World Watch Archive / July 2007
Brazil
Paraguayan radio journalist discovered alive more
Journalist Enrique Galeano of Radio Azotey in Paraguay has emerged alive 17 months after he went missing. He surfaced in Sao Paulo, Brazil, according to reports in the Paraguayan press on July 15.
“It is very rare for a missing journalist to resurface,” Reporters Without Borders says, “and we share the joy of his wife … and their four children.”
Galeano was abducted by two Portuguese-speaking men on his way home from work in February 2006. His captors threatened his family, beat him and burned him with cigarettes before forcing him into an encounter with a prostitute in San Juan Caballero. The following night, his abductors released him in the Brazilian town of Campo Grande with a warning not to return to Paraguay. Galeano was afraid to contact his family because his kidnappers seemed to be aware of everything he and his family did, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Before his kidnapping, Galeano had been covering the seizure of a cocaine and weapons shipment. His reports were filed in the presence of Paraguayan officials alleged to have links with Brazilian crime organization Cabeza Branca.
Galeano is now in Uruguay and is seeking political asylum there. His family had already fled their home in Concepcion, where he disappeared in February 2006, to the Uruguayan capital of Asuncion.
For more information click here
China
China bans influential NGO newsletter
Chinese authorities have shut down the China Development Brief, a non governmental organization newsletter specializing in covering the work of foreign and domestic NGOs in China, raising concerns about press freedom in the run up to the Olympic Games. The publication's subscribers and donators include the Asia Development Bank, the UN's Development Program, the British Council, and Save the Children Fund as well as several dozen foreign universities and media organizations, reported the Guardian Unlimited.
The magazine has been ordered to halt its activities until the release of the results of an external investigation. Beijing officials reportedly charged Nick Young, the British founder of the organization, with conducting “unauthorized surveys.”
Young has been interrogated by police and told news organization Agence France Press that he fears that he may be deported and barred from re-entering the country. “My hope is that these actions have been precipitated by zealous security officers, and that more senior figures in the government and Communist party will realize that actions of this kind are not in China's best interest,” he said.
To read Nick Young's personal take on the situation click here.
Yahoo! criticizes repression of Internet users in
According to the Reporters Without Borders, Yahoo! Inc. has given belated recognition of the dramatic consequences of its cooperation with the Chinese police. Yahoo criticized China in a brief statement that was issued after journalist Shi Tao's family announced that it was filing a complaint against Yahoo! in the United States for providing the Chinese police with information
Yahoo! Inc. provided information that helped Chinese state security officials convict a Chinese journalist for leaking state secrets to a foreign Web site. The journalist, Shi Tao, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in June for sending an anonymous posting to a New York-based, Chinese-language Web site that authorities said contained state secrets. His posting summarized a communication from Communist Party authorities to media outlets around the country. Shi's case has become a prominent symbol of the recent tightening of media controls in the one-party state, where authorities often punish outspoken journalists for leaking information deemed secret, the New York Times said.
Under the proposed Global Online freedom Act from Republican Rep. Christopher Smith US companies would be banned from cooperating with repressive regimes. The act was resubmitted to the US congress in January. For more information, visit www.rsf.org or click here.
Seven charged in murder of journalist
Seven people have been charged in the murder of Chinese reporter Lan Chengzhang, according to the BBC. The China Trade News employee died in early January after he was beaten to death while investigating an illegal mine in the Shanxi province. The owner of the mine, Hou Zhenrun, surrendered to authorities on Jan. 19 after a police manhunt. He allegedly told men to attack Lan with iron bars and other weapons. The police detained suspects Zheng Wenping and Ma Li on Jan. 18. Hou Zhenrun, Wu Qiang, Li Zhihong and Gao Bo surrendered to the police days later. The Lan case sparked widespread discussion on issues of news extortion, press credentials and violence against the media. Authorities claimed that Lan was a “false” journalist who did not possess official accreditation and who was attempting to extort money from mine owners. In a rare intervention, China's president, Hu Jintzo, ordered a full police investigation in response to the controversy over Lan's death. However, Reporter's Without Borders expressed their regret that an independent investigation was not carried out to explore the unexplained aspects of the case.
