother killed in Pakistani tribal area

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

Syria

Cyber-dissident held for past 20 days, while another prevented from resuming studies after release

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of Ali Sayed al-Shihabi, a 50-year-old English teacher who was arrested on 10 August 2006 for posting articles on far-left websites and who is still being held by the security services without being able to see his family. Two other cyber-dissidents are currently imprisoned in Syria.

Indonesia

AJI calls for decriminalisation of press offences as editor's religious defamation trial begins

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

Democratic Republic of Congo

Journalists working for private television station reportedly victims of attacks and anonymous threats

(JED/IFEX) - At least a dozen journalists, presenters and technicians of Canal Kin Television, a private television channel owned by Vice-President Jean-Pièrre Bemba, based in Kinshasa, visited JED to voice complaints about attacks and threats which have reportedly been made against them by unknown persons for several days.

South Africa

Publishing group threatens former employee with legal action for defamation over critical pamphlet

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is an abridged version of a 29 August 2006 FXI letter to the executive staff of Media24 publishing group:

Mexico

IAPA calls for action against journalist's murderers

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

Pakistan

Reporter brutally assaulted and humiliated

(PPF/IFEX) - On 29 August 2006, a journalist based in a rural town in Pakistan's southern Sindh province was abducted, brutally beaten, stripped and had his moustache and eyebrows shaven off for writing a news report critical of the local town mayor.

Mali

Six radio station staff sentenced to one month in prison with no parole for broadcasting without a licence

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the disproportionate verdict carried out against six Radio Kayira staff in Niono (Centre), who were arrested on 23 and 24 August 2006, after police shut down the station because it was operating without a licence.

Croatia / Serbia

SEEMO concerned about attacks, threats, sentences against journalists, increasing press restrictions

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

Guatemala

Wounded radio host in stable condition, agricultural corporation denies involvement in murder attempt

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

Cyprus

Turkish Cypriot forces detain television team

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 25 August 2006 IFJ media release:

Philippines

Gunshot attack on reporter linked to personal dispute

(CMFR/IFEX) - A tabloid reporter managed to escape death after being shot seven times on 14 August 2006 in Valenzuela City, just north of Manila.

Nepal

Journalist assaulted

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 27 August 2006, Lakpasange Sherpa, a local journalist with the "Blast Times" and "Sankhuwasabha Post", was roughed up by a man identified as Kishor Shrestha, who posed as a Maoist leader, at the Sindhua bazaar in Sankhuwasabha, an eastern district of Nepal.

Philippines

Arrests made in cases of slain reporters Albert Orsolino and Prudencio Melendres

(MISA/IFEX) - The police recently arrested one of two primary suspects in the 16 May 2006 killing of tabloid reporter Albert Orsolino.

Philippines

Government accuses media of having links with communist groups

(CMFR/IFEX) - A government official recently warned against possible communist infiltration of the country's newsrooms.

Colombia

Congressman's stigmatising accusations against journalists put them at risk, says FLIP

(FLIP/IFEX) - In a speech to Congress, Congressman Julio Gallardo Archbold stated that "there are some journalists who are more akin to moral assassins and, indeed, who can be more dangerous than those gentlemen who go around with chainsaws" (an allusion to the perpetrators of massacres in Colombia).

Colombia

Journalists threatened, in danger of assault by protestors in Santa Marta

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the evening of 23 August 2006, the Magdalena department police anti-riot squad prevented a group of protesters from assaulting Radio Magdalena radio station journalists Odín Vitola and Edwin Robles and "Hoy Diario del Magdalena" photographer Alvis Montiner.

China

Apple Computer subcontractor sues journalists for critical report on working conditions

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an RSF open letter to Steve Jobs, Apple Computer CEO:

Colombia

Radio commentator gunned down in Cartagena, after criticising government corruption and paramilitary influence

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

Lesotho

Editor faces defamation suit

(MISA/IFEX) - The editor-in-chief of the fortnightly Lesotho Police Service tabloid "Leseli Ka Sepolesa", Clifford Molefe, has been served with a court summons by Mohau Thakaso, the former Lesotho Football Association's (LEFA) public relations officer, demanding a staggering M3,000,000 (approx. US$422,000) in damages for defamation.

Tanzania

Minister takes legal action against three journalists over critical article

(MISA/IFEX) - On 5 July 2006, Tanzania's minister of land and settlements development, John Magufuli, instituted criminal proceedings at Dodoma police station against two editors and one journalist of a privately-owned media house, Habari Corporation. The accused, Mr. John Bwire (chief editor), Mr. Muhingo Rweyemamu (editor), and Mr. Nephilitius Kyaruzi (journalist), were summoned only on 24 August to the Kijitonyama police station.

Swaziland

Media warned against criticising king

(MISA/IFEX) - On August 24 2006, the minister for public service and information, Themba Msibi, warned the Swazi media against criticising the king, instilling further fear into an already timid press which cannot freely operate due to a perpetually hostile environment that continues to prevail despite the kingdom's new Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression.

Sri Lanka

Mounting concern about government's failure to protect journalists as Tamil radio director is kidnapped

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders voiced deep concern about the rapidly deteriorating situation for the media in Sri Lanka after Nadarajah Guruparan, the news director of the Colombo-based Tamil radio station Sooriyan, was abducted outside his home in the south Colombo suburb of Mount Lavinia as he left for work on the morning of 29 August 2006.

Sri Lanka

News director of Tamil-language radio station goes missing

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

Iraq

Car bomb attacks on "Al-Sabah" newspaper and hotel used by foreign journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the simultaneous car-bomb attacks on two press targets that took place on 27 August 2006 in Baghdad. One was detonated in the parking lot of the governmental daily "Al-Sabah" in north Baghdad, killing two people and injuring 25. The other went off outside the Hotel Palestine, which is mainly used by foreign journalists and which houses the bureaus of several news agencies.

Vietnam

Dissident writer Pham Hong Son to be released

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

International

CJFE International Press Freedom Award winners hail from Colombia, Egypt and Pakistan

(CJFE/IFEX) - The following is a 25 August 2006 CJFE press release:

Australia

Victoria Supreme Court rejects appeal by two "Herald Sun" reporters facing imprisonment

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Michael Harvey and Gerard McManus of the Melbourne-based "Herald Sun" could be imprisoned very soon for contempt of court after Judge Elizabeth Hollingworth, of the Supreme Court of the southeastern state of Victoria, on 23 August 2006 rejected their appeal against a lower court's order that they name their source for a story about a federal government plan to cut benefits to war veterans.

Venezuela

Journalist shot to death in Anzoátegui

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the evening of 23 August 2006, journalist Jesús Flores Rojas received eight shots to the head when he was at home, putting his car away, in the Los Rosales neighbourhood of the town of El Tigre, located in the state of Anzoátegui, eastern Venezuela. Flores was waiting for the garage door to be opened when a man walked to the car window and shot him. The murderer then fled in a car that was waiting for him just a few meters away. The motives for the murder are unknown. The journalist was the coordinator of the correspondents' office of the El Tigre newspaper "Región" and a columnist in other print media outlets in the area. In his articles he denounced alleged acts of corruption in the local public administration.

Mexico

Journalist received death threats prior to car bombing in Mérida

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the morning of 22 August 2006, an unidentified man on a motorbike threw a Molotov cocktail against the car of "Por Esto" reporter Jaime Vargas Chablé in the city of Mérida, state of Yucatán, southern Mexico. The attack took place minutes after the journalist's wife, accompanied by their young daughter, parked the car outside their home. The car was burnt to ashes. The motivation behind the attack is not known.

Peru

Students assault reporter and cameraman covering protests against mining company in Cajamarca, local residents hold four journalists captive for several hours

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the morning of 24 August 2006, Channel 39 reporter Claudia Mostajo and cameraman Jorge Guerrero were assaulted by students of the National University of Cajamarca (UNC), who were protesting against the activities of the Yanacocha mining company in the area of Combayo, Cajamarca region, northern Peru. According to Guerrero, the students beat them, alleging the reporters had been misinforming the public.

Palestine / Israel

Israeli missiles strike Reuters vehicle in Gaza; Fox News journalists released

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders voiced relief at the 27 August 2006 release of Fox News journalists Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig in Gaza City after nearly two weeks in captivity, but condemned an Israeli missile attack on a clearly-identified Reuters press vehicle in Gaza that seriously injured a local news website journalist.

Colombia

Newspaper editor receives death threats, students threaten to burn newspaper office, following report on university official

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

Russia

CPJ protests continued harassment of weekly newspaper in Perm

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 25 August 2006 CPJ letter to Perm Regional Prosecutor Aleksandr Kondalov:

Liberia

Journalist beaten by rioting university students

(CEMESP/IFEX) - On 25 August 2006, students at the University of Liberia assaulted a Liberian journalist who attempted to photograph scenes of rioting on the university's main campus in Monrovia.

Mexico

CAPSULE REPORT: AMARC alarmed by aggression against Oaxacan journalists and media outlets, places blame principally on federal and state governments

(AMARC/IFEX) - AMARC opposes with alarm the aggression against journalists and media outlets in Oaxaca state by armed commandos seeking to silence the journalists. The main responsibility for these acts lies with both the federal and state governments, given that the social conflict between the different social actors in the region is the result of the authorities' ineffectiveness in establishing channels for dialogue and negotiation.

Guatemala

Radio station director received death threat day before murder attempt on station's journalist

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

Peru

Television journalist struck by member of presidential guard

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 28 July 2006, Frecuencia Latina television station reporter Armando Ávalos was assaulted by Lieutenant Pedro Baca Moreno, when he was covering the route followed by former president Alejandro Toledo in a street adjacent to the Government Palace, a few minutes before the inauguration of President-elect Alan García.

Sudan

US journalist, driver and interpreter arrested and charged with "spying" in Darfur

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of US journalist Paul Salopek, a correspondent for the privately-owned "Chicago Tribune" daily newspaper, as well as his driver, Suleiman Abakar Moussa, and his interpreter, Abdulraman Anu, who are both Chadians. Held since 6 August 2006 in Al Fashir, the capital of the western state of North Darfur, they have just been charged with spying and entering Sudan illegally.

Fiji

ARTICLE 19 calls for guarantees of independence for broadcast regulator

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

Brazil

Journalist receiving new death threats despite being in hiding; IAPA urges authorities to ensure her safety

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

Nigeria

Two "Ebonyi Voice" journalists released provisionally

(RSF/IFEX) - Imo Eze, director of the "Ebonyi Voice" daily newspaper, and one of his journalists, Oluwole Elenyinmi, were released provisionally on 25 August 2006 in accordance with an agreement reached previously between Ebonyi State Governor Sam Egwu and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Vietnam

CAPSULE REPORT: CPJ urges government to lift restrictive press regulations and to stop harassing, detaining and imprisoning independent writers

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 24 August 2006 CPJ letter to Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet:

Ghana

Journalist's camera broken by suspected drug baron in front of unconcerned police

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 24 August 2006, Kwadwo Ababio, one of five suspected drug barons standing trial for alleged drug offences, threw to the ground and smashed the camera of Ms. Fidelia Achama, a reporter of the privately-owned daily newspaper "Daily Guide".

Nepal

Journalists harassed for taking photographs of Maoists

(FNJ/IFEX) - Dhruva Kumar Rawal, secretary of FNJ Nuwakot branch and editor of the monthly "Gatishil", and Raju Mitra Khanal, correspondent of the daily newspaper "Gorkhapatra" and sub editor of the weekly "Naya Ruprekha", were harassed and detained for nearly 15 minutes by Maoists for having taken photographs of plain-clothed Maoists without their permission. The incident took place at around 2:30 p.m. (local time) on 24 August 2006.

Philippines

Review board suspends television documentary programme

(CMFR/IFEX) - For airing an episode showing individuals using drugs, a popular television network's documentary programme was recently suspended by the country's movie and television review board.

Turkmenistan

Three journalists and human rights activists sentenced to prison

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders said it was "disgusted" by the "absurd, unjust and disgraceful" six and seven-year prison sentences imposed on 25 August 2006 on two Turkmen journalists working for foreign media.

China

Journalist Zhao Yan acquitted of revealing state secrets, but convicted of fraud and sentenced to three years' imprisonment

(WiPC/IFEX) - WiPC welcomes the 25 August 2006 announcement that the charge against journalist Zhao Yan of revealing state secrets has been dropped, but is seriously concerned at his sentencing to three years in jail for fraud. WiPC demands his immediate and unconditional release pending his likely appeal.

Mexico

Grenade attack on Cancún newspaper that reports on drug trafficking; journalist's car destroyed by bomb

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

Lesotho

Reporter summoned before High Court

(MISA/IFEX) - "Public Eye" Chief Reporter Khutliso Sekoati has been summoned to appear before the High Court on 4 September 2006 to show cause why his 14 July article in "Public Eye", titled "Judges in line as targets of corruption", or portions thereof that are considered to call into question the High Court judges' integrity, should not be withdrawn.

Peru

Two unknown men beat radio journalist during broadcast

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 23 August 2006, journalist Ángel Durán León was assaulted by two armed men while he was broadcasting his radio program. The men burst into the broadcasting booth and hit him on the head with the guns' butts, leaving him unconscious for a few minutes. According to the journalist, his attackers warned him to stop criticizing a candidate running for the leadership of Ancash's regional government, César Álvarez Aguilar, or face the consequences. Durán hosts the news programme "Todas las Sangres" on the radio station Alegría in Huaraz, the capital city of the Ancash region, in northwestern Peru.

