World Watch Archive / October 2006
Afghanistan
Two German journalists are murdered in Afghanistan
Karen Fischer and Christian Struwe, both German journalists working for Deutsche Welle, were murdered in their tent near Baghlan, Afghanistan on October 7th. Fischer and Struwe had recently been to several United Nations Children's Fund projects in northern Afghanistan, and were on their way to Bamiyan, a central province. The motive for their killings is unknown, but CPJ reports that suspicions were heightened when it appeared that nothing had been stolen from their tent after the murders. The Interior Ministry is conducting an investigation.
http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/asia/Afghan10oct06na.html
Azerbaijan
Editor-in-chief of newspaper arrested on four char
Shahin Agabayli, editor-in-chief of Milli Yol, a weekly Azerbaijan opposition, was arrested and tried in August on four charges. He received a year in prison for allegedly insulting and blackmailing former parliament spokesman Arif Ramhimzadeh. “The charges stem from a 2005 article, although Agabayli reportedly did not write the article and was not editor at the time of its publication,” IPI said in a public statement. Ramhimzadeh also faces criminal defamation charges for an article that links Interior Minister Ramil Usubov to Haji Mamedov, a former Interior Ministry officer charged with murder and kidnapping. IPI Director Johann Fritz stated, “We strongly believe that prison terms are never justified for defamation cases, no matter how unsettling or offensive they may seem to those involved.”
http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/statements_detail.html?ctxid=CH0055&docid=CMS1155302363379&year=2006
Bangladesh
English-language newspaper attacked by radical gro
The offices of the Weekly Blitz, an English-language newspaper in Dhaka known for the publication of sympathetic articles to Israel, were attacked for the third time this year by a radical Islamist group, according to Dr. Richard Benkin of Chicago, special advisor to The Intelligence Summit on Bangladeshi Affairs and U.S. correspondent for the Weekly Blitz. The first attack on the offices was a bombing in July 2006. Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, the owner and editor of the paper, says his problems started when it became known he wanted to attend a conference of the Hebrew Writer’s Association in Tel Aviv in 2003. That would have been a violation of the Bangladeshi Passport Act forbidding citizens from visiting Israel and Taiwan, countries with which Bangladesh does not maintain diplomatic relations. At that time, he said, he was taken into police custody, blindfolded, beaten up and interrogated for 10 days instead of receiving the usual $8 fine. “The police wanted to hear me say that I was a spy. When I refused to confess something I did not do, they put me in jail for 17 months, tortured me, broke my legs and refused treatment for my glaucoma.” Choudhury’s trial started Oct. 12. According to Benkin, Choudhury was brought into court on sedition charges at the insistence of a judge who is a member of the radical JMB party, even though the public prosecutor said in court days before the judge’s ruling that the government did not have evidence and would not object to the charges being dropped. “The trail has no jury and the defense is not allowed to present witnesses”, Benkin said, adding that Chodhury is not the only journalist oppressed by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia’s government. But Chodhury is among the few that remained in the country to fight the regime. Benkin also said that in the past, seven other journalists have been brought into court on by the same Ms. Zia’s government on sedition charges, due to their attempt to document Bangladesh's repression of religious minorities. — Ana Adi
Englad
Landmark victory for investigative journalism
The House of Lords ruled Oct. 11 in favor of the Wall Street Journal in a libel case citing the Reynolds privilege. The Reynolds privilege serves as a defense against libel for journalists who report responsibly and believe their facts are correct at the time of publication, but at a later date cannot prove their information to be true. A lower court had ruled that the Journal couldn't rely on the privilege. The ruling said public interest and responsible journalism are key for using the Reynolds privilege as defense. Traditionally, an old common law duty/interest test was required in libel cases. The court would consider if the media defendant had either a social or moral duty to report the information and if the public had an interest in receiving it. The Guardian reported, “It is no longer necessary for the media defendant to show, as well, that it had a social or moral duty to publish the article because if the publication is in the public interest then the duty and interest elements are already satisfied.”
http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/comment/0,,1892896,00.html
Niger
Director and Editor handed 18 month prison sentenc
Maman Abou, director, and Oumarou Keita, editor, of Le Republicain were found guilty of defaming the Niger government and publishing false news by a Naimey court Sept. 1. They each face 18 months in prison and fines of US$10,000 (5 million CFA francs).
