An Azerbaijani journalist held in pre-trial detention since March claims he has been tortured. Zaur Guliyev, editor-in-chief of Xayal TV, was arrested after unrest in the Quba region. In a statement, Guliyev said he was subjected to physical and...
CATEGORY: minipost
Siberia: Lawmakers pass anti-gay propaganda bill
Legislation banning promotion of "gay propaganda" has passed its first reading in Siberia. The bill, which prohibits the promotion of homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender practices among minors. The bill will also be debated in a final...
Honduras: TV presenter murdered
A prominent Honduran TV presenter was murdered on Monday morning. Noel Alexander Valladares, host of popular show El Tecolote (“The Owl”) on Maya TV, based in Tegucigalpa, was shot as he left the station. Eyewitnesses report that four men jumped...
Egypt: Adel Imam blasphemy sentence dropped
A Cairo court today dismissed a three-month jail sentence handed down to popular comic actor Adel Iman, Al Ahram reports. Imam had faced jail after a case was brought against him for "defaming Islam". He had been accused by Islamist lawyer Asran...
UAE: Rapper jailed over scandalous video
A rapper has been sentenced to a minimum of three months in prison after releasing a violent music video in the UAE. The singer, known as Dangour, was arrested in June. In the footage, Dangour raps about drug abuse and his hatred of white people. A...
Egypt: 10 presidential candidates disqualified
Ten of the nominees running for president in Egypt have been disqualified due to "legal irregularities". Muslim Brotherhood candidate Khairat el-Shater and former Vice President Omar Suleiman are among those who have been barred from the election....
Syria: Four citizen journalists killed despite ceasefire
Four citizen journalists have been killed in Syria, despite the recent ceasefire. Ahmed Abdallah Fakhriyeh, Samir Shalab Al-Sham Abu Mohamed, Alaa Al-Din Hassan Al-Douri and Khaled Mahmoud Kabbisho were killed in the last week. Fakhriyeh was shot...
Iranian singer Arya Aramnejad sentenced to a year in jail
A popular Iranian singer has been sentenced to a year in prison after releasing pro-opposition songs online. During the protests that occurred in the wake of the disputed 2009 presidential elections, Arya Aramnejad angered officials by uploading...
EU parliament votes to monitor internet censorship and create rights tzar
The European Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favour of a human rights resolution which calls for new rules to monitor internet censorship under autocratic regimes yesterday. The report's author Labour MEP Richard Howit recommended an export ban...
Germany: Journalists threatened by Salafist group
A radical Muslim group released a video threatening a number of German journalists last week. The Salafist group named journalists from newspapers Frankfurter Rundschau and Tagesspiegel in the video uploaded to YouTube on Thursday (12 April). The...