Guatemala

Four journalists threatened by army captain for critical reporting about mayor

(CERIGUA/IFEX) - On 16 August 2006, María Teresa López Lima, a journalist for "Prensa Libre" newspaper, published in the city of Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez department, was threatened by former army captain Marvin Estuardo Mena Pons, brother-in-law of the city's mayor, César Antonio Siliézar Portillo.

South Africa

Supreme Court dismisses application to televise and record high-profile court case

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

Zimbabwe

Government blamed for failure to issue broadcasting licences

(MISA/IFEX) - The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has blamed the Ministry of Information and Publicity for the delays in the issuing of broadcasting licences to private and community radio stations.

Guatemala

Radio journalist shot by unidentified individuals

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the morning of 23 August 2006, two armed men shot journalist Vinicio Aguilar as he was exercising in a western neighbourhood of Guatemala City. One bullet struck his face and another struck his hand. The journalist is unaware of the motive for the attack but does not dismiss the possibility that it is related to his work as a journalist.

China

Book editor suspended for writing about Communist Party's disciplinary system

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has said it "firmly condemned" the sanctions taken against Zhuang Daohe, who has received no pay for seven months and has been suspended from his editorial job at the Zhejiang University publishing house in southeastern China for writing a book about the way the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) disciplines its members.

Peru

Public prosecutor requests eight years of prison, high civil reparations for journalist

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 15 August 2006, the Second Public Prosecutor's Office requested a sanction of eight years in prison against journalist Mauricio Aguirre Corvalán, for allegedly revealing national security secrets to the detriment of the state, through the television programme "Cuarto Poder" in Lima, when he was the programme's news editor. The request of prosecutor Carlos Navas Rondón also includes the payment of 600 thousand nuevos soles (approx. $US 188,000) as civil reparation. The journalist must appear at Lima's second Criminal Court for the first hearing of the oral trial on 13 September.

Mexico

Municipal police open fire on journalists, seize their equipment

(IPYS/IFEX) - In the early hours of 22 August 2006, a Municipal Police squadron opened fire against photographers Jorge Luis Plata of "Reforma" newspaper, Luis Alberto Cruz of "Milenio" newspaper and a "Televisión Azteca" team of reporters, while they covered a police operation to evict the members of the Permanent Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (Asamblea Permanente del Pueblo de Oaxaca, APPO) from the premises of radio station La Ley, which they occupied on 21 August (see IFEX alerts of 23 and 22 August 2006). There were no casualties. The event took place in the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico.

Ethiopia

CPJ appeals for release of two imprisoned journalists suffering harsh treatment

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 23 August 2006 CPJ letter to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi:

Russia

Newspaper closed by authorities, several journalists charged with criminal defamation

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 23 August 2006 CPJ open letter to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin:

Palestine

Islamic group releases video of two kidnapped Fox News journalists, demands release of Muslim prisoners held by the US within 72 hours in exchange for the journalists

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

Chile

Judge forbids television cameraman to tape public hearing

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 27 July 2006, Arica's supervisory judge (juez de garantía), Francisco Vargas Vera, forbade Mega TV channel cameraman, Julio Urquhart, to tape the public hearing he was presiding over, in spite of there being other people taping the proceedings who were not journalists. The cameraman recorded the moment in which the judge ordered him, as a journalist, to stop taping and warned that as long as he was a judge, the journalist would be forbidden to record any of his hearings. Urquhart told IPYS that he was the only television cameraman in the court at the time and that he was recording images of the judge for a report. The event took place in Arica, northern Chile.

Russia

Newspaper's rent agreement cancelled after government warns to stop publishing critical reports

(CJES/IFEX) - New facts about the pressure on "Ivanovo Press", a newspaper published in Ivanovo, emerged on 22 August 2006.

Iran

New information emerges about Kurdish journalist Ayfer Serçe's death

(RSF/IFEX) - After getting new information about the death of Ayfer Serçe, Reporters Without Borders has reiterated its appeal to the Iranian authorities to explain how she died. A Kurdish journalist with Turkish citizenship, Serçe was killed after entering northwestern Iran to report on suicides by Kurdish women in the region.

Russia

Harassment of weekly newspaper "Permsky Obozrevatel" continues

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has deplored as "unacceptable" a recent surprise search by police of the offices of the independent weekly paper "Permsky Obozrevatel", in the Perm region.

Democratic Republic of Congo

RSF appeals to presidential candidates to stop bellicose propaganda and post-election violence

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 21 August 2006 RSF open letter to President Joseph Kabila and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba:

Nepal

Newspapers' facilities vandalised

(FNJ/IFEX) - A group of about 20 students damaged and took away the sign board of "Rajbiraj Today" newspaper and "Satyapan Weekly" at around 11 a.m. (local time) on 22 August 2006, in Rajbiraj, a town in eastern Nepal.

Mexico

Antigovernment protesters seize more private radio stations, hold 25 employees captive

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

Burundi

Radio station director comes out of hiding, but fears for his safety once again following partial closure of station

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

Liberia

Presidency threatens to exclude media outlets from coverage

(CEMESP/IFEX) - The Executive Mansion, the seat of Liberia's presidency, has announced that it is considering the option of selecting specific media institutions to provide media coverage.

Colombia

Radio journalist assaulted in Córdoba

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 22 July 2006, Álvaro García, host of the radio programme "El Club Paramillo", was assaulted by two men when he was on his way home in the city of Tierra Alta, Córdoba, northwestern Colombia. García was hit from behind and taken to the outskirts of the city on a motorbike where he was set upon again while being threatened with a gun. Then he was freed. The journalist stated that he did not file an accusation against his aggressors at the time for fear of retaliation. However, on 17 August he talked about his ordeal to the newspaper "El Tiempo".

Mexico

Gunmen fire upon occupied broadcasting station; social organisation occupies two more radio stations

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF roundly condemns the 21 August 2006 shooting attack on a local public television station in the southern city of Oaxaca while it was being used to broadcast an appeal for the Oaxaca state governor to resign. A trade unionist was injured in the attack, the latest serious press freedom violation in an ongoing struggle between unions and the governor, who is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mexico's ruling party for seven decades until 2000.

Nigeria

Deaths threats against "Daily Independent" political affairs editor

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about death threats in the past week against Wole Olujobi, a political affairs editor with the privately-owned "Daily Independent" newspaper, who suspects the governor of the southwestern state of Ekiti of being responsible for this attempt to intimidate him.

Syria

Journalist and son appear before court martial after being held five months

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the fate of freelance journalist Ali Abdallah and his son Mohammad, who appeared before a court martial in Damascus on 14 August 2006 on charges of "disturbing the peace", "disseminating false news viable to undermine the financial prestige of the state" and "insulting a high official" under articles 287 and 385 of the criminal code.

Philippines

Journalist Dick Garay escapes attempted abduction

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 22 August 2006 IFJ media release:

Kazakhstan

Cameraman assaulted and equipment broken by authorities; media professionals accused of causing "public disturbance"

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - On 20 August 2006, police prevented 31 Channel-Aktau director, Stanislav Tokmashev, reporters Svetlana Sultangereyeva and Sandugash Shortanova, and cameraman Murat Bekmagambetov from carrying out their professional activities in Aktau, western Kazakhstan. The cameraman was hit over the head with a truncheon and his camera was broken by an officer. At the time of the incident, the media professionals were covering a public demonstration in the Yntymak square. The protesters were demanding that the head of the city administration, Viktor Koh, be replaced by anyone born in Mangistau oblast, a province in southwestern Kazakhstan.

Guyana

New information emerges about motives behind the "Kaieteur News" killings

(CJFE/IFEX) - The following is a 22 August 2006 CJFE press release:

Nepal

CEHURDES condemns death threats against four journalists

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - CEHURDES has condemned the threats made against four journalists in eastern Nepal. According to the state-owned National News Agency (RSS), a group of over one hundred people in Ilam district, led by a former vice chairman of the Shantipur village development committee (VDC), threatened four journalists - Indra Kumar Bhattarai, Keshar Ghimire, Padma Bilas Adhikari and Ganesh Dhungana - with death during the week of 14 August 2006.

Guatemala

Six journalists taken captive and threatened during violent land ownership dispute

(APG/IFEX) - The APG condemns the brief kidnapping, death threats and other acts of aggression to which six journalists, from two television news programme crews and a local newspaper, were subjected by some 400 indigenous peasants on 11 August 2006. The peasants held the journalists captive for over three hours in a mountainous region of the Senahú district, in the Alta Verapaz region of northern Guatemala.

Vietnam

Authorities again abduct one of the Kiem street chat room users

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the immediate release of Truong Quoc Huy, who was arrested by the security services in an Internet café in Ho Chi Minh City on 18 August 2006 after just six weeks of freedom. Truong was previously arrested last October along with his brother and his brother's fiancée for participating in a pro-democracy chat room. All three were held for nine months.

Vietnam

Police harass five journalists in bid to stop them from launching independent newspaper in Hanoi

(RSF/IFEX) - The Vietnamese authorities are trying to block the emergence of an independent press, Reporters Without Borders said, condemning the constant harassment since 12 August 2006 of five journalists who are planning to launch a new independent newspaper called "Tu do Dan Chu" ("Freedom and Democracy").

Chechnya (Russia)

Independent journalist kidnapped in Chechnya

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

Sri Lanka

Tamil newspaper editor killed in Jaffna

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

China

Journalist Zan Aizong freed after one week in detention

(RSF/IFEX) - Journalist Zan Aizong was freed on 18 August 2006 after spending a week in administrative detention. He was arrested on 11 August and accused of "spreading rumours harmful to society" for reporting on foreign websites that a Protestant church under construction in the southeast province of Zhejiang was demolished by the authorities on 29 July.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Three TV stations suspended for 24 hours for "inciting violence"; RSF praises "restrained" punishment

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed the restraint shown by the High Authority for the Media (HAM) in imposing no more than a 24-hour closure on three TV stations as a punishment for "repeatedly broadcasting shocking and highly emotional pictures" and inciting "the security forces and the population to take revenge."

Sri Lanka

Newspaper's warehouses burned down, newsprint and electronic equipment destroyed

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a 20 August 2006 FMM press release:

Brazil

Threats force "O Dia" reporter into hiding after writing about trafficking in bodies

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced dismay at the threats that "O Dia" reporter Maria Mazzei and her family have been receiving since 15 August 2006 as a result of her reports about the trafficking in human bodies in Rio de Janeiro, and her claim that employees of the Medical Forensic Institute (IML) were selling cadavers to the so-called "Máfia dos Corpos" (Body Mafia).

Tanzania

Journalist who appeared in film "Darwin's Nightmare" is threatened with deportation

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has criticised the Tanzanian government for threatening to deport a journalist who appeared in a documentary film the authorities say has damaged the country's economy and image.

Burundi

African Public Radio's Ngozi-based station closed

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has condemned the 18 August 2006 decision by the Telecommunications Regulation Agency (Agence de régulation et de contrôle des télécommunications, ARCT) to close privately-owned African Public Radio's station in Ngozi, northern Burundi. The station had allegedly "considerably surpassed" the time period that it was licenced to use its radio frequency.

Nepal

Maoists briefly detain 10 journalists, beat photographer and seize his personal effects

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 18 August 2006, a group of Maoists detained ten journalists, including FNJ-Parsa Chapter President Shatrughan Nepal, and other individuals, among them the chief district officer (CDO) for Bara district and half a dozen security officials, for three hours.

Guatemala

Two "Noti-7" television news programme teams attacked, robbed, a member threatened and briefly kidnapped

(APG/IFEX) - APG condemns the attacks on "Noti-7" news programme editors and reporters, in two operations which appear to have been carried out by organized crime gangs in retaliation for reports and investigations on drug trafficking. "Noti-7" is broadcast nationally on channel 7.

Guatemala

President of journalists' union the target of failed kidnapping attempt, intimidation

(APG/IFEX) - APG demands that state security offices thoroughly investigate the condemnable attempt, on 7 August 2006, to kidnap the doctor and journalist Emilio Méndez Meda, president of the Union of Parliamentary Journalists (Unión de Periodistas Parlamentarios, UCP), and expresses its dismay at the reigning climate of insecurity in Guatemala. The UCP is a labour organization comprised of journalists who cover the sessions of the Guatemalan Congress.

Ghana

Newspaper photographer assaulted, his camera's memory chip seized

(MFWA/IFEX) - Ebo Hanson, a photographer for the state-owned newspaper "The Daily Graphic", was assaulted on 17 August 2006 by sympathizers of suspected drug baron Prince Tsibu Darko, who is standing trial for alleged drug offences.

Iraq

Trial ends with no prison terms for "Al-Wasit" journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders voiced relief on learning that "Al-Wasit" editor Ayad al-Tamimi and reporter Ahmed Mutare Abass left a Baghdad court as free men at the end of a libel trial about several articles published in 2005 criticising local police and judicial officials. The court did not impose any jail sentences.

Burkina Faso

Appeal court upholds judge's decision to drop all charges in Zongo case

(RSF/IFEX) - On 16 August 2006, the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal upheld an investigating judge's decision to dismiss all charges against Marcel Kafondo and "X" (meaning "other undetermined persons") in the 1998 murder of journalist Norbert Zongo. A judicial source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the appeal court refused to consider the Zongo family's appeal against the ruling, claiming that the "investigating judge did his job well."