An opinion piece that criticized Niger's Prime Minister, Hama Hamadou, for his foreign policies landed Abou and Keita in jail in August .It said Hamadou was “deserting the West for Iran.” Abou and Keita said they are being punished for an earlier string of articles that focused on alleged government corruption in primary education financing. According to Reporters Without Borders, “Everything suggests that Abou and Keita are now the prime minister's personal prisoners. President Mamadou Tandja should realize that these heavy sentences will not benefit either Niger or his prime minister and constitute a serious breach of press freedom.”
The prison sentence was what the prosecution asked, while the fines were 100 times what had been sought.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18746
Russia
Newspaper raided and harassed
Permsky Obozrevatel, an independent business weekly based in Perm, reported an August raid by more than 20 armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks who confiscated computers, electronic equipment, memory cards, diskettes, accounting records, and employees' documents. The newspaper reported a similar raid in May. The men conducting the raids showed Federal Security Service ID cards, and cited Article 283 of the Penal Code concerning the disclosure of state secrets as the reason for the visits. Tatyana Sokolova, editor-in-chief,, said the newspaper had been under pressure since 2005. Distributors and printing houses have been asked not to work with the newspaper; it was recently discovered that its current printer had been warned to discontinue printing Permsky Obozrevatel. The International Press Institute said, “Sokolova believes the harassment and intimidation are connected with the paper's work, as the newspaper has published articles critical of local authorities. Nor does she rule out the possibility that the raid may be connected with upcoming elections to the regional parliament.”
http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/statements_detail.html?ctxid=CH0055&docid=CMS1155896713927
United States
Blogger freed after 30 days in jail
Joshua Wolf, a video blogger, was held in contempt of court and ordered to jail after refusing to release to a federal grand jury a videotape of clashes in 2005 between demonstrators and San Francisco police over the Group of Eight economic conference. Wolf was released on bail after serving 30 days, while his trial was pending. When Wolf lost his appeal, he was ordered back to jail. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that the grand jury is,” investigating possible criminal activity, including an alleged attempt by protesters to burn a police vehicle.”
http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/americas/usa20sept06na.html
CPJ Conducts Special Report on the Only Journalist
Sami Muhyideen al-Haj, an Al-Jazeera cameraman, is the only confirmed journalist now held a Guantanamo Bay. Al-Haj, along with the 450 other detainees at the prison, has been labeled an enemy combatant by the United States government. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that Al-Haj has been held at the prison for almost five years under the basis of secret evidence, but has not been convicted or charged with a crime. CPJ, along with Al-Haj's supporters are calling for a fair trial. Al-Haj was traveling from Pakistan to Afghanistan with an Al-Jazeera reporter to cover the flight of the Taliban from Kandhar when the pair was detained at the border of Afghanistan. A Pakistani border guard said there was a problem with Al-Haj's passport. A day later Al-Haj began a journey that ultimately took him to Guantanamo Bay prison. In its report, CPJ asks, “Was al-Haj a knowing or unwitting conspirator with terrorist groups? Or is he entirely innocent-a journalist plucked from the field while covering the world's biggest story? What crime has he committed? What is the evidence against him? Only a fair and transparent legal process can provide those answers.”
http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/DA_fall_06/prisoner/prisoner.html
Zimbabwe
Future of the Internet is unclear
Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reported that the government's failure to pay a $700,000 bill to a satellite company has brought Zimbabwe's internet services to a virtual standstill. All legal internet service providers in Zimbabwe use the state-owned communications firm, TelOne, and IRIN reports the effect has been catastrophic. It remains unclear when the bill will be paid. The cut-off has brought long delays for Internet users in Zimbabwe, making browsing and email painfully slow tasks. With this breakdown in Internet service, the debate over a proposed Interception of Communications Bill is becoming fierce. The Bill would allow the Zimbabwe government to monitor all Internet communications, including email, web browsing, instant messaging and financial transactions. The bill would also require Internet service providers to buy $1 million worth of surveillance equipment, a measure that could force many ISP's to shut down.
http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/2505.cfm