Cuba
Authorities sentence Oscar Sanchez Madan to fours
Cuban authorities arrested Sanchez Madan, a reporter for the Miami-based news Web site CubNet, on April 20. Madan, who was denied a lawyer during trial, received the maximum sentence of four years in prison for “social dangerousness,” reports the Committee to Protect Journalists. The reporter's family was banned from the court proceeding. Earlier this year the journalist covered a corruption scandal and social problems in his home of Matanza. His reports did not go unnoticed; he was detained twice before in 2006. Article 72 of the Cuban Penal Code states “any person shall be deemed dangerous if he or she has shown proclivity to commit crimes demonstrated by conduct that is in manifest contradiction with the norms of socialist morality.” According to CPJ, there are 25 jailed journalists in Cuba.
Eritrea
Eritrea Television journalist dies in a bid to fle
A respected Eritrean broadcaster, Paulos Kidane, who worked for the Amharic-language service of state-owned Eri-TV and radio Dimtsi Hafash, died last month in an attempt to flee on foot across the border into Sudan.
Kidane, who suffered from epilepsy and high blood pressure, left Eritrea in the company of seven others at the beginning of June to join the dozens of journalists fleeing the government's control of the country's media.
But Kigane was not able to complete the long trek and stayed behind to rest in a remote part of northwestern Eritrea. So far it is unclear as what caused his death.
Kidane was one of nine journalists imprisoned by the Ministry of Information three months ago after authorities abruptly closed all privately owned newspapers, allegedly to safeguard national unity in the face of growing political turmoil in the tiny Horn of Africa nation.
After being released on bail a month later, the reporters were followed and their cell phones were tapped. They were forced to go back to work and were also forbidden from leaving the country.
Eritrea is the only African country that has no privately owned news media. In 2005, Committee to Protect Journalists described it as one of the world's leading jailers of journalists.
France
Generic journalism curricula issued
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, has published a model curricula for journalism education for developing countries and emerging democracies, which can be adapted to the needs of specific countries.
“It takes full cognizance of the social, economic, political and cultural contexts of developing countries and emerging democracies, highlighting the connection between democracy and journalism and arguing for a more cross-disciplinary approach within journalism training centres,” according to the UNESCO Web site. The document offers a model curricula for three levels: university bachelor's degree, master's degree and a two-year diploma that could be taken as a preparation for journalism after high school. The courses include Media Law, Analytical and Opinion Writing, Specialized Reporting, Media Ethics, Media and Society, etc. The project started in December 2005 in Paris with a consultative meeting of journalism educators from various countries to identify courses that should be included in journalism curricula. UNESCO made a formal presentation of the document at the World Journalism Education Congress in June 2007 in Singapore.
Gambia
Intelligence agency arrests journalist and opposit
AllAfrica.com reports that U.S.-based Gambian journalist Fatou Jaw Manneh was arrested by the National Intelligence Agency of Gambia on March 28 as she arrived at Banjul international airport in Gambia to visit her family. She was taken to NIA headquarters for questioning. She has not been charged and the reasons for her arrest are not known. Both Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists have expressed concern over Manneh's safety. “No warrants or court appearances, a disregard for legality and a complete lack of transparency – these are the hallmarks of the NIA, the president's iron fist,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Opposition to President Yahya Jammeh or the expression of dissident views has become a high-risk undertaking that can catapult anyone, especially journalists, into the lawless world of Gambia's prisons.” Manneh, who has lived in the United States for the past 10 years, is a frequent political commentator with the U.S.-based All-Gambia.net and an outspoken critic of President Jammeh. She was formerly a reporter for the Daily Observer in Gambia. In 2003, she wrote an article for The Independent in Gambia called “Jammeh under the microscope,” which referred to Gambia's endemic poverty and corruption and said Jammeh had “failed us all.” According to Reporters Without Borders, the article led to the paper's editor, Abdoulie Sey, being illegally detained for three days. The government has since shut down The Independent.
For more on the situation in the Gambia, see globaljournist.org's article “The Gambia in the hands of Jammeh.”
