999 PRESS FREEDOM CALL FOR JUSTICE: On 09.09.09, IPI reminds the world of its 9 remaining ‘justice denied’ journalist cases September 9, 2009 On the 9th of September, 2009, the International Press Institute (IPI) believes it is only fitting to call attention to the nine unresolved cases in its Justice Denied campaign, which highlights the unlawful imprisonment of journalists around the world and the impunity from which the murderers of journalists all too often benefit. Journalists are routinely […] Read more »
Afghan journalist originally sentenced to death receives presidential pardon in 20-year prison sentence September 8, 2009 A journalist for local Afghan newspaper Jahan-e Naw (New World) arrested in October 2007 in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, charged with blasphemy for downloading from the Internet an article critical of Islam’s position on women’s rights and distributing it to some of his fellow students, and sentenced to 20 years in prison – […] Read more »
Lubna Hussein convicted, ordered to pay €146 or go to prison for a month, in infamous trousers trial case September 7, 2009 Sudan has convicted journalist and former UN employee Lubna Hussein of violating the country’s decency laws, for wearing trousers, and has ordered her to pay a fine equivalent to about €146 – or spend a month in prison. ‘I will not pay the money and I will go to prison,’ Lubna told Reuters by phone […] Read more »
Mother of jailed Cuban journalist awarded US$ 27.5 million in compensation for emotional distress September 3, 2009 In an unprecedented ruling, on Wednesday, a United States federal judge ordered the Cuban Communist Party and the government of Raul Castro to pay a total of US$27.5 million to the mother of jailed Cuban journalist Omar Rodriguez Saludes – for whose release IPI has intensively campaigned as part of its Justice Denied Campaign. “This […] Read more »
Georgian opposition journalist released from prison after serving full four-year term for alleged ‘extortion’ August 27, 2009 Georgian authorities on Wednesday released journalist Shalva Ramishvili from prison, after he served a full four-year term for alleged blackmail. Ramishvili, a former reporter for – and part owner of – TV broadcaster ‘202’, has always protested his innocence, claiming his conviction was punishment for his criticism of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. Ramishvili was the […] Read more »
Turkey bans Günlük newspaper over alleged ‘terrorist propaganda’ August 26, 2009 An Istanbul criminal court has ordered the closure, for one month, of Günlük newspaper – which is known for raising issues related to Turkey’s Kurdish minority – over an article considered by the court to constitute propaganda for a terrorist organisation. The article was published earlier this month. The verdict, handed down on Friday 22 […] Read more »
Azeri journalist serving time for alleged ‘espionage’ dies in prison, amid concern for other jailed journalists August 18, 2009 The International Press Institute (IPI) is saddened at the death in prison on Monday of Azeri journalist Novruzali Mammadov. The 68-year-old former editor-in-chief of Tolishi Sado (“Voice of Talysh”) was serving a controversial 10-year jail sentence handed down in 2008 for alleged “espionage.” Mammadov, who died of natural causes, had suffered deteriorating health since his […] Read more »
Lubna Hussein ‘trousers’ trial postponed to 7 September August 4, 2009 The trial of Sudanese former journalist Lubna Hussein, who faces 40 lashes after being arrested a month ago for wearing trousers, has been postponed, again, until 7 September, according to IPI member and CEO of Turkey’s Hurriyet media group Vuslat Doğan Sabancı, who is in Khartoum following the trial. The further delay is reportedly because […] Read more »
Trial of female journalist arrested for wearing trousers postponed until 7 September; second female journalist faces enormous fine for ‘defamation’ August 4, 2009 The trial of Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein, who faces 40 lashes after being arrested a month ago for wearing trousers, has been postponed, again, until 7 September, according to International Press Institute (IPI) fellow Vuslat Dogan Sabancı, who was in Khartoum for the hearing. Sabanci is a former board member of IPI and current CEO […] Read more »
Finnish journalist faces jail time in Slovenia over broadcast accusing government of corruption July 31, 2009 Slovenia has charged Finnish journalist Magnus Berglund with two counts of criminal defamation after a documentary he produced quoted unnamed sources as saying that members of the former Slovene government – including former Prime Minister Janez Jansa – accepted bribes in arms deals with Finnish arms maker Patria. Berglund made the allegations in a September […] Read more »