Palestine

Concern grows for kidnapped Fox News journalists

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

Italy

Two newspaper offices searched in probe of imam's kidnapping

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has deplored police searches of the offices of the daily newspapers "La Repubblica" in Rome and Milan and "Il Piccolo" in Trieste and said it was "unacceptable" that journalists were being treated as police assistants.

Russia

Independent newspaper, media group continually harassed by authorities

(CJES/IFEX) - The editorial staff of the newspaper "Permsky Obozrevatel" ("Permian Observer"), based in the city of Perm, has announced that the newspaper is facing the possible threat of closure and expressed its concern for the future of its employees. Acting editor-in-chief Ms. Tatyana Sokolova explained to CJES that staff faces constant pressure from law enforcement bodies, making it difficult to conduct their daily work.

Mexico

Arrest of a suspected mastermind in Ortiz Franco murder

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

Niger

Detained journalists face summary trial; their defence lawyers protest irregularities and bias

(MFWA/IFEX) - A prosecutor in the trial of Mamane Abou, managing editor, and Oumarou Keita, editor, both of the weekly "Le Republicain" newspaper, requested an eighteen month prison sentence for each of the accused. The two were charged on 14 August 2006 with publishing "false" information and defaming the state of Niger.

Dominican Republic

Photographer assaulted while trying to photograph first lady, detained overnight

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 17 August 2006 IAPA press release:

Brazil

Rio de Janeiro journalist receives threats over reporting; IAPA condemns escalation of threats and assaults on journalists across the country

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 16 August 2006 IAPA press release:

Iraq

Seven journalists arrested while covering a demonstration, two still detained

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has appealed for clemency in a trial that began on 16 August 2006 in Baghdad in which "Al-Wasit" editor Ayad al-Tamimi and reporter Ahmed Mutare Abass face the possibility of long prison terms on charges of libelling the police, judicial and municipal authorities in Al-Kut, southeast of the capital.

China

Authorities to introduce new restrictions on online video

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the imminent restrictions on online video reported on 15 August 2006 by the official news media, which said websites would soon need permission from the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) in order to post video clips and short films.

Sudan

Photographer and activist Tomo Kriznar gets two years in prison on spying charge

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of Slovenian writer and activist Tomo Kriznar after he was sentenced on 14 August 2006 by a court in Al Fashir, the capital of the western state of North Darfur, to two years in prison on charges of spying and publishing false information. Kriznar, who was acting as a special envoy of his country's president, was arrested in Darfur on 19 July.

Afghanistan

RSF raises concern about recent increase in press freedom violations: journalists, radio and television stations come under attack

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an RSF open letter to the Afghan president:

International

US National Television Academy to honour IPI's, RSF's and CPJ's press freedom work at News Emmys

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

Peru

Court upholds sentence of journalist's murderers, doubles amount of damages awarded to family

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 15 August 2006, the First Transitory Criminal Bench of the Supreme Court of Perú upheld the 30-year prison sentence imposed by the Superior Court of Ucayali on Erwin Pérez Pinedo and Ángel Mendoza Casanova, for the first degree murder of journalist Alberto Rivera. The Supreme Court also raised the amount of civil reparations granted to the victim's relatives from 50 thousand to 100 thousand nuevos soles (approx. US$30,000), to be paid jointly by the convicted men. Rivera was killed in April 2004 by two shots fired into his chest because of the work he did as a journalist, in the city of Pucallpa, Ucayali region, eastern Peru.

Ukraine

Editor assaulted after critical articles

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

Iraq

Editor abducted in Baghdad

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

Brazil

Judge forbids newspaper to report on medicine trafficking case while investigation in progress

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the evening of 4 August 2006, Judge Paulo Sérgio Romero Vicente Rodrigues, of the Fourth Civil Tribunal of the city of São José do Rio Preto, forbade the newspaper "Bom Dia" to report on a case of international medicine trafficking uncovered in the city, basing his decision on the confidentiality of the legal investigation into the case.

Guinea

Government allocates frequencies to country's first two private radio stations

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

Kenya

Charges dropped against two "Kenya Times" journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - On 15 August 2006, Prosecutor Mureithi Mate told a court that the attorney general has instructed him to "have the case withdrawn" against opposition daily "Kenya Times" editor Onyango Omollo and one of his reporters, David Ochami, who had been the target of criminal proceedings over an article in 2005 that was considered alarmist.

Vietnam

Kiem Street chat room users freed after nine months in detention

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed the news of the release of three young people who were arrested at a Kiem Street house in Ho Chi Minh City in October 2005 for participating in a pro-democracy chat forum on Pal Talk ( http://www.paltalk.com ). It has just emerged that they were freed on 7 July 2006.

Nepal

Newspaper editor assaulted, his camera destroyed during protest

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - CEHURDES condemns the attack on journalist Amrit Timilsina as he was carrying out his duties in Lalitpur district in the capital on 14 August 2006.

Niger

CPJ condemns continued detention of two journalists; defence lawyers walk out of hearing to protest alleged judicial bias

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

China

Hong Kong journalist tried in closed-door proceeding in Beijing

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

Sri Lanka

Newspaper delivery agent killed; another newspaper's office searched by state security personnel

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a 15 August 2006 FMM press release:

Niger

Prosecutor seeks 18-month prison sentence for two "Le Républicain" journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF is outraged by the heavy prison sentences the prosecution is seeking against Maman Abou and Oumarou Keita, director and editor-in-chief of the privately-owned weekly "Le Républicain."

Turkey

ARTICLE 19 urges president to reject draft anti-terrorism law, return it to Parliament for further debate

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 27 July 2006 ARTICLE 19 letter to the Turkish president:

Sierra Leone

Government bows to calls for extradition of MP's children implicated in editor's death

(RSF/IFEX) - Director of Public Prosecution Oladipoh Robin Mason has finally requested the extradition of the three children of ruling party parliamentarian Fatmata Hassan Komeh, who allegedly had a role in the May 2005 beating of "For Di People" acting editor, Harry Yansaneh.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Media authority attempts to censor live and taped broadcasts during election period

(JED/IFEX) - The following is a 10 August 2006 JED statement:

Colombia

Journalist Jaime Garzón's murder still unpunished seven years later

(FLIP/IFEX) - The following is a 14 August 2006 FLIP press release:

Turkmenistan

CPJ alarmed by reports of abuse in journalist's detention

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

Nepal

Journalist injured while reporting on a confrontation, police seize materials from other reporters

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - CEHURDES condemns the attack on journalist Hari Bahadur Rawat and the seizure of materials from other reporters in the remote northern district of Humla.

Brazil

Abducted television reporter released after station airs kidnappers' tape

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

Egypt

HRinfo welcomes newspaper's decision to end filtering of staff access to Internet

(HRinfo/IFEX) - HRinfo welcomed the 13 August 2006 decision of "Al-Ahram" newspaper to stop filtering its staff's access to websites, which it had begun doing a few days prior. The measure prevented the newspaper's staff from accessing any blog associated with Google, which administers nearly 80 percent of all Egyptian blogs.

Democratic Republic of Congo

In wake of elections, JED calls for respect for press freedom by all

(JED/IFEX) - The following is a 4 August 2006 JED press release:

Palestine

Two Fox News journalists abducted in Gaza City

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

Nepal

Army personnel harass journalist

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 13 August 2006, soldiers mistreated, threatened, and tried to seize the camera of Lahan-based journalist Subhak Mahato, sub-editor of the weekly "Nawa Jagriti", in the Golbazaar area.

Serbia

Four-month suspended sentence for TV editor who broadcast viewers' text messages

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the decision of an appeal court in the southern city of Prokuplje on 10 August 2006 to uphold a suspended four-month prison sentence for Slavko Savic, the director and editor in chief of a local television station, TV Kursumlija, for broadcasting text messages (SMS) from viewers that were deemed to be defamatory.

Colombia

Newspaper, "Media for Peace" organisation threatened by paramilitary group

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the evening of 4 August 2006, the weekly newspaper "Voz", the Medios Para la Paz (Media for Peace) media group and 37 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were declared "military targets" by a paramilitary group known as "Autodefensas Colombia Libre Mesa Nacional Unificada de Mando Bloques Sur, Caribe, Llanos, Centro, Capital, Oriente, Nueva Generación, Pacífico" , in a communiqué sent to the e-mail addresses of these institutions. The nature and aims of the group are unknown.

Rwanda

"Umuvugizi" editor latest target in harassment of independent press

(RSF/IFEX) - Bosco Gasasira, the editor of the weekly "Umuvugizi", has told Reporters Without Borders that since 10 August 2006, he has been receiving telephone threats and has been under surveillance by military intelligence whenever he goes out. "Some calls from 'private numbers' have threatened me with being beaten to death," he said.

Philippines

One journalist badly injured, another threatened as two-week-old police offensive yields scant results

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the ongoing violence against journalists in the Philippines as newspaper reporter Roger Panizal was seriously injured in a shooting attack in Valenzuela (near Manila) and Hazel Gup-ay, a local public radio station presenter in the northern city of Tabuk, continued to receive death threats.

Colombia

Slain journalist's family members receive threats; IAPA urges witness protection during new investigation

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

Indonesia

AJI releases annual report on violence against journalists

(AJI/IFEX) - The following is an 11 August 2006 AJI press release:

Honduras

Police and soldiers beat journalists

(PROBIDAD/IFEX) - Police and military officials attributed to "nervousness" their attack upon a group of cameramen and journalists who were covering protests in front of the presidential house on 10 August 2006. The incident occurred after a fragmentation grenade exploded in the hands of one of the policemen assigned to contain the teachers' protests that resulted in the 11 August signing of an agreement with the government.

Ukraine

European Court finds government violated newspaper editor's press freedom rights in 2001 conviction

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

China

Journalist fired, detained after writing about police clashes with Christians

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

Egypt

Months of harassment force Coptic blogger to censor herself

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the months of harassment by the authorities in Qina (near Luxor, in central Egypt) that forced Hala Helmy Botros to close down her blog, Aqbat Bela Hodood (Copts Without Borders, http://halaelmasry.blogspot.com/ ), about the persecution of the Christian Coptic minority and to stop writing on this subject for other websites.

China

Online journalist still awaiting verdict four months after trial

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has joined the New York-based organisation Human Rights in China in protesting against the Chinese judicial system's violations of its own legal procedures in the case of online journalist Li Jianping.

Burundi

Journalists threatened by authorities; RSF appeals to president to improve poisonous relations between government and press

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has written to Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza voicing concern about the pernicious state of relations between his government and the media, and the alarming number of press freedom violations during his first year in office.

Ukraine

Persecuted journalist fears for her life

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a months-long campaign of legal and personal harassment of weekly newspaper editor Margarita Zakora and her family and called on the authorities to stop it immediately.

Colombia

Radio journalist shot dead in Yumbo

(FLIP/IFEX) - Milton Fabián Sánchez, a journalist with the radio station Yumbo Estéreo, was murdered on 9 August 2006 in Yumbo, a city in southeastern Colombia. The journalist was on his way home at approximately 10:30 p.m. (local time) when he was approached by two attackers that shot him twice from a motorcycle.

Iran

Une journaliste tuée: RSF demande des explications

(RSF/IFEX) - Ayfer Serçe, journaliste kurde à la Firat Haber Ajansi (FHA, l'Agence de presse Euphrate), a été tuée, le 24 juillet 2006, à Keleres dans la Province de l'Azerbaidjan (nord-est de l'Iran) lors d'une opération militaire lancée par l'armée contre des rebelles kurdes. Reporters sans frontières est indignée par la mort de cette jeune journaliste et militante et demande aux autorités iraniennes des explications.

Iran

Authorities asked to explain Kurdish journalist's death during an army operation

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the death of Ayfer Serçe, a young Kurdish journalist and militant, during an army operation against Kurdish rebels on 24 July 2006 in Keleres, in the northeastern province of Azarbayjan, and called on the Iranian authorities to provide an explanation.

Nepal

Seven Party Alliance and Maoists express commitment to press freedom in their input to Interim Constitution Drafting Committee

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

Vietnam

Study shows increase in government censorship of Internet

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

International

Missing journalist Alfredo Jiménez Mota awarded IAPA's Grand Prize for Press Freedom

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is an excerpt of a 28 July 2006 IAPA press release:

Mexico

Editor of crime magazine found murdered

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 10 August 2006 CPJ press release:

Ethiopia

The IFJ demands the release of 20 journalists languishing in prison

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

Bangladesh

Indian journalist badly beaten in Dhaka with complete impunity

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at an attack on Indian journalist D.N. Mohanty, who was beaten unconscious in his home in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka on 31 July 2006, and at the attempts of both Bangladeshi and Indian authorities to hush up the case.

Niger

Government threatens to revoke radio stations' licences

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 4 August 2006, the government of Niger threatened to revoke the licenses of some independent FM radio stations for what it described as "inciting civil war in the country."

Azerbaijan

Journalist sentenced to one year in prison

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Border has called for the immediate release of editor Shahin Agabeyli, of the newspaper "Milli Yol", who was sentenced to a year in jail for supposedly "insulting" and "blackmailing" former parliament spokesman Arif Ramhimzadeh in articles he wrote.

Mexico

Two injured in armed attack on opposition newspaper in Oaxaca

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF strongly condemns the 9 August 2006 shooting attack by hooded gunmen on the Oaxaca-based daily "Noticias, Voz e Imagen de Oaxaca", in which two employees were seriously injured. The newspaper has been the target of threats and intimidation linked to its independent stance and criticism of this southern state's government since 2004.