Charges filed against arrested journalist
Gambian journalist Fatou Jaw Manneh was charged with sedition and released on a $900 bail April 4. According to Reuters, she was officially charged with intention to commit sedition, publication of seditious words and publication of false news intended to create public fear and alarm. Manneh is to appear April 11 for a hearing.
Greece
Media law raises concerns
AllAA new law on the concentration and licensing of media enterprises was passed by the Greek parliament on July 5. The International Press Institute and the South East Europe Media Organization called on Greek President Karolos Papoulias not to sign the piece of legislation.
“In the opinion of both our organizations, the media law contains a number of provisions regarding language, employment and finances that hinder potential local and regional media from obtaining licenses for news and music radio stations,” IPI stated in its public statement. “The result is a law that is designed solely to maintain the present restrictive media environment and further shrink any opportunity for the expression of minority points of view.”
IPI and SEEMO urged Papoulias to withhold signing the law and to take time to consider the law's impact over the summer.
Source: http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/statements_detail.html?ctxid=CH0055&docid=CMS1183724933739&year=2007.
Iran
Ban lifted on Web site that criticized Ahmadinejad
Iranian authorities lifted a 37-day ban on a Web site that criticized Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Web site, Baztab,com, had previously published reports of corruption and the country's nuclear industry. Baztab.com is one of the most visited sites in Iran. The ban was put into effect on Feb. 12, 2007 and was lifted on March 20. According to authorities, the Web site violated regulations put in place on Nov. 27, 2006, regarding Internet content control, including publication of false information, constitutional violations and attacking the unity of the country.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=21052
Iraq
Journalists' death toll increases
The number of media workers killed since the start of the year has reached 36, Reporters Without Borders announced on June 28. The recent victims of violence are Rahim Al-Maliki, 39, and Zeena Shakir Mahmoud, 35. Maliki hosted two cultural shows on Al-Iraqiya TV; he was killed in a suicide bomb attack at the Mansour Hotel in Baghdad where he was covering the meeting of tribal chiefs on June 25. Mahmoud worked for the newspaper Al-Haqiqa of the Democratic Kurdish Party; she was shot dead in the eastern part of the city of Mosul, on 24 June. “We extend our condolences to the families of the victims,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Iraqi journalists put their lives in danger each time they go to work. More and more Iraqi media are leaving the capital for safer locations in the Kurdish north or in neighboring countries, but their local correspondents are left without any protection and their killers continue to operate with impunity.”
Kenya
Proposed media bill a threat to journalism
The Kenyan government's decision to introduce a bill undermining the media's independence in Kenya has raised concerns among the media owners and other public figures about the government's true intentions.
The Kenya Union of Journalists, media owners, several professional organizations and the House Committee on the Administration of Justice, chaired by Kabete Member of Parliament Paul Muite, alleged that the new legislation will impose restrictions on the press and violate the freedom of expression. which is in the country's constitution. They have called for its withdrawal.
Titled the Media Bill 2007, which is still being debated in Parliament, it establishes a statutory, but self-regulatory, press council known as the Media Council of Kenya, or MCK. The bill also provides for a complaints committee that has the power to remove a journalist from a registered list or deny a journalist accreditation.
The MCK will have 15 members drawn from journalists, media owners, the Kenyan Law Society and Trade Unions, among others. The Union's chair will be appointed by the Minister of Information and Communications and may not be a member of the media .
The bill also provides for a statutory code of ethics, and a legal defense for journalists seeking to protect the confidentiality of their sources.
Koigi Wamwere, assistant minister of Information and communications, said the bill will enhance press freedom, curb misuse of media power, professionalize journalism and eradicate corruption by promoting the welfare of journalists.
The International Commission of Jurists, or ICJ, are calling for major amendments to the Media Bill.
“Passing the bill as it is would curtail the free flow of information,” ICJ Executive Director George Kegoro said. “This bill is bad as it strikes at the root of freedom of information, We accept that the media has its shortcomings, but it appears that the bill is being brought in to settle scores.”.
