China: blogger freed

27 Jul 09 | Index Index, minipost

Chinese blogger Duan Lei, who had been held since 25 February on charges of defamation and “disturbing the social order”, has been released by prosecutors due to a lack of evidence. Duan Lei’’s allegations that a local Communist party secretary had more cars than his position permits appeared on a total of six websites and were read by only 79 people.

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Two bloggers denied appeal in Azerbaijan

21 Jul 09 | Azerbaijan News, Index Index, minipost

Azerbaijani bloggers, Adnan Hadji Zadeh and Emin Mili, have lost their appeal for release and are being detained for two months pending trial on hooliganism charges. Media rights group, Reporters sans Frontieres say the charges are without grounds and that the bloggers have been assaulted. Read more here

Chinese police arrest riot witness

18 Jun 09 | Index Index, minipost

Chinese police appear to have detained a blogger who posted images of the aftermath of a riot online, prompting concerns of a crackdown on citizen journalists. The images he had posted online have since been deleted or blocked. Read more here