World Watch Archive / September 2007
Armenia
Opposition Journalist Beaten
Hovannes Galadjan, the 44-year-old editor of the Armenian opposition newspaper Iskakan Iravunk, translated into English as both True Law and Real Right, was attacked and beaten in his Yerevan office Sept. 15 and later hospitalized with head and body injuries.
Two men, who looked like “bodyguards” according to Galadjian, attacked him while he was descending the stairs of his office building to meet with a reporter. He was hit over the head and then beaten with batons.
The supposed meeting was set up after Galadjian agreed to meet a man, who described himself as a reporter from a different newspaper. That evening the reporter called Galadjian saying that he couldn't find the meeting place and Galadjian offered to meet him outside the building.
Galdjian has voiced suspicions that Hrant Khachatrian, former head of the Union of Constitiutional Rights (SIM) and his supporters are responsible for the attack.
SIM publishes Galadjian's newspaper and was also responsible for the publishing of an earlier newspaper called Irvunk.
In Sept. 2006 Khachatrian was ousted as leader by the editor in chief of Iravunk, Hayk Babukhanian. In Februaury of this year Babukhanian stopped publishing Iravunk due to death threats from unidentified sources.
Khachatrian denies any involvement with the attack, and the two assailants remain unidentified.
Burma
Burmese military authorities use questionable meth
Burma's military leaders have used all means possible to prevent journalists from covering demonstrations against a fuel price rise.
“The military's response to the wave of protests against price increases since 19 August has again been heavy-handed repression, intimidation and censorship of Burmese journalists,” said Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association.
The media censorship came after the government decided to raise the price of fuel on August 15. Burmese correspondents for international news organizations say they been subjected to a great deal of intimidation from plain-clothes police officers and members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (the regime's militia) while covering the recent demonstrations in Rangoon, reported RSF.
The Rangoon military command has banned journalists from taking photos of demonstrations and has ordered the seizure and destruction of cameras from those who do not comply. In order to hamper the dissemination of reports, the authorities are said to have slowed Internet traffic, even for private companies. After a 10-day news blackout, the media have now been told they can refer to the fuel price increase, albeit only in positive terms.
Related links: Reporters Without Borders, Burma Media Association
China
China frees jailed New York Times researcher
Zhao Yan, a Chinese researcher for the New York Times, was freed on Sept. 15 after serving a three-year sentence for fraud.
Mr. Zhao's case prompted international outrage and criticism of China's legal system. Human rights groups and journalism advocacy organizations criticized his arrest as politically motivated and without merit. The case was marked by legal irregularities, and at one point a Beijing court even withdrew all charges against him. But Mr. Zhao was never released, and the charges were reinstated without explanation.
“This case demonstrated the common practice of the police and prosecution adding, as a fig leaf afterthought, a second and flimsier charge in an attempt to justify charge that could not be substantiated after investigation,” said Jerome Cohen, an expert on Chinese law who advised The New York Times on the case. In a statement, Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, said, “We have said all along that Mr. Zhao is an honorable, hard-working reporter whose only offense seems to have been practicing journalism.” “It is our expectation that Mr. Zhao, having served his full three-year term, will now be able to resume his life and return to his chosen profession without restrictions.”
Mr. Zhao said in a statement to who? that “I would like to thank my family, friends and my employer for their steadfast concern and support.” He said he would issue a fuller statement “at some point in the near future.” Awarded the 2005 Reporters Without Borders – Foundation de France prize for “his commitment for freedom of information,” Mr. Zhao earned a national reputation as a “muckraking” journalist before he joined The New York Times in April 2004. Mr. Zhao remains an employee of The Times' Beijing bureau.
Related links: The New York Times, Reporters Without Borders
Egypt
Editor interrogated for questioning President'
Egyptian editor Ibrahim Eissa of the independent daily Al-Dustour is under investigation for publishing articles discussing the state of President Hosni Mubarak's health and opinion pieces criticizing the failure of the Egyptian government to keep the country informed.
The accusations against the editor claim that the published reports were “likely to disturb public security, spread horror among the people, or cause harm to or damage to the public interest.” Eissa's arrest was supported by Egyptian officials and First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, who claimed that the media should be punished for publishing rumors.
The Egyptian government has taken measures to control the coverage of the president's health by forming two commissions in the Supreme Press Council, which issues media guidelines and licenses. These special commissions will examine articles and reports and assess any legal action that should be taken. The Committee to Protect Journalists has listed Egypt “as one of the world's worst backsliders on press freedom,” and denounced the government's action against Eissa and the media.“If the government is unhappy about media speculation then it should provide the public with accurate and reliable information, not threaten journalists with persecution,” says CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “This spurious investigation should be dismissed at once.”