Kyrgystan
Recent violence toward Kyrgystan journalists focus
On March 16, two unidentified men assaulted reporter Kairat Birimkulov with brass knuckles, causing serious injuries to his skull and brain. The assailants also took his tape recorder, video camera and work files, according to local press and the Committee to Protect Journalists reports. Birimkulov is a reporter for one of Kyrgyzstan's main broadcast companies, the Government TV and Radio Company (GTRK). Speaking from his hospital bed, Birmikulov said the railroad company Kyrgyz Temir Zholu is behind his assault, according to local press reports. In early March, GTRK broadcast Birimikulov's report about the rampant corruption and negligence at the railroad company. Kyrgyz Temir Zholu's director Nariman Tyuleyev then filed a defamation suit against the journalist for his March 14 story. Birimikulov started receiving anonymous threats by phone three months earlier when he first began reporting on Kyrgyz Temir Zholu. According to CPJ, GTRK Deputy Director Beikhenbek Betesov said, “Kairat complained many times about threats and pursuits, but we didn't understand how serious they were.” A similar incident occurred several days later when four unknown assailants beat and injured journalist Daniyar Isanov of New TV Net (NTS) in the capital city of Bishkek on March 27. According to local press reports, the men approached Isanov as he was leaving the office and asked him for a cigarette. They then attacked him from behind and threw him in a van, drove to the outskirts of Bishkek and beat him until he passed out, leaving him near a river. According to the U.S.-based news organization Internews-Kyrgyzstan, one of the men shouted, “This is for NTS!” during the assault. According to the Public Association Journalist, Isanov was hospitalized for a broken nose and facial bruises. Police are investigating the incident.
Malaysia
Government warns media against using blogs
The Malaysian government issued the second warning in a month to the mainstream media not to use information from the Internet, specifically information obtained from blogs. Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin called the content posted on blogs “provocative, inaccurate and politically motivated,” according to The Center for Independent Journalism Malaysia (CIJ), a media advocacy organization. The statement posted on the Ministry's Web site also said that journalists who use the online information give blogs “undeserved credit.” The first warning came from the Ministry of Internal Security, which is headed by the Prime Minister. CIJ has condemned the warnings and speculates that the government crackdown is in response to a high-profile corruption case that was first reported in the blogosphere, “[which] reinforces the impression that the government has an agenda to limit public discussion and control public opinion.”
Political party members allegedly assault photogra
When a scuffle broke out between supporters of different political parties outside the nomination center in Machap, Melaka on April 3, photographers P. Malayandi of Makkal Osai and R. Malini of Malayan Nanban claim they were verbally and physically assaulted by members of the Malaysian Indian Congress, a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. The photographers say they were warned by MIC members not to publish pictures of the people involved in the altercation and that Malayandi was punched and shoved by parliamentary secretary for Youth and Sports Ministry S.A. Vigneswaran when he tried to enter the building, according to the Centre for Independent Journalism Malaysia. Police reports were filed and Vigneswaran denied the allegations.
Mexico
No hope of finding missing journalists alive
TV Azteca has “given up hope” of finding two missing journalists alive, News Director Alfonso Teja says. “The anti-kidnapping unit that was investigating their disappearance has abandoned the case,” he told the Agence France-Presse.
Reporter Gamaliel Lopez and cameraman Gerardo Paredes disappeared May 10 in the state of Nuevo Leon. This area is especially exposed to drug trafficking and organized crime, which Reporters Without Borders says might be behind the disappearances.
For the last six months, Lopez reported on the violence in the region, particularly in relation to the national army's presence there, and he had a regular slot on the local television station where he opposed the practices of several public officials.
President eliminates prison sentences for libel an
Mexico President Felipe Calderon signed a bill April 12 that will eliminate prison sentences for libel or defamation laws. Press organizations have said that jail terms for those offenses allowed public figures to retaliate against reporters by threatening to lock them up. Both offenses will now be punishable by fines, and violators can face civil suits. “Decriminalization is a positive step for Mexican democracy,” said Gonzalo Marroquin, president of the press freedom committee of the Inter American Press Association. “We hope this step will be taken into account by other leaders in Latin America.”
Pakistan
Pakistani journalist killed in mosque clashes and
Pakistani troops took over the Red Mosque in Islamabad where hardcore militant students held hundreds of hostages for more than a week.