Rwanda

Sources suggest editor, previously reported as missing, has gone into hiding

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

Iraq

Four Iraqi men arrested in connection with kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll

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

China

CAPSULE REPORT: Human Rights Watch releases report on Internet companies' complicity in censorship

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

Pakistan

List of websites blocked by authorities gets longer

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the decision of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on 26 July 2006 to add 34 new web addresses to the list of sites to which it blocks access. For the most part they were Baluch nationalist sites, online radio stations and sites relating to the Sindhi minority.

Mongolia

Former and current provincial governors harass television journalists, deny them access to information

(Globe International/IFEX) - On 27 July 2006, Mr. M. Yadmaa, governor of Omnogovi province, ordered department heads not to give information to AltanGobi television while the TV cameraman, Mr M. Shinekhuu, was reporting on a meeting of the heads of the governor's departmental offices.

Lebanon / Israel

Journalists injured by missile fire, many in danger because of ban on vehicle travel

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 9 August 2006 CPJ letter to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert:

Serbia

Senior editor of RTV Kursumlija television station sentenced to prison for libel

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

Guyana

Four slain, two wounded in vicious attack on printing plant

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

Azerbaijan

Prosecutor says evidence links imprisoned former minister to journalist's murder

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has said it took note of a claim by the prosecutor general that former economic development minister Farkhad Aliev, who is being held on a charge of financing a coup attempt, was involved in the March 2005 murder of Elmar Huseynov, the editor of the "Monitor" opposition weekly.

China

CAPSULE REPORT: Media crackdowns continue in the lead-up to the Olympic Games, says RSF

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

Cuba

Journalist harassed; another arrested and interrogated; health of various imprisoned journalists continues to deteriorate

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF calls on Cuba's acting leader, Raúl Castro, to immediately and unconditionally release all of the country's independent journalists who are in prison.

Egypt

"Al-Ahram" newspaper filters staff access to Internet

(HRinfo/IFEX) - In a procedure that violates press freedom and the right to exchange information, "Al-Ahram" newspaper, the largest press foundation in the Middle East and North Africa, installed a filter to block websites that the newspaper finds unfit for journalists to browse while on the "Al-Ahram" internal network, which serves nearly 15,000 staff members, including around 2000 journalists.

Peru

Director of television programme repeatedly threatened, harassed

(IPYS/IFEX) - Since 15 July 2006, journalist Ronald Márquez Rosales, the director of the news programme "Casma al Día" on the television station Sideral TV Canal 7, has been the victim of repeated threats and harassment.

Lebanon / Israel

IFJ condemns Israeli restrictions on journalist access to conflict zones

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

Malaysia

Police investigate online daily for alleged libel

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The Kuala Lumpur-based Centre for Independent Journalism is concerned over the police visit to the office of the independent web-based daily, "Malaysiakini", on 8 August 2006.

Tanzania

Les autorités continuent de harceler l'ancien rédacteur en chef de l'hebdomadaire interdit "Dira"

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters sans frontières dénonce le harcèlement dont fait l'objet Ali Mohammed Nabwa, rédacteur en chef consultant de l'hebdomadaire privé "Fahamu" et ancien rédacteur en chef de l'hebdomadaire "Dira", suspendu depuis novembre 2003. Le journaliste a été une fois de plus déchu de sa nationalité tanzanienne par le département de l'Immigration du gouvernement semi-autonome de l'île de Zanzibar (Nord-Est), trois mois et demi après l'avoir obtenu du ministère tanzanien de l'Intérieur.

Tanzania

Authorities continue to harass banned weekly's former editor

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar's continuing harassment of veteran newspaper editor Ali Mohammed Nabwa, who has again been stripped of his Tanzanian nationality by the Zanzibar immigration department, just three and a half months after having it restored by the Tanzanian interior minister.

Peru

Journalists threatened with death

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 17 July 2006, journalists José Flores Burgos and Alberto Pintado Villaverde, both of the radio station Radio La Voz de Bagua Grande, filed a complaint with local authorities about having been threatened with death by Pedro Granados Ramírez. Days before, they had accused Granados of practicing medicine in the city of Utcubamba, in Amazonas province, ; northeastern Peru, without actually being a doctor.

China

Wikipedia-style online encyclopedia closes under government pressure

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced regret that the editor of e-Wiki ( http://www.eeeeee.org/wiki/ ), a Chinese collaborative encyclopedia on the Wikipedia model, felt obliged to close down his website to avoid problems for his contributors. Local Internet sources say the decision was linked to articles on Taiwan and on James Lung, the head of the Hong Kong-based Southern Democratic Alliance.

Peru

Radio journalist attacked and threatened

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 24 July 2006, journalist Juan Silva Litano, of the programme "Contacto Informativo" on the Paita-based radio station Turbo Mix Paita, was beaten unconscious by an unidentified individual who struck him repeatedly on the head with a glass bottle. The incident occurred on a street in Paita, in the province of Piura, in northeastern Peru. The journalist attributes the attack to criticisms of provincial authorities he made on his programme, to which the attacker made reference.

Sri Lanka

Journalists prevented from covering humanitarian crisis

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called on both sides in Sri Lanka's civil war to see to it that journalists could continue reporting in areas of fighting, especially in the northeastern town of Muttur, and criticised them for refusing to allow the media into these zones.

India

Kashmiri photographer in prison without evidence or trial for nearly two years

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has denounced India's security services for their persecution of photojournalist Muhammad Maqbool Khokar (better known as Maqbool Sahil), who has been imprisoned since 18 September 2004 under an emergency security law, and called for the country's journalists to campaign to free him. Requests by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and the National Human Rights Commission for his release have been ignored.

Rwanda

Newspaper editor goes missing, another targeted by threats and smears

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced deep concern about the editors of two independent weeklies, Bonaventure Bizumuremyi of "Umuco" and Charles Kabonero of "Umuseso". Bizumuremyi went missing 24 hours after the police came to his newspaper to arrest him, while Kabonero is the target of a government-orchestrated campaign of threats and false accusations.

Iraq

Two Iraqi journalists found murdered

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

Niger

Two journalists arrested and detained

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has vehemently condemned the treatment of editor-in chief of the private weekly "Le Républicain", Mamane Abou, and one of the paper's journalists, Oumarou Keita, who were arrested and detained after being charged with "publishing false information" and "defamation", of the Nigerian government, in the newspaper.

Burundi

CPJ condemns harassment of radio director

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 4 August 2006 CPJ press release:

Cambodia

Critical television talkshow cancelled after prime minister's warning

(SEAPA/IFEX) - A popular television station in Cambodia was forced to pull out a current affairs programme after Prime Minister Hun Sen accused the station concerned, Cambodian Television Network (CTN), of damaging the nation's reputation by airing the show.

Iran

Government outlaws human rights group that has provided counsel to freedom of expression advocates

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

Philippines

RSF calls for renewed efforts to investigate journalists' murders

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 4 August 2006 RSF open letter to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo:

Saudi Arabia

Writer, long harassed and censored, arrested for demonstrating in favor of women's rights

(HRinfo/IFEX) - HRinfo condemns the 4 August 2006 arrest of the Saudi writer Wajiha Al-Howaider. She was arrested while walking on the bridge connecting Saudi Arabia with Bahrain, holding a banner that stated "Give women their rights".

Venezuela

Union members storm, vandalise newspaper office, beat journalist

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 3 August 2006, approximately 500 members of the Federation of Workers of Barinas and of the Construction Union stormed the office of the newspaper "Diario de Los Llanos", of the southwestern state of Barinas. Members of the crowd beat journalist Paul Trasolini and a security guard, destroyed part of the office's reception area, and cut the office's telephone and electrical cables.

Somalia

CPJ condemns attack on journalists' union, calls for killers of driver to be brought to justice

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

Bangladesh

IFJ condemns brutal attack on radio correspondent

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

Kazakhstan

French journalist stabbed to death at his home

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has said it was "very shocked" by the murder of French journalist Grégoire de Bourgues at his home in Almaty on 2 August 2006 and called for an immediate investigation.

Rwanda

High Court upholds one-year suspended sentence and heavy fine for editor who published political analysis

(RSF/IFEX) - On 3 August 2006, Rwanda's highest court upheld a suspended sentence of one year in prison and a fine of one million Rwandan francs (approx. 1,400 euros) imposed against newspaper editor Charles Kabonero for "public insult" stemming from a series of analytical articles criticising the way the government operated. However, the court quashed his conviction on charges of libel and "divisionism," Reporters Without Borders has learned.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Journalist Patrick Booto released after nine months in prison

(JED/IFEX) - Patrice Booto, managing editor of the Kinshasa-based thrice-weekly "Le Journal" and its supplement "Pool Malebo", was released from prison on 3 August 2006 at about 6 p.m. (local time). As soon as he was released, Booto contacted JED to express relief after spending nine long months at a Kinshasa prison (Centre Pénitentiaire et de Rééducation de Kinshasa, CPRK).

South Africa

FXI's Anti-Censorship Programme releases seventh report

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

Cuba

At least three foreign journalists denied entry

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 3 August 2006 CPJ press release:

Singapore

Government tightens control over foreign publications

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Singapore appears to be tightening control mechanisms over foreign publications operating in the city-state, ahead of an upcoming International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank (WB) meeting in September 2006.

Nepal

Maoists call journalist to appear before "People's Court" over newspaper article

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 2 August 2006 at about 10:00 p.m. (local time), Maoists sent a threatening message to Ram Saran Bajgain, executive editor of the Kavre-based "Chesta Weekly" newspaper and a member of FNJ's Kavre branch.

Somalia

One dead, one injured in ambush by bandits on journalists' union's car

(RSF/IFEX) - On 4 August 2006, three gunmen ambushed a vehicle carrying leaders of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), a Reporters Without Borders partner organisation, on the road from Baidoa to Mogadishu, killing their driver, Madey Garas. One of the journalists was slightly injured.

Tajikistan

Government rejects BBC bid for FM licence

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 3 August 2006 CPJ press release:

Argentina

CPJ seeks explanation for cancellation of two television shows

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 3 August 2006 CPJ letter to President Néstor Kirchner:

Venezuela

State intelligence agent assaults journalist

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 25 July 2006, journalists Dagoberto Parra and Judith Valderrama, as well as photographer Carlos Galviz, all of the daily newspaper "Diario Los Andes", were harassed by agents of the Intelligence and Prevention Services Department (Dirección de los Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención, DISIP), as they attempted to cover security operations being conducted in Táchira state, which borders Colombia.

Iraq

Slain journalists may have been targeted for being Shiite; colleague receiving death threats for working for Iranian satellite channel

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

Venezuela

Government employees protest newspaper's editorial line, threaten to destroy printing press

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 26 July 2006, various members of the ruling Fatherland for Everyone (Patria Para Todos, PPT) party, together with employees of the municipality of Torres, in the western state of Lara, staged a demonstration in front of the offices of the daily newspaper "El Caroreño" to protest the editorial line of the newspaper, which is critical of the government. The protestors threatened to burn down the building housing the newspaper's printing press, and they burned various copies of the newspaper.

Azerbaijan

Opposition journalist on hunger strike for past week in protest against arrest on drug charge

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced alarm about the health risks involved in the hunger strike that Sakit Mirza Zahidov of the opposition daily "Azadlig" began on 25 July 2006 in Bayil prison in protest against his arrest on a charge of drug trafficking. His children, who are also worried about his condition, asked him to call off the protest, but he refused.

Cuba

Foreign reporters denied entry into country

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

Colombia

Magazine faces legal action over photographs and article about Christ

(FLIP/IFEX) ? The following is a 2 August 2006 FLIP statement:

Nigeria

Two journalists still held after nearly two months because of tough release conditions

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the continuing detention of "Ebonyi Voice" editor Imo Eze, and one of his journalists, Oluwole Elenyinmi, ever since they appeared in court on 14 June 2006 in response to a complaint by governor Sam Ominyi Egwu of the southeastern state of Ebonyi.

Maldives

Authorities urged not to send journalist Abdullah "Fahala" Saeed back to prison

(RSF/IFEX) - The South Asia Press Commission and Reporters Without Borders has appealed to interior minister Ahmed Thasmeen Ali not to send Abdullah "Fahala" Saeed back to prison at the end of a special leave granted to visit his family in Male, which began on 30 July 2006.

Ghana

Newspaper sued by two different plaintiffs for alleged defamation

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 21 July 2006, the President of the Musicians' Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Alhaji Sidiku Buari, filed a suit against Compuprint Ltd, publishers of the bi-weekly newspaper "People & Places (P&P)", and its editor Joris Jordan Duodoo for alleged defamation.

Ghana

Journalist allegedly harassed, sexually assaulted, by employee of ruling party

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 25 July 2006, Dickson Gblogbor, a reporter of the Accra based independent bi-weekly newspaper "The Enquirer", was allegedly assaulted by a personal assistant of Nana Ohene Ntow, the general secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), at the party's headquarters.

Togo

Defamation complaint filed against newspaper

(MFWA/IFEX) - "Le Changement", an independent weekly newspaper, was on 14 July 2006 sued by SE2M, a subsidiary of Pogosa, a multinational stevedoring group, at Grade I Magistrate Court in Lome, on three counts of allegedly publishing false information, defamation and insulting the company.