Related links: The Committee to Protect Journalists, Al-Dustour (in Arabic), The Egyptian Presidency
Egyptian editors arrested for slander
On Sept. 13, four outspoken Egyptian newspapers editors were sentenced to a year in prison with labor for allegedly defaming President Hosni Mubarak, his son Gamal, the party's deputy secretary-general, the prime minister and the interior minister in articles published from July to September 2006, Reuters www.reuters.com reported.
The lawsuit was brought against the editors last year by the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP, www.ndp.org.eg).
The charge of “insulting the president” was dismissed, but judge Sherif Ismael ruled that the four editors libeled the NDP and its leaders and “harmed the general interest by publishing false information” under articles 188, 302, 303 and 306 of the criminal code, according to Reporters Without Borders.
The four editors, Ibrahim Issa, Adel Hammouda, Wael el-Ebrashi and Abdel-Halim Qandil were ordered to pay fines of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (2,600 euros) each by the Cairo Criminal Court. Bail pending an appeal is set at 10,000 pounds each (1,300 euro).
“This is a death announcement for the freedom of press in Egypt,” Issa, editor of the al-Dustour daily, told Reuters.
The Union of Egyptian Journalists said the sentences were a “declaration of war on press freedom” and demanded that all laws for jailing journalists be repealed. According to the press law adopted last year, there are 35 press offences that are punishable by imprisonment.
Related links: Reuters, National Democratic Party, Al-Dustour (in Arabic)
Italy
Attempt to kill Italian journalist fails
An attempt to kill Italian journalist Lirio Abbate with a car bomb on Sept. 2 was unsuccessful.
Abbate's bodyguards spotted two men trying to attach a bomb underneath his car in Palermo, the Sicilian capital. The would-be assassins managed to flee the scene.
Abbate is well known for his reporting on organized crime for the ANSA news agency and the national daily newspaper La Stampa.
The number of death threats Abbate received has increased after his book “I Complici” (The Accomplices) came out early this year. In his book Abbate names about a dozen lawmakers from across the political spectrum with alleged links to the Mafia.
The Palermo provincial public security committee gave Abbate a permanent police escort on 21 May because of the death threats. He is the first Palermo journalist to travel in a bulletproof car accompanied by two bodyguards.
Journalist Roberto Saviano, correspondent in Naples of the weekly L'Espresso, has also been under police protection since October last year after he received threats following an in-depth report on the city's Mafiosi.
Related links: ASNA, La Stampa, L'Espresso
Malaysia
Malaysian government attempts to silence Internet
The Malaysian government has continued to harass internet-based journalists by using arrest and interrogation, according to Reporters Without Borders.
On July 23rd, Raja Petra Kamarudin, founder of the Malaysia Today news Web site, was interrogated for eight hours after he posted an article perceived as an insult to Islam and as an attempt to stir racial tensions against the Malaysian government. Nazri Abdul Aziz, a minister in the Prime Minister's cabinet, said on Aug. 8th that the government would not hesitate to use the Internet Security Act against bloggers who tackle sensitive issues. Under this law, anyone who is deemed to have threatened state security can be held without trial for two years.
Niger
Live debates on regional rebellion banned
Live debates on the armed rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in the north of Niger have been banned from broadcast. Although broadcasters are still allowed to air debates or opinions that are not live, Nigerian journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists fear this ban is just the tip of the iceberg.
The president of the High Council on Communications, which issued the ban and is government run, stated the implementation of the bad was a “technical” decision in response to a “controversial national issue” and in general content is not being monitored or regulated.
Journalists from private station Radio Saraounya FM in Niamey told CPJ the decision was a response to a live broadcast in which a panel discussed the armed rebellion and spoke against the government's handling of it.
Other actions from the government in recent weeks, according to CPJ, have included banning Paris-based Radio France Internationale for a month and banning the private bimonthly Air Info.
Related links: The Committee to Protect Journalists
Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian Executive Force interrogates journalis
On Sept.10, Hamas' Executive Force paramilitaries arrested and assaulted Palestinian journalist Faeq Jarada, employee of the Palestinian public television station PBC. Jarada was released the following day from a Gaza City prison.
Jarada told Reporters Without Borders that he was beaten before being questioned about his work. After his release, Jarada was taken to Al-Quds hospital because he was unable to walk and was badly bruised.
When the Executive Force paramilitaries first attempted the arrest on Sept. 10, they were stopped by 20 protesting journalists.
Members of the new Government Committee for the Media also tried to arrest the journalist on Sept. 10 and failed. Finally, Executive Force paramilitaries arrested Jarada at his home, taking his computer, camera and several videotapes.