Javed Khan, a photographer for the Islamabad-based daily Markaz and a cameraman for U.K.-based DM Digital TV was one of more than 100 people killed in the seige. Khan was shot in the chest and neck after being caught in crossfire between government forces and the students of Red Mosque in Islamabad, according to Committee to Protect Journalists.
Israr Ahmed, a cameraman for CNBC Pakistan, suffered three gunshot wounds during the clash and was reported to be in critical condition with injuries to his spinal cord, according to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists. Khan and Ahmed were filming vehicles set ablaze by students of the Red Mosque, according to the press organization Pakistan Press Foundation.
The press groups said that photographers Wahab Saleem, of the daily newspaper The Post, and Raja Zafar, of the Express daily, were also treated for gunshot wounds recieved during clashes on July 3. Geo TV Bureau Chief Absar Alam was hit by a stone thrown by students and required stitches.
Journalist murdered in Sindh province Pakistan
According to Reporters Without Borders, Ahmed Solangi, 34, correspondent for the Sindhi-language newspaper, Khabroon, in Kingri, Sindh province, died after he was ambushed while distributing newspapers June 17.
“We are shocked by the murder of Noor Ahmed Solangi, less than three weeks after the killing of Noor Hakim, in the tribal areas. Reporters Without Borders said.“The deteriorating working conditions and the insecurity facing journalists in the rural areas of the country are extremely worrying. It is crucial both that the local authorities find and punish the killers of Noor Ahmed Solangi and that the Pakistani authorities put an end to this lawlessness.”
Sindh's rural areas are currently the scene of serious conflict between rival clans. A reporter on Sindh TV News, Abdul Khaliq, dismissed a theory that Nisar Ahmed Solangi had been killed for ethnic reasons. “He was killed because of his profession,” the journalist said.
Regulatory body threatens independent TC station w
On Tuesday April 24, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) sent a notice to privately owned Aaj TV threatening it with closure due to the station's coverage of a crisis resulting from the Supreme Court president's dismissal. The notice cites a supreme judicial council order that restricts coverage of the crisis and warns that if it does not amend its program content and the CEO does not appear in front of the PEMRA board within three days, the station's license could be withdrawn. PERMA also issued a general warning to all TV stations to keep their broadcasts in line with regulations. According to Reporters Without Boarders, one of Aaj TV's executives said the station would defend its editorial independence.
Pakistani reporter's family killed by foreign
The brother, father, uncle and cousin of Urdu-language Inkishaf reporter Din Muhammed were killed by unknown foreign militants on April 1. According to reports from local and international news organizations, a gunfight erupted at the reporter's home in South Waziristan; three other family members were abducted, but it is unclear whether Muhammed is one of them. Din Muhammed recently went with a group of visiting reporters to the town of Wana, the site of a recent clash between local Waziri tribesmen and Uzbek militants with suspected links to al-Qaeda. For more information visit www.cpj.org.
Palestinian National Authority
Johnston released in Gaza
Kidnapped British journalist Alan Johnston was released on July 4. He was held hostage by the Gaza family clan Army of Islam for 114 days and was freed by the efforts of Palestinian Hamas, which is now in charge of Gaza Strip. Johnson promised to return to “obscurity” and said he would “stay out of trouble” in the future, BBC reports. Hours after being freed, Johnston won an Amnesty International Award for his radio reports from the area.
Philippines
Radio journalist fears retaliation in jail
Radio journalist Alex “Lex” Adonis fears retribution at the Davao Penal Colony where he could come face to face with drug lords and crimes bosses he condemned on the air, according to an International Federation of Journalists' report. Adonis was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison for a 2001 libel case stemming from reporting on congressman Prospero Nograles' alleged affair. IFJ has defended Adonis and has publicly pleaded for the decriminalization of libel in the Philippines. Adonis has claimed in local reports that he was unable to attend key hearings that lasted for five years because he could not afford representation and had to be on-air to support and feed his family.
New Anti-terror Law Threatens Philippine Journalis
The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed its grave concern about new anti-terrorism legislation recently enacted in the Philippines. A top justice ministry official has said that in certain circumstances it would allow the government to wiretap journalists.