SOMALILAND UPDATE: Radio journalists arrested two weeks ago for allegedly inciting inter-clan violence in broadcast appear in court for third time July 29, 2009 Two Somaliland radio journalists arrested on 13 July for allegedly inciting inter-clan violence with a broadcast appeared in court for the third time on Tuesday, Hargeisa-based Media Rights Somaliland (MeRiS) told the International Press Institute (IPI) on Wednesday. At the hearing, witness Mohamed Nur Kaahin, a Gebilay province elder, testified that nothing in the defendants’ […] Read more »
Missing Nepalese journalist resurfaces, after fleeing threats over corruption article July 28, 2009 Shiva Oli, a Nepali journalist reported missing by his wife after he left his home in the Doti district in the far western region of Nepal on 25 July, was located on Tuesday morning when he contacted the police, the regional coordinator for the Far Western Region of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, Manmohan Swar, […] Read more »
Sudanese police file complaint against female journalist over article defending women arrested for wearing trousers July 27, 2009 The public order police in Sudan have filed a complaint against female journalist Amal Habbani, editor of the “Tiny Issues” column in “Ajrass Al Horreya” newspaper over a 12 July story entitled “Lubna…A Case of Subduing a Woman’s Body,” in which she defended Lubna al-Hussein, one of 13 women reportedly arrested – and in some […] Read more »
With televised threat to journalists, Gambia’s President Jammeh fuels media climate of fear July 23, 2009 Gambian President Yahya Jammeh on Wednesday 22 July warned journalists against tarnishing Gambia’s image, in a statement to state-owned GRTS television. “Any journalist who thinks that he or she can write whatever he or she wants, and go free, is making a big mistake”, Jammeh declared. “If anybody is caught, he will be severely dealt […] Read more »
Gambia tries seven journalists for seditious publication, other offences July 3, 2009 The trial of seven Gambian journalists, who were arrested on charges of seditious publication on June 15, began today at a High Court in Banjul. According to the Media Foundation for West Africa, the journalists, who were originally slated to appear in court on July 7, were informed two days ago that their trial would […] Read more »
Tortured, then murdered: journalist found in shallow grave near Acapulco, Mexico June 30, 2009 IPI calls on the Mexican authorities to act immediately to stem the systematic killing of reporters, following the brutal murder of radio journalist Juan Daniel Martínez Gil near Acapulco on the evening of Monday 27 July. Gil’s murder is another example of the grave danger the media face in Mexico, which is the Western Hemisphere’s […] Read more »
Resolutions adopted at the World Congress and 58th General Assembly June 9, 2009 IPI Resolution on the Sentencing of US Journalists by North Korea IPI Repeats Call for Justice for Journalists Murdered in East Timor in 1975 IPI Resolution Against Efforts to Weaken Independent Media Councils The IPI Weekly Digest & IPI Distribution List Subscribe for all IPI press freedom news and updates, opportunities for journalists, and the […] Read more »
IPI General Assembly Resolution 2009: UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Meeting in their General Assembly on 9 June 2009 in Helsinki, Finland, IPI members called on the member countries of the United Nations Human Rights Council to respect the independence of its Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Frank La Rue. He has recently come under verbal attack by representatives to the Council […] Read more »
IPI General Assembly Resolution 2009: Venezuela Meeting at their annual General Assembly on 6 June 2009 in Helsinki, Finland, IPI members expressed concern at the worsening press freedom climate in Venezuela, and in particular at the ever more frequent harassment of television network Globovision and its employees. Venezuela’s independent and largely pro-opposition media have long been subjected to extreme pressure from […] Read more »
IPI Congress honours Russia’s Novaya Gazeta June 7, 2009 The International Press Institute today presented its annual Free Media Pioneer Award to Novaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper that has withstood mounting government efforts to control the media and has paid dearly for its intrepid reporting over the last decade. The award was presented to Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov as IPI opened its World Congress and 58th General Assembly, an […] Read more »
Congress to show footage of new film on Balibo killings May 25, 2009 Balibo, a powerful film that relates the events surrounding the slaying of five journalists by Indonesian soldiers in East Timor in 1975, will be showcased at the upcoming IPI World Congress in Helsinki. The political thriller is told through the eyes of Roger East (played by Emmy Award-winning actor Anthony LaPaglia), an Australian who went […] Read more »
A newspaper ‘to serve society, not the state’: Russia’s Novaya Gazeta wins IPI Pioneer Award April 29, 2009 Novaya Gazeta, the crusading Moscow newspaper that has paid a deadly price for its reporting during a period when the Kremlin has sought to rein in independent media, has been named winner of the International Press Institute’s 2009 Free Media Pioneer Award. The award, announced to coincide with World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, […] Read more »
