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Bouterse’s installation as Suriname president is impunity for past murders of journalists
Date published: August 13, 2010
Author: Newswatch Desk
Desi Bouterse, sworn in Thursday as President of Suriname, continues to be charged with the murders of five journalists in 1982, while he was dictator. A soldier by profession, Bouterse has been returned to power by an election. He first came to power in a coup in 1980 and went on to run the country with an iron hand. The five journalists were among a total of 15 pro-democracy activists who were executed on the night of December 8, 1982 in Fort Zeelandia.
Crimes against journalists not being punished in Honduras
Date published: August 5, 2010
Author: Abhinav Kini
In Honduras, the political condition is so bad that criminals are able to kill journalists freely with no worries. In a matter of weeks, seven journalists have been murdered and the Honduran authorities have been tardy in their attempts in pursuing the killers.
Spanning from the beginning of March till mid June, seven murders is a disconcerting count during such a short time in a country with a population of just 7.5 million. With most of the murders being clear assassinations carried out by hit men, journalists are running scared wondering who is going to be their next target.
A government official though, has responded to the killings.” I guarantee that in all of them there is nothing to indicate that it is because of their journalistic work,” Minister of Security Óscar Álvarez was quoted saying, asserting that the crimes were of regular street crime levels.
Seven years after Zahra Kazemi’s death in detention, impunity continues in Iran
Date published: July 16, 2010
Author: Newswatch Desk
Those responsible for Zahra Kazemi's death have enjoyed complete impunity for the past seven years, thanks in part to the silence and passivity of the international bodies that are supposed to protect human rights. Mistreatment, rape and torture are common in Iranian prisons. Those behind the murders of prisoners, such as former Tehran prosecutor general Sayeed Mortazavi, continue to hold important posts within the political apparatus.
A resident of Canada, Iranian-Canadian photo-journalist Kazemi, 54, was arrested on June 23, 2003 while photographing the families of detainees waiting outside Evin prison in north Tehran. She was badly beaten during detention and died on July 10, 2003 from the injuries she had suffered. The Iranian authorities issued a report 10 days later recognising her death was the result of a blow but failing to explain how it was inflicted.
Seven years after Zahra Kazemi’s death in detention, impunity continues in Iran
Date published: July 16, 2010
Author: Newswatch Desk
Those responsible for Zahra Kazemi's death have enjoyed complete impunity for the past seven years, thanks in part to the silence and passivity of the international bodies that are supposed to protect human rights. Mistreatment, rape and torture are common in Iranian prisons. Those behind the murders of prisoners, such as former Tehran prosecutor general Sayeed Mortazavi, continue to hold important posts within the political apparatus.
A resident of Canada, Iranian-Canadian photo-journalist Kazemi, 54, was arrested on June 23, 2003 while photographing the families of detainees waiting outside Evin prison in north Tehran. She was badly beaten during detention and died on July 10, 2003 from the injuries she had suffered. The Iranian authorities issued a report 10 days later recognising her death was the result of a blow but failing to explain how it was inflicted.
Wiretap bill spurs debate and protests in Italy
Date published: July 9, 2010
Author: Newswatch Desk
Silvio Berlusconi is sending out a message as he and his allies fall victim to a string of embarrassing phone call leaks: Stop listening. The Italian premier is pressing a bill to limit the use of investigative wiretaps that have been the source of numerous scandals, but there is fierce opposition to curbing official eavesdropping in one of the world's most wiretapped nations.
Magistrates warn the contentious legislation winding through parliament would damage their fight against the Mafia, terrorism and pedophilia by severely limiting powers to conduct wiretaps. Journalists denounce provisions that would ban them from printing wiretap transcripts as a breach of freedom of information, and called a media blackout for Friday to illustrate the impact. Newspaper journalists went on strike Thursday so papers couldn't come out the next day.
Qaddafi celebrates 40 years of rule while media repression goes on
Date published: September 10, 2009
Author: IFEX Communiqué
As Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi held six days of lavish parties, plays, concerts and exhibitions to celebrate the bloodless coup that brought him to power on September 1, 1969, it was unlikely his international guests would have asked about Libya's abysmal press freedom record and all the journalists who have been disappeared, tortured or killed in the past 40 years.
Libyans who are critical of Qaddafi's regime are still disappeared, authorities destroy opposition websites, there are no privately owned TV or radio stations, and dissident journalists continue to be murdered, says the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI).
When Qaddafi came to power, he imposed laws that forced newspapers to hand over control to the state. Revolution officers enforced the laws by confiscating private newspapers and restricting papers published by unions and civil society institutions, while establishing newspapers of "a directed revolutionary tendency," says ANHRI.
Journalist's video gives rare look at war behind Taliban enemy lines
A Norwegian journalist has been granted unprecedented access to the Taliban army for the first time. The journalist, Norwegian Paul Refsdal, says Taliban leader Commander Dawran granted him the...
Iran newspaper calls Carla Bruni-Sarkozy a 'prostitute', wants her death
A hardline Iranian newspaper has called the French first lady a "prostitute" and recommended she be put to death for supporting a woman sentenced to death by stoning in Iran for adultery.
Under the...
Ugandan court strikes down criminal sedition, upholds right to free speech
Uganda's Constitutional Court has declared the country's criminal sedition offence, which has been used to prosecute journalists, unconstitutional.
The ruling was based on a 2005 constitutional...
Two Ukrainian TV stations have licences revoked, could face criminal charges
The International Press Institute (IPI) has expressed grave concern for the state of media freedom in Ukraine after a court ruling forced one TV station off the air and limited the licences of...