While the Human Security Act (HSA) specifically prohibits the surveillance and interception of communications between journalists and their sources, Philippine Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez told reporters in Manila on July 4 that he may recommend the wiretapping of journalists.
“You cannot wiretap them. Their interviews and sources are sacred,” said Gonzalez, according to the Manila-based news Web site Inquirer.net. “Of course, unless there is sufficient basis or if they are being suspected of co-mingling with terror suspects.”
The HSA, which came into force on July 15, broadly defines terrorism to include 12 violent crimes, including acts of rebellion, piracy, crimes involving destruction, hijacking, and illegal possession of firearms and explosives, which create “a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace, in order to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand.” Accomplices and accessories to terrorism will also face charges.
Local groups interested in press freedom, including the National Union of Journalists, say it's unclear whether journalists could be considered accomplices or accessories to terrorism under the new law if they merely interview or report the statements of those considered by the government to be terror suspects.
“We are concerned that the broad and vaguely defined measures of this law could be employed to harass journalists, particularly those covering violent crime, terrorism and conflict in the Philippines,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “If the government cannot give an unqualified assurance that this law will not be used to inhibit the work of the press, then it should be repealed.”
Press freedom is guaranteed in Article III, Section 4, of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which says that no law can be passed that abridges freedom of speech or the press.
Even so, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's government has previously repressed press freedom, citing national security. In February 2006, her government declared a state of emergency for a weeklong period to preempt an alleged coup and issued broad measures that barred news reporting that officials interpreted as destabilizing to national security.
Russia
Internews leaves Russia
Educated Media Foundation, a Russian nonprofit training organization for journalists, announced on July 9 that it will fold its activities, Lenta.ru reports. EMF, a group supported with private Russian funds, merged with Internews Russia in 2006.
EMF's activities were paralyzed after authorities instituted a criminal enquiry against the President of EMF Manana Aslamazyan who was found to be carrying 9,500 euros, an amount of foreign currency exceeding the allowed limit, at Sheremetyevo airport customs January 21. Aslamazyan explained she thought the limit of 10,000 was set in euros not in dollars, her lawyer explained. Investigating officers from the Interior Ministry raided the EMF offices on April 18 and removed EMF's servers, financial and administrative records. EMF bank accounts were frozen in May. Aslamazyan fled the country to France in June.
The interim chairman of EMF, Alexei Simonov, told Interfax a similar organization might continue EMF's activities in future.
Russian journalists harassed covering local electi
Local elections in Russia, carried out in various regions across the country on Sunday March 11, were spoiled when police and security forces detained several journalists. In the Southern city of Samara, reporter Pavel Sedakov and photographer Artyom Pigarov of the independent business daily Kommersant were detained after the two tried to conduct an interview with the local leader of the opposition National Bolshevik Party. In Odintsovo, south of Moscow, Kommersant reporter Dmitry Kostyukov, Reuters photographer Denis Sinyakov, and RIA Novosti reporter Ilya Petalev were also detained while covering an unauthorized NBS supporter rally. In another incident, Marko Shakhbanov, a reporter for the independent newspaper Chernovik, was approached by plainclothed officers who demanded he stop taking pictures, took his camera and deleted all of its pictures. In Saint Petersburg, Novye Izvestiya reporter Nataliya Shergina was briefly detained by security forces for reporting 50 meters (165 feet) away from the polling place, an unlawful distance. For more information visit www.cpj.org.
Moscow: Klebnikov Trial Postponed After Defendant
The Moscow City Court has decided to postpone the second trial of two men who have been convicted of the killing of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov after defendant Kazbek Dukuzov went missing. Dukuzov and Musa Vakhayev have been accused of killing the U.S. journalist on a Moscow street in July 2004. Citing illness and family reasons, neither defendant was in court on Feb. 15 when their retrial was scheduled to begin. Vakheyev was in court on March 14, but court officials postponed the trial until Dukuzov could be located. Defense lawyer Ruslan Koblev was quoted by several Russian reports saying that Dukuzov did not appear in court on March 14 because he was hospitalized in Chechnya. For more information visit www.cpj.org.