Nepal

Mobs, angered by news coverage, besiege Kantipur media complex, beat one journalist and threaten another

(FNJ/IFEX) - On 31 July 2006, a group of about 150 individuals brought work to a complete halt at the Kantipur media complex for over three hours. They were protesting against Kantipur Television's (KTV's) news bulletin on the killing of karate player Rakesh Gurung by Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police Bahadur Adhikari on the night of 30 July.

China

Authorities close Polls website for third time in three months

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders reiterated its strong condemnation of the heightened crackdown on the Internet of the past few days after the website Polls ( Zhongguo guoqing zixun - http://www.s007s.com ), which polls its visitors and posts political news briefs, was closed down again on 3 August 2006. For the first time, its Internet Content Provider (ICP) licence was also withdrawn.

Uzbekistan

Government continues harassment of independent journalist; dissident singer faces criminal trial

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

Somalia

Three journalists briefly detained and questioned by soldiers; Reuters journalists prohibited from taking pictures

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

Philippines

Photojournalist's killing probably not related to his journalistic work, say local police

(CMFR/IFEX) - A Manila-based photojournalist was slain on 31 July 2006 in Malabon City, just north of Manila.

Uzbekistan

RSF condemns the dismissal of six journalists from state-owned news media

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the dismissal of six journalists from state-owned news media for freelancing for independent or foreign media. Those fired include Jamilya Aipova and Olga Fazylova of the government newspaper "Pravda Vostoka".

Azerbaijan

ARTICLE 19 expresses concern over growing number of arrests and attacks on media representatives, lack of transparency surrounding police investigations

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 25 July 2006 ARTICLE 19 letter to Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev:

United States

Judge jails freelancer over videotape

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

Tibet (China)

Health concerns mount for teacher and writer Dolma Kyab, serving a ten-year sentence

(WiPC/IFEX) - The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN protests the detention of teacher and writer Dolma Kyab (pen-name Lobsang Kelsang Gyatso), who has been detained since 9 March 2005 and is serving a ten-year prison sentence for his critical writings. International PEN calls for his immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory. PEN seeks information about his health and assurances that he is receiving all necessary medical care following reports that he contracted tuberculosis whilst in pre-trial detention.

Kazakhstan

Writer Zhasaral Kuanyshalin sentenced to two years in jail, freed on amnesty

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - On 31 July 2006, writer and opposition politician Zhasaral Kuanyshalin was sentenced at Medeu district court in Almaty for "public insult or other infringement upon the honour and dignity of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the use of the mass information media" under Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The writer was sentenced to two years in prison but freed on amnesty.

China

Century China website describes how it was closed down

(RSF/IFEX) - The people who ran Century China, a very influential website among Chinese intellectuals, have posted a statement on the Internet that contains the text of the official message ordering its closure. It shows that Century China was accused of violating the September 2005 law which Reporters Without Borders dubbed the "Internet 11 Commandments" ( http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15139 ).

Iraq

Three more journalists killed, two apparently victims of targeted assassinations; a fourth beaten by Ministry of Interior police

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

United States

Journalist facing possible imprisonment for refusing to surrender video to judicial authorities

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has protested against attempts by a US attorney's office to have freelance journalist Josh Wolf held in contempt of court for refusing to surrender video footage he shot of violent anti-G8 demonstrations in San Francisco in July 2005. The request is to be heard before a federal court in San Francisco on August 1 2006.

Sri Lanka

Newspaper vendor killed amid continuing threats against Tamil media

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the killing of newspaper vendor Mariathas Manojanraj by a mine that was set off as he was going to Jaffna on 27 July 2006 to collect newspapers for distribution. The attack came as death threats are being made against the distributors of Tamil-language newspapers.

Rwanda

Journalist Jean-Léonard Rugambage finally freed after being held for 11 months by popular tribunal

(RSF/IFEX) - Jean-Léonard Rugambage of the Kigali-based independent fortnightly "Umuco" was freed on 28 July 2006 after a 'gacaca' popular tribunal finally recognised on appeal that the warrant for his arrest issued on 7 September 2005 was fraudulent and that his detention was therefore arbitrary, Rugambage has told Reporters Without Borders.

Democratic Republic of Congo

JED condemns the destruction of media regulatory offices in Kinshasa

(JED/IFEX) - The offices of the High Authority on Media (Haute Autorité des Médias, HAM), the DR Congo media regulation agency, were destroyed, pillaged and set ablaze on 27 July 2006 at 5:30 p.m. (local time). The unidentified attackers were described by witnesses to be supporters of Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) President Jean-Pierre Bemba, who is a candidate in the presidential election.

The Gambia

Witness testifies against journalist

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 27 July 2006, Samba Bah, the Gambia's former Interior Minister and head of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), testified against Lamin Fatty, a reporter of the bi-weekly Banjul-based newspaper "The Independent", who is standing trial for allegedly publishing "false information".

Egypt

EOHR issues report on state of press freedom: "Journalism in Egypt: Caught between Laws and the Government"

(EOHR/IFEX) - The following is a 12 July 2006 EOHR press release:

Brazil

Journalist target of failed murder attempt

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 18 July 2006, journalist José Ursílio, editor-in-chief of the "Diario de Marília" newspaper, was the intended target of an assassination attempt, by a contract killer who confused him with another newspaper employee. The attack took place at the entrance to the newspaper's headquarters, in Marília, São Paulo district. Contract killer Evandro Quina shot at Almir Adauto, a driver for the newspaper, twice, mistaking Adauto for Ursílio. Adauto was not injured. Quina was arrested by police.

Russia

Unnamed suspect arrested in slaying of journalist; police say robbery was motive

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

Philippines

Manila-based photojournalist killed

(CMFR/IFEX) - A Manila-based photojournalist was slain on the morning of 31 July 2006, in Malabon City, just north of Manila.

Afghanistan

Gunmen attack Tolo TV crew covering Kabul demonstration

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a violent attack by a parliamentarian's armed supporters on a crew sent by the privately-owned Tolo TV station to cover a demonstration in Kabul on 29 July 2006.

Liberia

Journalist suffers serious health problems from severe beating and torture

(MFWA/IFEX) - Throble Suah, a journalist working with the independent Monrovia-based daily newspaper "The Inquirer", who was tortured by the then President Charles Taylor's murder squad - the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) - and has been a victim of various other attacks, needs urgent medical that is not available in Liberia, according to the Press Union of Liberia.

Tibet (China)

Tibetan poet's blogs closed down

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the sudden disappearance on 28 July 2006 of two blogs by leading Tibetan poet Woeser (also known as Oser and, in Chinese, Wei Se). They were shut down by the websites that hosted them - http://www.Tibetcult.net, a Tibetan cultural portal, and http://www.Daqi.com, a local blog platform - presumably on government orders amid a continuing wave of online censorship in China.

Guinea

Newspaper suspended for two months

(MFWA/IFEX) - "La Croisade", a Conakry-based independent newspaper, was on 19 July 2006 suspended for two months by the media regulatory body, the National Communication Council (CNC), for allegedly publishing false information.

Sierra Leone

Newspaper editor's killers still at large a year after his death

(RSF/IFEX) - On 27 July 2006, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) hailed the memory of "For Di People" acting editor Harry Yansaneh on the first anniversary of his death and called on the judicial authorities to re-launch the investigation into the severe beating he received two-and-a-half months before he died.

Malaysia

Information minister threatens action against media outlets that discuss race or religion

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The Malaysian government is threatening action against the mass media should they continue discussing race and religion. In a press statement on 28 July 2006, Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin warned editors that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would not tolerate discussion on such matters.

Kenya

Journalist ordered to reveal source

(AFMF/IFEX) - "Standard" newspaper journalist Elizabeth Kwamboka has been ordered by a Nairobi court to appear before it to reveal the source of a story she filed under the title ''Deya Miracle Babies to be adopted by German couple.''

Serbia

President blocks Parliament's repressive amendments

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has welcomed Serbian President Boris Tadic's refusal to promulgate legislative amendments passed by parliament on 19 July 2006 that would have given the country's Broadcasting Council the power to impose arbitrary sanctions.

Azerbaijan

Blog that satirises President Aliev made inaccessible

(RSF/IFEX) - Internet users in Azerbaijan are currently unable to access http://www.Tinsohbeti.com, a foreign-based satirical blog with cartoons making fun of President Ilham Aliev and his government, RSF says. The blog has been rendered inaccessible in the past, forcing its publishers to change their Internet address several times.

Sri Lanka

Paramilitaries tell delivery agents of two Tamil newspapers to cease distribution or face death

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a 26 July 2006 FMM press release:

Russia

President signs law labeling criticism of state officials "extremism"

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

Democratic Republic of Congo

Mob threatens photographer covering pre-election riot

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

Azerbaijan

Ex-officer says he plotted editor's murder; some are skeptical

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

Peru / Brazil

Newspaper owner murdered in Brazil; two more individuals implicated in journalist's murder absolved in Peru

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is a 26 July 2006 IAPA press release:

Brazil

IAPA welcomes president's veto of legislation that would have negatively impacted on press freedom

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

Philippines

Suspect in broadcaster's murder arrested; mayor files libel complaints against tabloids

(CMFR/IFEX) - A mayor recently filed libel complaints against two editors, a columnist, and the circulation managers of two tabloid newspapers.

Indonesia

Government regulatory agency forcibly shuts down two radio stations in Aceh as licensing controversy continues

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Fighting between the independent Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) and the Ministry of Communication and Information over regulatory power has sent the radio broadcasting sector into disarray.

Russia

President Putin urged to take account of US Senate resolution on Klebnikov murder

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed a US senate resolution adopted on 26 July 2006, condemning the July 2004 murder of US journalist Paul Klebnikov in Moscow and calling on the Russian government to pursue its efforts to identify those who gave the orders and to accept help from the United States and other countries with the investigation.

Pakistan

Authorities' pledge to review journalist killings a "welcome first step", says CPJ

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

Rwanda

Journalist kept in prison after conviction overturned on appeal

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the failure to release newspaper reporter Jean Léonard Rugambage after the judges of a "gacaca" people's court in Mbati, in the district of Ruyumba, overturned his conviction on a charge of "contempt of court", on 26 July 2006, for which he had already served eight months of a one-year prison sentence.

Brazil

IAPA calls on president to speed up investigation into journalist's 1995 murder

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

China

No verdict in Zhao Yan trial as court ignores legal deadline

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has expressed concern at the "completely illegal" handling by the authorities of the case of "New York Times" employee Zhao Yan, who faces the death penalty for "fraud" and "revealing state secrets." The organisation calls for the immediate release of the laureate of the 2005 Reporters Without Borders press freedom prize.

Lebanon

Reporters Without Borders in Beirut to express solidarity with Lebanese media

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

Turkey

Writer Perihan Magden acquitted

(WiPC/IFEX) - Writer Perihan Magden was acquitted by a court in Istanbul on 27 July 2006. She had been charged under Article 218 of the Turkish Penal Code for having "turned people against military service". The charges relate to an article entitled "Conscientious Objection is a Human Right", published in December 2005. International PEN welcomes the acquittal and hopes that there will be similar outcomes for other writers and journalists who are on trial under this and other penal code articles that contravene international standards safeguarding the right to free expression.

Philippines

Ex-president Estrada to file libel suit against "Manila Standard Today" newspaper and two individuals

(CMFR/IFEX) - Embattled former president Joseph Estrada is set to file a Php 30 million (approx: US$580,000) libel suit against a Manila-based national daily and two individuals for accusing him of involvement in a money-laundering operation.

Nigeria

Stringent new accreditation requirements imposed on journalists for covering National Assembly activities

(MRA/IFEX) - On 26 July 2006, Nigeria's federal legislature, the National Assembly, outlined a series of harsh requirements that media organizations will be obliged to meet before their reporters are re-accredited to cover the activities of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Cambodia

Journalist flees to Thailand after receiving death threats

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has deplored "harassment and death threats" that have forced editor-in-chief You Saravuth to flee to neighbouring Thailand after printing an article criticising a nephew of prime minister Hun Sen. It called on the government to arrest those who made the threats and for the immediate dropping of legal action concerning the article, as well as protection for the editor's family.

Lebanon / Israel

Television crews allege targeting by Israeli warplanes in the south

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

Philippines

Three suspects in radio journalist's murder apprehended

(CMFR/IFEX) ? Within two days after the incident, police apprehended three suspects in the 18 July 2006 killing of broadcaster Armando Pace in Digos City, Davao del Sur, around 680 kilometers south of Manila.

Russia

Investigative journalist found slain in apartment

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

Swaziland

Parliament rejects government move to impose media regulation

(MISA/IFEX) - On 19 July 2006, the Swazi Parliament rejected a planned move by the government to impose a law to regulate the proposed Media Complaints Commission (MCC).

Uzbekistan

Authorities block Neweurasia blog platform

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a new wave of Internet censorship in Uzbekistan, where Neweurasia ( http://www.Neweurasia.net ), a website that hosts a network of blogs about Central Asia and the Caucasus, has been inaccessible for several weeks. The government probably ordered local ISPs to block the Neweurasia.net domain name after it launched Russian and Uzbek-language versions.

Brazil

Municipal councilor beats 73-year-old freelance journalist to death

(RSF/IFEX) - On 27 July 2006, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) voiced horror on learning that Ajuricaba Monassa de Paula, a 73-year-old freelance journalist and member of the local opposition, was beaten to death in public in Guapirimim, in Rio de Janeiro state, on 24 July by a municipal councilor he had criticised. Monassa was affiliated with the Brazilian Press Association (ABI).