Related Links: PBC, Reporters Without Borders
Russia
New Suspect in Politkovskaya Murder
Komsomolskaya Pravda, a Russian newspaper, reported that a new suspect in the Politkovskaya murder was arrested while in Moscow on September 14. Shail Burayev, a former Chechan government official, has been charged by the Moscow Basmanny District Court on charges of “organizing a murder,” suggesting that he ordered her killing.
According to the AP, Burayev's involvement surfaced during former security officer's Ryaguzov's court case, in which Ryaguzov allegedly gave Politkovskaya's address to Burayev.
Burayev served as the head of the Achkhoi-Martan region of Chechnya from 1995 until he was fired in 2003, and ran for the country's presidency that same year.
This comes at the same time that the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy posthumously awarded the 2007 Press Freedom Award to Politkovskaya
The European Parliament will decide at their next plenary session on a proposition introduced by two Italian MEPs to name their pressroom after the murdered Russian journalist.
Related Links: Komsomolskaya Pravda, National Endowment for Democracy
Somalia
Editors targeted for coverage
Coverage of the conflict in Somalia between the Ehtiopian-backed government and Islamist fighters has drawn targeted attacks from both sides against journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported that Somalia is the second deadliest country for journalists, surpassed only by Iraq.
Seven Somali journalists have already been killed in 2007 and at least 30 fled Mogadishu after two station directors were assassinated. Recently, Reporters Without Borders and CPJ reported that unidentified gunmen threatened to kill one of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) leaders, Ali Moallim Isak, forcing him into hiding.
In an effort to find refuge for its members, NUSOJ has petitioned the Kenyan government to allow its currently blocked border to be opened to journalists. According to NUSOJ Kenya is the safest neighboring country but has restricted visas.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which has donated funds to wounded journalists such as Abdihakim Omar Jimale of public Radio Mogadishu, is planning a campaign featuring the attacks.
“The deteriorating political crises and increasing levels of violence make independent reporting almost impossible,” says IFJ. “International organizations need to think hard about action now to calm the situation.”
Related links: The Committee to Protect Journalists, The National Union of Somali Journalists, The International Federation of Journalists
Syria
Syrian Cyber-dissident released
Syrian writer and cyber-dissident Habib Saleh was released on Sept. 12 after 27 months in detention. He was arrested May 29, 2005, and convicted by a military court in Homs for “spreading mendacious information” in open letters to the Baath Party criticizing the regime, which he posted on websites such as elaph.com, an online Arabic newswire service.
Ibrahim Melki, Salehs lawyer, petitioned for his release under a law that allows prisoners to be freed after completing three-quarters of their sentence. His lawyer blamed his conviction on an article about the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Saleh was a regular contributor to the privately-owned Lebanese daily An-Nahar. He was previously in jail in 2001 when, with nine other pro-democracy activists, he headed the Tartus Forum for National Democratic Dialogue.
Since Basha al-Assad became president in 2000, Syria's Internet access has become increasingly restricted with access to opposition online publications systematically blocked.
Related links: Elaph.com (in Arabic), Reporters Without Borders, An-Nahar (in Arabic)
Turkey
Turkish Court moves to block YouTube
A Turkish court has again asked for access to the video-sharing website YouTube to be blocked, claiming that it insulted the nation's leaders, according to the Agence-France Presse.
The court ruling from Sept 18 was sent to the state regulatory body, the Telecommunications Board, to be put into effect.
The decision came after a resident of the eastern city of Sivas complained that the site contained insults against Turkey's founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the army.
The country's largest telecommunications provider, Turk Telekom, blocked YouTube in March due to a clip that allegedly insulted Ataturk, a national hero who proclaimed modern day Turkey in 1923.
Access was restored two days later, when YouTube removed the video and Turk Telekom petitioned the court to revoke the ban.
After the Sept. 18 ban, YouTube released a written statement saying that it was ready to cooperate with Turkish authorities to resolve the current dispute, according to the AFP.
Related links: Agence-France Presse, Youtube
Yemen
Former editor of online magazine kidnapped and bea
Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani, former editor of the online newspaper Al-Shoura in Yemen, was abducted and beaten in Sana'a on August 28. While waiting for a taxi outside the newspaper's offices, al-Khaiwani's abductors forcibly bundled him into a waiting vehicle. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, local journalists suspect that the gunmen are part of the government's security forces.
The gunmen threatened to kill al-Khaiwani and his family if he writes another article that harms Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh or the country's national unity, CPJ sources said. They specifically mentioned an article published by Al-Nedaa on August 16 titled “What's Before the State: A Homeland Behind Bars,” al-Sayed told CPJ. In the article, al-Khaiwani wrote about the unjust status of prisoners, their treatment, and the conditions in the country's jails.
Related links: Al-Shoura newspaper (in Arabic), The Committee to Protect Journalists