Russian editor faces up to 5 years in prison
Russian Editor in Chief Viktor Shmakov of the opposition newspaper Provintsialnye Vesti (Provincial News) in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan has been charged with using the mass media to promote extremist activity. According to prosecutors in the regional capital of Ufa, east of Moscow, if convicted during the trail that started March 28, Shmakov might face up to five years in prison. Persecution of Shmakov began in late April when Federal Security Service agents arrested him for his newspaper's critical reporting. In particular, they looked at two articles published in April 2006 that called for the removal of the republic's president, Murtaza Rakhimov, and criticized corruption and human rights abuses. Shmakov did not write the articles though the author, local opposition leader Airat Dilmukhametov, is being charged also. For more information visit www.cpj.org.
Police close down Internews Russia
On April 18 police raided and confiscated all financial documents related to the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization Internews Russia. According to the Committee to Protect Journalist and the Moscow Times, 20 officers arrived around noon to conduct an 11-hour raid that ended in the close of the office. Internews Russia has been active in Moscow since 1997 and helps to educate and train regional journalists. The organization has been instrumental in developing Russia's independent media. Internews Executive Director Manana Aslamazia believes the police were trying to link the organization to her detention for failing to declare excess cash at Sheremetyevo Airport in January. She said via cell phone Wednesday, “We are not a media outlet; we just train media people. I think all this is related to foreign NGO restrictions in Russia.”
Bill may effect freedom of speech
Activists of opposition umbrella group The Other Russia had to visit 25 printing houses before finding one that would agree to publish their newspaper calling for an anti-Kremlin protest, The Moscow Times reported on June 27. The newspaper added that the task may become even harder after a bill on extremism is passed to law. The bill is awaiting its second reading in the State Duma. “This [bill] will increase the arbitrariness of law enforcement agencies and courts,” Marina Litvinovich, a spokeswoman for The Other Russia, told The Moscow Times. The Russian government's campaign is aimed at extremists, skinheads and other radical groups and includes fines for printers and publishers who print and distribute publications with extremist content.
Russia Rules Out Murder In Journalist's Death
The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office has reportedly ruled that a journalist Ivan Safronov who fell from a window of his Moscow apartment building was not murdered. Safronov had been investigating arms deals shortly before he was found dead in front of his home in March. “No crime was uncovered in this case. In the course of the investigation the 'criminal version' was fully investigated. No evidence of that was discovered,” an unidentified official from the Prosecutor-General's Office told Interfax. He added, however, that the investigation was not yet finished. Ilya Bulavinov, the deputy editor of the “Kommersant” daily that employed Safronov, told the Reuters news agency that the official investigation was not thorough enough. Russia ranks as one of the world's deadliest countries for journalists.
Sierra Leone
Court sets high bail for editor's releasel
A Freetown court has charged Philip Neville, the editor of the privately owned Standard Times daily newspaper, with libel, malicious propaganda and publishing false news, and set tough conditions for his provisional release, reported news organization Reporters Without Borders. The court has required three people to act as security for Neville, two of who must own homes in the Western area worth at least the amount of the editor's bail bond, which stands at $68,056.16. The bond and the property titles of the guarantors have to be deposited with the high court clerk's office before Neville can be freed. Plain-clothes police arrested Neville on June 28 after he published an article accusing President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah of keeping quiet on gifts that Sierra Leone had been offered by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during a recent visit.
Somalia
Somaliland TV reporter freed after being held for
Reporters Without Borders has reported that Somaliland journalist Abdirahman Musse Omar has been released following his arrest on June 28. Omar was set free after appearing before a court in Hargeisa, the capital of the northern breakaway territory of Somaliland. The authorities are not pressing any charges against him. The initial orders for Omar's arrest came from the mayor of Hargeisa, Hussein Mohamoud Ji'ir. The television reporter went to the Hargeisa city hall last month to get comments from the mayor on the deadly clashes that had taken place between police and residents in a suburb of the city. It is reported that on seeing the journalist the mayor snatched Omar's camera and began to hit him. Security guards were ordered to lock Omar up in one of the two cells inside the city hall.
