A Syrian journalist has been beaten, arrested and detained whilst covering a protest in Damascus. Rudy Othman, a prominent freelance journalist, was arrested by security forces during a protest on Thursday, but his whereabouts, legal status, or...
DRC: Television station attacked, programme host in hiding
A private television station in the Democratic Republic of Congo was stormed by unidentified men yesterday morning. Radio Télévision Kindu Maniema (RTKM) who broadcast from the capital of Maniema province was attacked by a group of men, who set...
UAE: Authorities censor two Arab Spring-inspired art pieces at gallery
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have removed two paintings inspired by the Arab spring from an art fair. The paintings, which were appearing as part of the regional art fair "Art Dubai", unsettled the authorities and were ommitted. A...
UK: Teenager denies making ‘grossly offensive’ comments on Facebook
The teenager accused of making "grossly offensive" comments about the deaths of six British soldiers in Afghanistan has denied charges against him. Azhar Ahmed, of West Yorkshire, appeared before Dewsbury Magistrates’ Court today. Ahmed is charged...
Azerbaijan: Musicians arrested and beatings reported at youth rally in Baku
Two musicians and the leader of a youth organisation were detained by police during a sanctioned rally in Azerbaijan. On Saturday, Camal Ali, the front-man of popular band Bulustan, used profane language to criticise Azerbaijani President Ilham...
Ghana: Political activist detained over allegations against first lady
A political activist and critic of the President's administration has been detained in Ghana. Ernest Owusu Bempah was arrested on 14 March on charges of “publishing false information with the intent to cause fear and alarm”. On a local radio...
Bolivia: Journalist sentenced to prison for defamation
A Bolivian journalist has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of "defamation, libel and spreading insults". Rogelio Peláez, editor of monthly publication Larga Vista, reported that a lawyer who was representing retired...
Azerbaijan: Four journalists arrested over Quba riots
Three senior employees of a TV station in Azerbaijan were arrested on 13 March. Vugar Gonagov, executive director; Zaur Guliyev, editor, and Zaur Mustafayev, head of public relations at Khayal TV were arrested along with Jamil Mammadli, a reporter...
Libya: British journalists freed
Two British journalists who were arrested and accused of spying by a Libyan militia group have been released. Gareth Montgomery-Johnson and Nicholas Davies, who work for Iran's state-owned Press TV were released on Sunday and cleared of all...
Saudi Arabia: Website managers held without charge
Three Saudi web managers from news websites which cover political unrest are being held in prison without charge. Habib Ali al-Maatiq and Hussein Malik al-Salam from Al-Fajr Cultural Network and Jalal Mohamed al-Jamal from news website Al-Awamia...
China: Ai Weiwei says censors removed his microblog
A crack in China's firewall allowed dissident artist Ai Wei Wei to use a Twitter-like social media account for a short time on Sunday, before it shortly became inaccessible. The dissident artist was able to use micro-blogging platform Sina...
Egypt: Oscar-winning Iranian film banned from screening at Cairo University
An Egyptian university banned the screening of an award winning Iranian film last week. The film A Separation"was due to be screened at Cairo University on 8 March, but objections from fundamentalist university groups led to the screening permit to...