Palestine / Israel

IFJ presses Israel for answers about recent army attacks on media personnel in the region, calls for end to "pattern of targeting"

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 26 July 2006 IFJ media release, followed by a letter to Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, Chief of the General Staff, Israel Defense Forces:

Malaysia

Government tightening restrictions on online media, public discussions of race and religion; forum on religious freedom halted by protestors

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Malaysian rights advocates are sounding the alarm over a perceived trend toward tightening restrictions on free speech and free expression in the country.

Peru

Radio journalist assaulted by municipal employee in Huaraz

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 25 July 2006, journalist Francisco Rodríguez Robles, the host and director of the radio programme "Sin Fronteras" broadcast on Radio Studio 97, was assaulted by a municipal employee of Huaraz, a city in northwestern Peru.

International

IACHR examines community radio stations' situation, describes as "undemocratic" the auctioning of radio frequencies

(AMARC/IFEX) - The following is a 24 July 2006 AMARC press release:

Syria

Massoud Hamid, winner of 2005 RSF Internet Freedom Prize, released at end of prison sentence

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF welcomes the 23 July 2006 release from prison of Massoud Hamid, winner of the 2005 RSF - Fondation de France Internet Freedom Prize, at the end of a three-year sentence for posting photos online of a pro-Kurdish demonstration in Damascus.

Turkey

Government urged to conform to European Court's rulings on freedom of expression

(RSF/IFEX) - As Turkey often violates freedom of expression, Reporters Without Borders has hailed the 25 July 2006 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that it breached article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, concerning free expression, by prosecuting the editor and owner of a pro-Kurdish daily.

Maldives

"Minivan" correspondent freed after being held more than three months

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed the release on 24 July 2006 of Mohamed Yushau, a correspondent of the opposition newspaper "Minivan", who had been held on a terrorism charge since 9 April after publicly opposing the leader of the atoll of Thinadhoo at a conference. He has also often written about the difficult living conditions of Maldivians.

Palestine / Israel

Cameraman seriously injured in targeted attack by Israeli army on journalists in Gaza

(RSF/IFEX) - Condemning the Israeli army's latest targeted attack on journalists in the Gaza Strip, in which Ibrahim Atla, a cameraman with the Palestinian public TV broadcaster, was seriously injured on the morning of 26 July 2006, by shots fired by a tank in eastern Gaza, Reporters Without Borders has urged the Israeli authorities to calm their troops down.

Tunisia

Outspoken human rights activist beaten and threatened with sexual assault

(HRinfo/IFEX) - The following is a 24 July 2006 statement by WGFENA, of which HRinfo is a member:

Colombia

Bucaramanga editor continues to receive death threats, says authorities have failed to investigate who is behind them

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

China

Century China website and a magazine's chat forum shut down in new wave of censorship

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the immediate reopening of Century China ( Shiji Zhongguo - http://www.cc.cn.org ), one of the most influential websites for Chinese intellectuals, and the chat forum of the magazine "Life Week" ( "Sanlian Shenghuo Zhoukan" - http://www.lifeweek.com.cn/ ), which carried foreign media reports. Century China stopped posting articles by its contributors at the behest of the authorities on 25 July 2006, while the "Life Week" forum was suddenly closed down without explanation.

Poland

Pressure on German journalists continues in wake of article making fun of Polish president

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has expressed alarm at the Polish government's campaign against the German daily "Die Tageszeitung" and its reporter Peter Kohler, who wrote an article last month poking fun at President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who are identical twin brothers.

China

Reporter beaten to death by policeman in Guizhou province

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced shock that reporter Xiao Guopeng of the daily "Anshun" was beaten to death by a policeman in the province of Guizhou on 18 July 2006. The policeman has been arrested and a criminal investigation is under way. Xiao was the second journalist to die this year in China as a result of a beating by a police officer.

Brazil

RSF urges president to veto law that would restrict who can work as a journalist

(RSF/IFEX) - A new federal law regulating the work of journalists that was approved by the Senate earlier in July 2006 poses a "dangerous" threat to press freedom in Brazil, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on 25 July, urging President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to veto it when it is submitted for the executive's approval on 27 July. The law distinguishes between journalists who are officially recognised and those who are not.

International

IFJ study finds Indian journalists face difficulty getting HIV/AIDS stories published, Asian colleagues limited by "biased and limited" government information

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

Mexico

Death threats over critical political stance preceded gunmen's attack on university radio station

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

Lebanon

Television station technician seriously injured in attack as Israeli military targets media facilities in Lebanon

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

Mexico

Armed thugs attack university radio station in Oaxaca

(CENCOS/IFEX) - CENCOS expresses its alarm regarding the attack carried out on 22 July 2006 at 9:20 p.m. (local time) on XEUBJ Radio Universidad radio station, located on the campus of the Autonomous University of Benito Juárex de Oaxaca (Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca, UABJO) in Oaxaca City.

Russia

CPJ urges European Court to make Russian murder case a priority

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 21 July 2006 CPJ letter to the European Court of Human Rights president:

Democratic Republic of Congo

A week before general elections, journalist kept in prison for "offending the head of state"

(JED/IFEX) - The public prosecutor has requested a three-year prison sentence with no parole for Patrice Booto, managing editor of the Kinshasa-based thrice-weekly "Le Journal" and its supplement "Pool Malebo". This request was made during the 21 July 2006 public appeal hearing at the Kinshasa/Kalamu High Court in appeal of the earlier Assosa Peace Tribunal verdict.

Nepal

Members of student organisation seize and burn copies of newspapers and magazines

(CEHURDES/IFEX) - CEHURDES condemns the burning of newspapers by a student group in the southern town of Janakpur.

Afghanistan

Suicide bomber kills TV employee covering death of two Canadian soldiers

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced deep regret at the death of Abdul Qodus, a cameraman and driver employed by the Kandahar bureau of the privately-owned TV station Aryana. He was killed on 22 July 2006, when a Taliban suicide bombing in Kandahar was followed by another in the same place a short while later.

Kenya

Government minister threatens cartoonist with legal action once more

(CRN/IFEX) - CRN has received a report that Godfrey "Gado" Mwampembwa, a cartoonist for the Nairobi-based "The Daily Nation", and the paper's managing editor received a letter from Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Martha Karua. The letter demands a correction of the facts implied in a cartoon concerning her that appeared in "The Daily Nation" and threatens legal retaliation.

Peru

Court orders release of men convicted of journalist's murder

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the afternoon of 20 July 2006, the First Transitory Criminal Bench of the Supreme Court (Primera Sala Penal Transitoria de la Corte Suprema de Justicia) ordered the release of Amaro León, Antonio Torre Camones and Pedro Ángeles Figueroa, accused of killing journalist Antonio de La Torre in February 2004. However, the bench, over which Robinson Gonzáles Campos presides, has not yet officially made its ruling public.

Argentina

Three journalists assaulted by local mayor's supporters

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 9 July 2006, journalists Óscar Martínez, Carlos Furman and Marcos Silvan were assaulted while covering a public celebration of Independence Day in Santa Elena, located in Entre Ríos province in northeastern Argentina. The assailants, identified as supporters of the local mayor, Domingo Daniel Rossi, beat the journalists as well as others in the crowd who protested Rossi's presence at the event.

Lebanon

Photographer killed in Israeli bombing

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has expressed great shock at the death of Lebanese press photographer Layal Nagib in an Israeli attack on the southern Lebanese town of Cana. Her death follows that of a technician for Lebanese TV station LBC in Israeli bombing east of Beirut on 22 July 2006.

Lebanon

Israeli air strikes destroy TV antennae and kill an LBC technician

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the Israeli military's decision to strike telecommunication installations in Lebanon, thereby depriving millions of Lebanese citizens of TV news and information, notably the broadcasts of the commercial Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC). An LBC technician was killed when installations in Satka, in East Beirut, were attacked.

Argentina

"El Progreso" newspaper director receives death threats following stories on local politics

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 10 July 2006, journalist Horacio Poggi, director of "El Progreso" newspaper, published in Merlo, a district near the capital, Buenos Aires, filed a complaint with Merlo's Sixth Police Station regarding anonymous death threats he received at the newspaper's editorial office.

Romania

Government closes down Foreign Ministry spoof website

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced surprise that a foreign ministry spoof website launched by two journalists of the daily newspaper "Ziua" ("The Day") was closed down at the government's request on 15 June 2006 by the privately-owned host company CHML, which also gave the authorities information about the journalists, in violation of personal confidentiality laws.

Turkey

President approves problematic amendments to Anti-Terror Law

(WiPC/IFEX) - On 17 July 2006, President Necdet Sezer approved amendments to the Turkish Anti Terror Law despite widespread concern that their implementation would lead to a steep downturn in the state of freedom of expression in Turkey. In a statement dated 14 July, International PEN wrote that the passing of these amendments threatens to broaden "the definition of terrorism and brings with it the possibility of many more prosecutions of writers and journalists for writings that cannot be construed as supporting or advocating violence." It added, "International PEN fears that the effect of passing this law would be to reverse the many positive legislative changes of recent years that have led to improvements in the state of freedom of expression."

Costa Rica

COSTA RICA: Justice minister tells CPJ that government opposes press restrictions

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

Israel

Correspondent for Arabic television station Al-Hurra wounded by rubber bullets during Israeli army operation in the West Bank

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

Indonesia

Journalist freed but still facing possible five-year prison sentence

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders welcomes the release of Teguh Santosa, on 20 July 2006, following pressure, particularly from the Indonesian Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI). Teguh Santosa had been placed in custody the evening before for having publishing three of the controversial Mohammed cartoons in February this year. Government officials as well as the prosecutor general had expressed surprise that the journalist had been remanded in custody and blamed junior officials in the prosecutor's office for the mistake. The journalist is still facing trial and is in danger of a five-year jail term for having "publicly expressed hostility and hatred to a religious group". Reporters Without Borders has called for the charges to be dropped.

Japan

Alarm at fire-bomb attack against financial paper

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders strongly condemned a fire-bomb attack against the offices of the financial newspaper "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" ("Nikkei") in Tokyo overnight on 20-21 July 2006, causing minor damage but no injuries.

Singapore

Government drops charges against blogger who posted Jesus cartoons

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has hailed a decision by the Singaporean authorities to drop all charges against a 21-year-old blogger who had been accused of violating the Sedition Act by posting cartoons of Jesus on his blog. The authorities said they let him off with a warning.

Burkina Faso

Outrageous denial of justice in the 1998 murder of journalist Norbert Zongo

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has pledged to continue campaigning for justice in the 1998 murder of leading independent journalist Norbert Zongo after learning that the judge in charge of the investigation, Wenceslas Ilboudo, has dismissed the case against the only person ever charged.

Zimbabwe

Journalists released

(MISA/IFEX) - Journalists Ndamu Sandu and Godwin Mangudya, who were arrested in Harare on 19 July 2006, were released together with members of the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA), after spending a night and almost an entire day in police cells at the Harare Central Police station.

The Gambia

Journalist disappears; two "Daily Express" journalists released

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arrests of Sam Obi, the managing director of a new, privately-owned newspaper based in Banjul, the "Daily Express", and one of his journalists, Abdul Gafari, who were held from 14 to 18 July 2006 at the headquarters of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

Egypt

Two bloggers released after two months' imprisonment

(HRinfo/IFEX) - HRinfo welcomes the orders issued by the newly appointed public prosecutor to release the two prisoners of opinion, Mohammad Al-Sharqawy and Kareem Al-Shai'r, who have been unjustifiably jailed for two months. They were arrested for supporting the Egyptian judges' movement calling for judiciary independence.

Hong Kong (China)

RSF calls for the release of journalist Ching Cheong for lack of evidence

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders is joining 19 other human rights groups in a day-long campaign for Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong, whose trial is due to open in Beijing in the next few days.

Malaysia

ARTICLE 19 and CIJ urge Parliament to amend Press Council Bill

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is an 18 July 2006 joint ARTICLE 19 and CIJ press release:

Serbia

Broadcast Act amended a third time

(ANEM/IFEX) - The following is a press release of the Southeast European Network of Private Broadcasters (SEENAPB), of which ANEM is a member:

India

Government ban on websites draws concern

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 19 July 2006 CPJ letter to the Indian Prime Minister:

Azerbaijan

CPJ concerned about jailed journalist's deteriorating health

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

Indonesia

Website editor arrested, held in prison, for re-publishing Prophet cartoons

(AJI/IFEX) - AJI is calling for an international appeal to respond to the detention of Teguh Santosa, chief editor of "Rakyat Merdeka Online" (RMOL), on 19 July 2006, at 6:00 p.m. (local time). He is being held at Cipinang Prison in Jakarta.

Venezuela

IAPA mission finds sharp deterioration in press freedom

(IAPA/IFEX) - The following is an 19 July 2006 IAPA press release:

Pakistan

CPJ calls on authorities for information about missing journalist

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 13 July 2006 CPJ press release:

Turkey

Editor may face new prosecution for referring to Armenian genocide

(RSF/IFEX) - On 18 July 2006, the Istanbul public prosecutor opened a new investigation against Hrant Dink, the managing editor of the Armenian-language weekly "Agos", this time for referring to the massacre of Armenians in 1915 as "genocide."

Israel

Israeli army fires on Al-Jazeera crew in West Bank

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced strong condemnation of a 19 July 2006 Israeli army attack on Al-Jazeera TV reporter Jevara Al-Budeiri and her crew in the West Bank town of Nablus, in which one of the crew's technicians, Wael Tantous, was hit in the foot by rubber bullets. The crew was broadcasting live at the time.