Sri Lanka
Court sets high bail for editor's releasel
A delegation of news organizations dedicated to press freedom released a statement last month outlining their support for the struggling Sri Lankan media.
The International Press Freedom Mission, made up of groups such as Reporters Without Borders, the International Federation of Journalists and the South Asia Media Commission, among others, delivered the statement on the second to last day of a regional media conference in Sri Lanka from 17 to 23 June.
The conference follows an earlier report released by the IPF Mission on the state of journalism in the war-torn nation. Titled “Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression in Sri Lanka: Struggle for Survival”, the report concluded that the media, particularly the Tamil media, is under heavy and sustained attack, with a serious deterioration in the security of journalists including threats, abductions and attacks committed by the Sri Lankan government.
The April 2007 murder of Tamil journalist Chandrabose Suthaharan in the government-controlled town of Vavuniya is just one example of the challenges freedom of the press faces in the region.
Thailand
Government Continues to Suppress Freedom of Speech
In another example of increasing authoritarian control of the media in Thailand, the military government that seized control last September will convert major TV station iTV into an ad-free public broadcaster. The station will be renamed Thailand Independent Television and be operated by the Thai government, which took over the station after it failed to comply with orders to pay nearly $3 billion in fines. Immediately after the announcement, chief news anchor Kitti Singhapat resigned, telling the Bangkok Post he refused to work for an inflexible bureaucracy.
United States
Foundation offers $50,000 for best preventive jour
A Journalists who report problems before they become disasters over the next year could win the first ever Prize for Preventive Journalism from the foundation Understanding Government, reported Charles Peters on Poynter.org.
The prize will be $50,000, enough money, Peters says, to “wake reporters and editors up to the crucial importance of finding out what's wrong in time to keep bad things from happening.” Other reasons to offer the prize include encouraging journalists to counter budget cuts that lessen coverage of government agencies and helping them get over the perceived boredom of investigating critical governmental bodies like FEMA.
The most significant characteristic that sets preventive journalism apart from investigative or explanatory journalism is explaining not only what is wrong but also why, says Peters.
Submissions for the award are to be sent to Understanding Government and will be accepted through till 30 June 2008. The award will be given the following September.
For a discussion on the importance of this award, click here.
Applications can be sent to http://understandinggov.org/?p=574 .
Ex-media mogul Conrad Black convicted
A United States federal jury convicted media mogul Conrad Black of Hollinger International Inc. of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice on July 13. His three co-defendants were also found guilty of stealing money from the sale of newspapers in Canada and the U.S.
Black once ran the third largest newspaper empire, which included the Chicago Sun-Times and the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph. He renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2000 to become a British Lord. When Hollinger International began divesting some of its publications, Black and his associates wrote non-compete clauses into the sales agreements that guaranteed them huge bonuses, but Hollinger began posting serious losses in 2002 that met with complaints from stockholders.
The jury acquitted Black of nine other counts, including {such as} racketeering. He faces up to 35 years in prison plus up to $US1 million in fines. Most of the newspapers Black owned have been sold, and Hollinger International is now the Sun-Times Media Group.
For more information, see Global Journalist Archives and NPR.
Zell Makes a Deal
The Tribune Company has a new boss – Sam Zell, a self-made billionaire who spent his career in real estate. The Tribune Company owns leading newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune. Zell won the bid among billionaires in purchasing the company by offering a $315 million investment in the company, $34 a share or $8.2 billion to its stockholders and raises for newspaper managers. The problem that raises questions and eyebrows in the newsroom is how the Chicago tycoon, who has no experience in media, will handle operating big named newspapers at a time of financial and readership downfall in the print world. Zell has already made some financial strategies in the weeks he's been boss. He plans on selling the Chicago Cubs, which are currently under ownership of the Tribune Company, after the end of this season. Zell also plans to raise salaries of newspaper management. According to The New York Times: “Under the new plan, however, the company will no longer contribute to the 401(k), although employees will be free to do so. Instead, it will establish a cash-balance pension plan, which will accrue interest, and be funded with an amount equal to 3 percent of an employee's base pay.”