Malaysia arrests bloggers, bans newspapers in fresh assaults on expression April 2, 2009 The International Press Institute today expressed concern about recent arrests of bloggers, restrictions on news organisations and other breaches of free expression in Malaysia. In the past month, the authorities arrested six bloggers, denied several news organisations access to the dominant political party’s general assembly, and banned two opposition newspapers, according to IPI sources in […] Read more »
Six years after ‘black spring’, Cuba must free jailed journalists March 17, 2009 Six years after Cuba’s notorious “Primavera Negra” (Black Spring) crackdown on journalists and other accused dissenters, the country continues to trample on free expression and remains a leading jailer of journalists, with more than 20 reporters and news managers behind bars. On the eve of the Primavera Negra anniversary, the International Press Institute’s Justice Denied Campaign urged […] Read more »
IPI urges EU leaders to underscore importance of free press in Turkey March 9, 2009 The International Press Institute today appealed to European Commission leaders to make press freedom a priority in ongoing membership talks with Turkey amid concern over verbal attacks on news organisations and continued legal hurdles to free expression in the country. IPI Director David Dadge held meetings with Ollie Rehn, the enlargement commissioner, and other officials […] Read more »
SEEMO/IPI concerned about physical attack on journalist Abdulhalim Dede during live broadcast February 25, 2009 The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is deeply concerned about the physical attack on journalist Abdulhalim Dede on 19 February while he was on-air during the morning programme, Kalimera Ellada, broadcast […] Read more »
Nepal grants compensation to journalist for detention and torture February 12, 2009 More than six years after her detention and torture, Nepalese journalist Meena Sharma Tiwari has been granted compensation of 15,000 Nepalese rupees (150 euros) by the Appellate Court. Tiwari is the fourth Nepalese journalist to receive compensation in connection with detention and mistreatment by the authorities. “IPI welcomes the judgment as an important sign of […] Read more »
“They cannot control the sky,” defiant Kalima Editor-in-Chief Sihem Bensadrine tells IPI January 30, 2009 The IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), of which IPI is a member, on 29 January deplored the aggressive interference by police with the Tunis-based offices of Radio Kalima, an independent media outlet in Tunisia that runs an online news site and web-based radio station. Editor-in-Chief Sihem Bensadrine, who is also the founder of the Conseil […] Read more »
Two years after Dink killing, IPI urges Turkey to repeal repressive law January 19, 2009 Two-years ago today, a self-professed Turkish nationalist-extremist killed renowned journalist Hrant Dink in an Istanbul street. Prior to the killing, the courts had found Dink guilty of insulting “Turkishness,” and therefore of breaching the country’s infamous Article 301. Turkey’s leaders admitted that problems exist with the highly contentious law in the wake of Dink’s murder. […] Read more »
Slovak broadcaster fined for paraphrasing Interior Minister November 24, 2008 Bratislava Regional Court has ordered Slovak broadcaster Radio Viva to pay over EUR 30,000 in libel damages to a Slovak judge, in connection with a 2004 report on fraud charges brought against him. The report – an item in a regular evening news broadcast – was based on comments made by then Interior Minister Vladimír […] Read more »
IPI condemns sentencing of journalist by Yemeni court June 11, 2008 The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, condemns the six-year sentence imposed on Abdelkarim Al-Khaiwani, former editor-in-chief of the Al-Shoura newspaper, in Yemen. According to information before IPI, on 9 June a Yemeni State Security Court sentenced Al-Khaiwani to six years in prison, […] Read more »
IPI disappointed at Azeri Supreme Court decision upholding conviction of Eynulla Fatullayev June 6, 2008 The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, expresses its disappointment at the Azeri Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the conviction of newspaper editor Eynulla Fatullayev. According to information before IPI, on 3 June 2008, the Azeri Supreme Court upheld the eight and a […] Read more »
On World Press Freedom Day, IPI calls for all governments to reject attempts to limit press freedom May 2, 2008 “On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, 3 May 2008, IPI calls upon all governments to combat limitations on press freedom and to work harder at ensuring that the media is able to report on issues of public interest,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “We are very worried that, while there is a growing […] Read more »