Zimbabwe

Two journalists covering demonstration arrested and detained; lawyers denied access

(MISA/IFEX) - On 19 July 2006, journalists Godwin Mangudya and Ndamu Sandu, who were covering demonstrations to press for the removal of the chairperson of the commission running the affairs of Harare Municipality, were arrested and detained at the Harare Central Police Station. The journalists are apparently still in police custody.

Uzbekistan

Editor closes website in response to harassment

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders said it suspected the Uzbek authorities of being behind threats that forced a website editor to close his online publication and that he and his family had suffered years of harassment.

Cuba

Two independent journalists complete a year in detention without trial

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has reiterated its support for two independent journalists, Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez and Oscar Mario González Pérez, who have been held without trial since their arrests on 13 and 22 July 2005, respectively.

Croatia

IFJ concerned that government appointments to news agency managing board were politically motivated

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

Senegal

Managing editor of "L'Office" freed conditionally pending appeal

(RSF/IFEX) - Moustapha Sow, the managing editor of the Dakar-based daily "L'Office", was freed conditionally on 14 July 2006 pending the outcome of his appeal against his conviction on a charge of libelling Bara Tall, the CEO of a construction company. The release hearing should have been held on 7 July 2006 but was postponed a week by Dakar appeal court judge Boubacar Diallo.

Serbia

ANEM urges parliament to reject hasty amendments to Broadcast Act

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

Sri Lanka

New levy on foreign films and television dramas is "tantamount to indirect censorship," warns FMM

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

The Gambia

Missing journalist reportedly arrested by National Intelligence Agency; newspaper censored

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 11 July 2006, Chief Ebrima B. Manneh, a reporter for the pro-government newspaper "Daily Observer", was arrested and detained by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) of The Gambia.

Ghana

Police officer assaults radio journalist, threatens him with death

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 2 June 2006, Hackman K. Afriyie, a reporter for ASTA FM, an independent radio station based in Techiman, a city in northern Ghana, was slapped and threatened with death by Police Constable Eric Gyamfi for his alleged criticisms of the police.

Paraguay

Death threats against journalist after drug trafficking report

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is an 18 July 2006 CPJ press release:

Philippines

Radio broadcaster killed in Mindanao

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

Russia

Ukrainian television reporter jailed covering anti-G8 rally

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

Angola

Two journalists murdered

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the murders of two journalists in the past 10 days. The victims were Augusto Sebastiao Domingos Pedro, the correspondent of the state-owned "Jornal de Angola" in the western province of Bengo, and Benicio Wedeinge, the director of the public television station TPA in the southern province of Cunene.

Israel

Detained Al-Jazeera journalist released on bail; another held for several hours

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

The Gambia

Two more journalists said to be arrested as crackdown continues

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

Israel

Al-Jazeera bureau chief arrested after reporting about cross-border clashes with Lebanon

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has called for the immediate release of Walid Al-Omari, Al-Jazeera's bureau chief in Israel, who was detained on 17 July 2006 in northern Israel shortly after reporting live on the Qatar-based satellite TV news station about the cross-border clashes with Lebanon. It was the second time Omari had been arrested by the police in two days.

Swaziland

One sports reporter assaulted by soccer player, another by fans

(MISA/IFEX) - On 15 and 16 July 2006, two sports journalists of the "Times of Swaziland" were assaulted at different football stadiums during soccer games.

Colombia

Constitutional Court rules in favour of establishment of Bogotá community radio stations

(AMARC/IFEX) - The following is a 14 July 2006 AMARC press release:

Russia

Authorities free two German students who work for university radio

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced relief at the news that Eike Korfhage and Henning Wallerius, two German students who went St. Petersburg to cover the Group of Eight summit for a German university radio station, Hertz 97.8, were freed on the afternoon of 15 July 2006 although the authorities had ordered them held for 10 days.

Ethiopia

CPJ confirms another journalist charged with treason, imprisoned, faces possible death sentence

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

South Africa

RSF urges Jacob Zuma to end threats to sue media for defamation

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is a 7 July 2006 RSF open letter to Jacob Zuma:

Malaysia

Protests mount against revamp of independent Chinese-language radio program

(SEAPA/IFEX) - A coalition of media advocates and civil society groups is protesting a government move ordering a popular Chinese-language radio call-in program to revamp its format and content after it aired listeners' views that were deemed inappropriate.

Pakistan

Two television camera operators beaten, television crew's van fired upon by angry mob

(PPF/IFEX) - Supporters of a slain religious leader sprayed bullets on the van of a local television channel on 15 July 2006, in Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan. On 14 July, two cameramen from another television channel were beaten.

El Salvador

CPJ condemns attacks on journalists during street protests, urges thorough investigation

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

Cambodia

Government files criminal charges against newspaper

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

The Gambia

New wave of media repression after African Union summit; journalist missing, believed arrested, another in hiding

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

Russia

Parliament's upper house approves bill labelling media criticism of state officials "extremism"

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

Burma

Censorship forces magazine to cancel latest issue

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Burma's new monthly magazine, "New Spectator", has been forced to cancel its July 2006 issue after heavy censorship stripped it of four lead articles.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Journalist arrested and later released for "insulting" provincial governor

(JED/IFEX) - Olivier Komfie Mabwava, Bandundu correspondent for the Kinshasa-based Digital Congo FM radio station, was placed under pre-trial arrest on 12 July 2006 at about 4:30 p.m. (local time), in the Bandundu High Court prison, by the public prosecutor, Kapuba Tshikoyoyo.

Russia

As G8 summit nears, CPJ urges examination of Russia's press record

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 13 July 2006 CPJ press release:

Thailand

Government should drop sedition and defamation charges used to silence opponents, says Human Rights Watch

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

Russia

Authorities attempt to stifle dissent before G-8 summit

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

Haiti

No sign of justice a year after journalist Jacques Roche was murdered

(RSF/IFEX) - A year after "Le Matin" journalist Jacques Roche was kidnapped in Port-au-Prince on 10 July 2005 and was found dead four days later, Reporters Without Borders has voiced anger and bitterness that the investigation has ground to a halt and the suspects who were arrested have not been brought to trial.

Argentina

Public television station's decision to pull talk show sparks more controversy

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced surprise at the decision by public television station Canal 7 to suddenly withdraw the morning talk show "Desayuno" ("Breakfast") from its programming on 7 July 2006, saying it feared the move could be linked to the current tension between the media and President Néstor Kirchner's government.

Lebanon / Israel

Reuters cameraman wounded in Hezbollah rocket attack; CPJ calls on Israel to explain attacks on Al-Manar TV

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 13 July 2006 CPJ press release:

China

Journalist Li Yuanlong sentenced to two years in prison

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

Iran

Blogger Abed Tavancheh released on bail

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders welcomes the release on bail, on 11 July 2006, of blogger Abed Tavancheh. Bail was set at 50 millions tomans (approx. 50,000 euros). He is due to go on trial shortly, but the date of the hearing has yet to be fixed. The blogger was arrested on 26 May at Teheran University, where he is a student, during demonstrations which led to clashes between young democrats and the Basij militia - students who are controlled by the authorities.

Russia

Two young German journalists arrested during anti-G8 protests

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at police violence on 13 July 2006 in Moscow against a German journalist who was covering protests against this weekend's G8 summit St. Petersburg, and the detention of two other German journalists in St. Petersburg since the night of 9 July.

Nepal

Newspaper editor and three journalists threatened by local political leaders

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

Lebanon / Israel

Seven journalists and media workers injured in space of two days

(RSF/IFEX) - Voicing concern about attacks on journalists in Lebanon in the past 48 hours and the lack of resources being deployed to protect them, Reporters Without Borders has called on the Israeli authorities to investigate the circumstances in which three journalists with the Lebanese television station New TV were injured on 12 July 2006.

Mongolia

CORRECTION: Television editor beaten after airing controversial programme

(Globe International/IFEX) - Please note, it was previously stated that the "Forbidden to watch" programme had covered the privatisation process of the Erdenet mining industry. Globe International clarifies that the state has not privatised the Erdenet industry, nor is it intending to. Globe International and the IFEX Clearing House apologise for the error.

El Salvador

Demonstrators attack 13 journalists during protests against price hikes

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned attacks by demonstrators on a total of 13 journalists during protests against public transport and electricity price increases that shook the country from 4 to 7 July 2006. The press freedom organisation voiced its solidarity with the Association of El Salvador Journalists (Asociación de Periodistas de El Salvador, APES), which issued a report on the attacks.

Turkey

Appeals court upholds suspended prison sentence against Hrant Dink

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders said it was baffled by an appeals court decision to uphold a six-month suspended prison sentence against Hrant Dink, managing editor of the weekly "Agos", for referring to the 1915 genocide against the Armenians.

Iran

Government uses "velvet revolution" charge against Ramin Jahanbegloo and other journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the Iranian intelligence minister's recent allegations against imprisoned journalist and intellectual Ramin Jahanbegloo and voiced concern about a new crackdown on the press in Iran.

China

RSF urges European Parliament president to raise cases of imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents on visit to China

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has written to European Parliament president Josep Borrell urging him to raise the cases of three imprisoned Chinese cyber-dissidents during a nine-day visit to China, thereby showing that the resolution about online free expression passed by the European Parliament will be followed up by concrete action.

Bangladesh

RSF condemns authorities' failure to respond to death threats prior to bombing of independent weekly

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the failure of the police to take any action in response to threats received by editor Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury prior to the bombing of his independent newspaper, the "Weekly Blitz", in Dhaka on 5 July 2006. Two bombs went off, causing minor damage and no injuries, while two other unexploded devices were found inside the premises.

Azerbaijan

Critical journalist held on spurious drug charge, colleagues say

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

China

Filmmaker, blogger Wu Hao released

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

Guatemala

Small business owners and residents assault journalists in coastal city

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 6 July 2006, various residents and restaurant owners in Champerico, on the Pacific coast, assaulted Francisco Revolorio, correspondent for "Nuestro Diario" and "Prensa Libre", and Mario Adán Turín, a journalist for Canal 46 television channel. The journalists were working on a report about the destruction of tourist infrastructure on the Pacific coast, caused by strong waves.

Singapore

Government shut-down of news blog prompts demonstrations; SEAPA warns of looming showdown between state and bloggers

(SEAPA/IFEX) - A showdown may be looming in Singaporean cyberspace, with the censure of a popular blogger sparking a rare protest in the city state and the government insisting that the suspension of his column is merely consistent with the city-state's notorious policies for managing public discussions in any form of medium.

Egypt

Journalists still risk jail under Press Law, says Human Rights Watch

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

Colombia

Radio Caracol producer announces his departure from country due to threats

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced dismay at Radio Caracol producer and host Herbin Hoyos Medina's announcement on 6 July 2006 that he is being forced to leave Colombia as a result of threats from a mysterious "Action and Justice Front for Freedom and Democracy," which is apparently a group of former members of right-wing paramilitary organisations.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ngyke murder trial set to begin on 12 July

(JED/IFEX) - The Military Court of the Kinshasa/Matete Garrison has set 12 July 2006 as the start date for the trial in the double murder of Franck Ngyke, a journalist with the daily "La Référence Plus", and his wife Helène Mpaka.

Egypt

Members of Parliament call for censorship of film

(EOHR/IFEX) - The following is a 10 July 2006 EOHR press release:

Germany / International

European Federation of Journalists supports German media boycott of Robbie Williams concerts

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an 11 July 2006 media release of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), an IFJ regional group:

Kazakhstan

Website office broken into, three computers stolen

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - On the night of 7-8 July 2006, unknown individuals broke into the offices of the website http://www.dialog.kz. They stole three computers and a printer, leaving other equipment and valuables untouched. The intruders entered the premises through a window.

Peru

Demonstrators assault reporters

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 4 July 2006, reporter Henry Chuchón, of the Canal 25 television channel, and Carlos Rojas from the "Jornada" daily were assaulted by a group of supporters of the nationalist political movement "Partido Nacionalista Peruano". The attackers took Chuchón's television camera. The incident took place in the Ayacucho region, to the southeast of Lima.

Mongolia

Television editor beaten after airing controversial programme

(Globe International/IFEX) - On 6 July 2006, B. Tsevegmid, the editor-in-chief of Nomin television station, based in the northern province of Orkhon, was beaten at the entrance of her building and had to be hospitalised for treatment. Before being attacked she had received many threats by telephone concerning an investigative television programme, "Forbidden to watch," which covered the privatisation process of the Erdenet mining industry, especially the employees' privatisation vouchers.

Malaysia

ARTICLE 19 condemns authorities' banning of 18 books for disrupting peace and harmony

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 10 July 2006 ARTICLE 19 press release:

Pakistan

Disappearance of another journalist indicative of worrying trend, says IFJ

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an 11 July 2006 media release:

Mexico

Journalist missing in Coahuila state

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced deep concern about the disappearance of Rafael Ortiz Martínez, a radio and newspaper journalist based in Monclova, in the northern state of Coahuila, who has not been seen since 8 July 2006.

International

European parliament condemns ethical breaches by Internet sector companies

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders hailed a resolution on online free expression that was passed on 6 July 2006 by the European Parliament and said it hoped the European Commission and EU member states would heed its recommendations.

Swaziland

Information Minister asked for evidence in defamation case against "Times of Swaziland"

(MISA/IFEX) - On 27 June 2006, the High Court of Swaziland ordered the Minister for Public Service and Information, Themba Msibi, who is suing the "Times of Swaziland" newspaper for E750 000 (approx. US$125,000) for alleged defamation, to release his salary advice slip for December 2005.

Guatemala

Another community radio station raided, closed, despite dialogues with government on new legal framework

(AMARC/IFEX) - AMARC has expressed its strong objections to the raid and closing of one of its members, radio station Ixchel, located in Sumpango, a municipality in the Sacatepequez department, while dialogues aimed at establishing the legal framework to guarantee the continuity of such community radio stations are taking place.

Turkey

Prime minister warned that terror law changes could impose censorship of Kurdish issues

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

Iran

Call for proper trial in Kazemi case on third anniversary of journalist's death in custody

(RSF/IFEX) - On the third anniversary of Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi's death from her injuries after being beaten while in custody in Tehran, Reporters Without Borders has condemned the "total impunity" prevailing in the case and called for a proper trial of all those responsible involved.

Argentina

Santa Cruz police officers assault photojournalist

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 30 June 2006, Nicolás Revello, a photojournalist for the daily "Tiempo Sur" in the city of Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz province, was assaulted by members of the police's riot squad while he was taking pictures of a group of young people throwing stones at the premises of the British Club, after Argentina's national football team was eliminated from the World Cup which was being held in Germany.

The Gambia

"Daily Observer" journalist still in detention

(MFWA/IFEX) - Malick Mboob, a former "Daily Observer" journalist, is still in National Intelligence Agency (NIA) custody, 42 days after his arrest by the Gambian police force.

Russia

Two years after Klebnikov's murder, still no justice; family files complaint with Supreme Court

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

Democratic Republic of Congo

CPJ condemns murder of freelance journalist

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

Palestine / Israel

IPI condemns shooting of two Palestinian photographers in two days

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

India

IFJ concerned over increased control on the media in proposed broadcasting bill

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 7 July 2006 IFJ media release:

Philippines

New information regarding arson attack on radio station points to possible military involvement; several staff injured

(AMARC/IFEX) - AMARC condemns the burning down of Radyo Cagayano dwRC 90.1 FM in the Cagayan province of the Philippines. Speaking at a press conference in Quezon City, Ms. Bianca Miglioretto, Vice President of the Women's International Network and a Board Member of AMARC Asia Pacific, expressed grave concern over the incident. "Community radio is one way of giving a voice to the voiceless. If this voice is taken away by burning the people's community radio station, it is a grave violation of their right to communicate," she said. "We will start a campaign of protest to pressure the Philippine government to give justice to the people of Radyo Cagayano," she added.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Journalist released after spending 75 days in prison

(JED/IFEX) - Kazadi Mukendi, also known as Kazadi Kwambi Kasumpata, a journalist with the Kinshasa-based weekly "Lubilanji Expansion", was released on 5 July 2006 after spending 75 days in detention at a Kinshasa jail (Centre pénitentiaire et de rééducation de Kinshasa, CPRK, the former Makala prison).

Poland

Police shut down neo-fascist website that threatened journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - On 5 July 2006, police closed the Polish website of Redwatch, an international neo-fascist group based in the United States. The http://www.redwatch.info/sites/redwatch.htm site had posted the names of at least 17 journalists, calling them "traitors to the race" and threatening them with reprisals for their anti-fascist views. The Polish authorities also shut down http://www.bhpoland.org/strona/pl, the website of Blood and Honour, another far-right group.

Armenia

Editor jailed without bail; political motives cited

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

Bangladesh

Office of controversial magazine "Weekly Blitz" bombed

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

Brazil

Environmental journalist receiving death threats, authorities slow to react

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has condemned the sluggish reaction of the police in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro state, to a complaint about repeated death threats and intimidation filed by journalist and environmentalist Vilmar Berna on 7 June 2006, which was not passed on to the local judicial authorities until 5 July.

Pakistan

Government should repeal laws limiting free political expression, says Human Rights Watch, as Kashmir elections approach

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

France

Police raid newspaper's office and search files

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 6 July 2006 media release of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), an IFJ regional group:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Businessman angered by news report destroys radio station's equipment

(JED/IFEX) - On 5 July 2006, a community radio station in Kolwezi (Radio communautaire libre de Kolwezi, RCL), 300 km north of Lubumbashi, the main city of Katanga province, in southern DR Congo, was the victim of an act of vandalism perpetrated by Mr. Barwani, a businessman with the Bazano group that extracts cobalt from the Twizenge mine, 30 km from Kolwezi.

Turkey

Author Elif Shafak, her publisher and translator facing trial on charges of "insulting Turkishness"

(WiPC/IFEX) - Elif Shafak, a highly respected and best-selling author, is facing trial on charges of "insulting Turkishness" under the notorious Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code. Her publisher, Semi Sökmen of the Metis Publishing House, and translator Asli Bican are also facing charges. They are accused in connection with Shafak's book, "The Bastard of Istanbul". International PEN considers that Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code falls foul of international standards that protect the right to freedom of expression and to which Turkey is a signatory. It urges that the court hearing the case takes this breach into consideration and reconsiders its decision to proceed with the case.

Cuba

Journalist Guillermo Fariñas Hernández ends hunger strike

(RSF/IFEX) - Niurvys Díaz Remond of the independent Cubanacán Press agency has reported that the agency's director, Guillermo Fariñas Hernández, has again suspended the hunger strike he originally began more than four months ago and is once more, since 30 June 2006, being fed intravenously.

Singapore

State-owned newspaper suspends blogger's column

(SEAPA/IFEX) - A state-owned newspaper has suspended the column of blogger Lee Kin Mun, following an information ministry official's warning that "it is not the role of journalists or newspapers in Singapore to champion issues."

Colombia

Journalist receives death threat giving him three days to leave the country

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

Turkmenistan

Journalist's three children, human rights activist released

(RSF/IFEX) - The three adult children of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Ogulsapar Muradova, who were arrested on 19 June 2006, a day after their mother's arrest, were freed on the evening of 1 July. An activist with the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, Elena Ovezova, was also released the same day.

Algeria

President pardons all journalists convicted of defamation or insulting state institutions

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has hailed President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to issue a pardon on Algeria's independence day, 5 July 2006, for all journalists convicted of defamation or insulting state institutions, but urged him to carry out reforms.

Sri Lanka

RSF calls for "rigorous and impartial investigation" of journalist's death

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders condemned the fourth murder of a media professional in Sri Lanka since the start of 2006 after freelance journalist Lakmal Silva, who specialised in defence questions, was killed in a southern Colombo suburb.

Turkey

Editor's trial adjourned until December as judicial harassment continues

(RSF/IFEX) - The trial of Hrant Dink, the managing editor of the weekly "Agos", has again been adjourned, this time until December 2006. He was charged in October 2005 with trying to influence the course of justice by criticising the suspended six-month prison sentence he had received for "insulting Turkish identity." In all, he has been hounded by the judicial authorities for more than a year.

Senegal

Publication director jailed for "defamation"

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has denounced the incarceration, on 29 June 2006, of Moustapha Sow, publication director of the privately-owned daily "L'Office", who was sentenced to a six-month prison sentence with no parole for "defaming" a businessman.

Uzbekistan

Authorities block access to independent journalist's website

(RSF/IFEX) - Independent journalist Serguei Ejkov's website has been inaccessible within Uzbekistan since 26 June 2006, probably at the government's behest, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) noted on 5 July. Access to many other opposition sites is blocked in this country, which RSF regards as one of 15 "Internet enemies".

Pakistan

Journalist pressured to reveal sources; six press club attackers arrested

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) protests strongly against an attack by supporters of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-QA) on Peshawar's press club, in which several journalists and others were injured.

United States

House of Representatives adopts resolution supporting Bush administration against the press

(RSF/IFEX) - By a vote of 227 to 183 on 29 June 2006, the House of Representatives passed a resolution introduced the day before in support of the international bank transaction surveillance program implemented by the Bush administration within the scope of its fight against terrorism. This resolution amounts to a condemnation of the media who revealed the existence of this program, starting with "The New York Times", which was the target of vehement criticism voiced by the executive branch and the Congressional majority. Some elected Republican members are now calling for accredited journalists to be prohibited from gaining access to Congress. Others go as far as demanding that the journalists be tried for high treason.

Singapore

Government condemns blogger's "unconstructive" article

(RSF/IFEX) - It is not the job of government officials to take a position on newspaper articles or blog posts unless they are clearly illegal, Reporters Without Borders pointed out on 5 July 2006 after the Singaporean newspaper "Today" published an opinion piece by a government official on 3 July condemning a recent post by blogger Lee Kin Mun as "over-politicised" and "unconstructive".

China

Website prevented from posting news; government plans increased control of weblogs and search engines

(RSF/IFEX) - Freedom of expression on the Internet has been constantly eroded in China over the last two years, said Reporters Without Borders, calling for solidarity with those - bloggers, journalists or simple Internet users - who are fighting for a free Internet in China.

Burma

Dissident journalist U Win Tin begins 18th year in prison, thousands petition for his release

(RSF/IFEX) - On the 17th anniversary of the arrest of prominent journalist dissident U Win Tin, Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association are calling on Burmese Prime Minister, General Soe Win, to immediately release him.

Kazakhstan

Writer facing charges for "insulting" president

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - On 3 July 2006, the Medeu district court in Almaty held preliminary hearings in the case against opposition politician and writer Zhasaral Kuanyshalin on charges of "public insult or other infringement upon the honour and dignity of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the use of the mass information media", under Article 318 of the Criminal Code.

Kazakhstan

President signs restrictive media bill into law

(Adil Soz/IFEX) - On 5 July 2006, President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed into law the government bill "On Amendments and Additions to Some Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Matters related to Mass Media", despite numerous protests from local journalists and human rights organizations.

Democratic Republic of Congo

RFI special envoy expelled

(JED/IFEX) - JED has voiced deep disapproval following the expulsion from Kinshasa of Ghislaine Dupont, Radio France International's (RFI) special envoy, on 3 July 2006. So far, Congolese authorities have provided no official explanation for the decision.

Iraq

Iraqi journalist shot dead

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

Zimbabwe

IPI condemns government's jamming of London-based SW Radio Africa

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

Iraq

Abducted cameraman's body found; RSF appeals to ambassador on behalf of two journalists held hostage for five months

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders' Secretary-General Robert Ménard and Florence Aubenas, a journalist and former hostage in Iraq, met Iraqi ambassador in Paris, Mowafak Abboud, to appeal for his help in finding two journalists with al-Sumariya TV who, as of 1 July 2006, had been held hostage for five months.

Kazakhstan

WAN asks president to veto proposed legislation that threatens press freedom

(WAN/IFEX) - The following is a 4 July 2006 WAN letter to President Nursultan Nazarbayev:

Niger

Weekly newspaper banned by government for article on president

(WAN/IFEX) - The following is a WAN letter to Prime Minister Hama Amadou:

International

African leaders urged to defend press freedom

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 30 June 2006 CPJ letter to President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, Chairman of the African Union:

Russia

Bill seeks to label critical journalists "extremists"

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

Mongolia

Journalist threatened following publication of articles on financial sector bankruptcies

(Globe International/IFEX) - "Udriin sonin" ("Daily News") national newspaper journalist S. Enkjtuul has been threatened for her series of articles on the bankruptcies of some private savings and credit associations. On 13 June 2006, after her article entitled, "Are the bankrupted financial associations guiding police to a mafia network?" was published, she was called for a meeting at her office with Mr. B. Tamir, who had been mentioned in her article. Tamir, together with two young men, invited her to sit in their car and asked her to publish an immediate correction. The journalist refused to sit in a stranger's car. Furthermore, she told them that the article published was the result of her considerable investigative work.

United States / International

IFJ raises alarm over Western attacks on whistleblowers and investigative journalism

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

Russia

British journalist denied entry visa

(CJES/IFEX) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (MID) has denied an entry visa to the Caucasus Editor and Project Coordinator for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in London, Mr. Thomas de Vaal. The journalist sought entry in response to an invitation from the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) to participate in the launching ceremony for the Russian translation of his book "Black Garden", focusing on the events and situation in Nagorny Karabakh.

Malaysia

Government bans 18 books on Islam and religion

(SEAPA/IFEX) - Malaysia's Ministry of Internal Security has banned 18 books on Islam and religion for their alleged potential to "disrupt peace and harmony".

Serbia

Independent media outlets subject to unannounced financial investigations by state officials

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

Venezuela

Journalist receives death threats

(IPYS/IFEX) - For the last two months, Miguel Angel Rodríguez, moderator of RCTV television station's programme "La Entrevista", has been the victim of constant acts of intimidation, among them anonymous death threats against him and his family, which he received through phone calls and e-mail.

Philippines

Armed men set fire to community radio station

(RSF/IFEX) - A gang of at least eight masked and armed men raided and torched a community radio station on 2 July 2006, first tying up six members of the radio's staff, who were slightly injured.

Zimbabwe

Voice of America AM broadcasts jammed

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

Sri Lanka

Journalist abducted and murdered

(FMM/IFEX) - The following is a 2 July 2006 FMM press release:

East Timor

IFJ condemns attack on, threats against public broadcasting station

(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is a 3 July 2006 IFJ media release:

United States

Supreme Court rejection of military tribunals at Guantánamo may mark first step towards release of cameraman, says RSF

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has welcomed the decision of the US Supreme Court declaring illegal the military tribunals which were due to try prisoners detained by the US military at the Guantánamo military base.