British author arrested in Singapore

19 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost, News and features

Earlier today British author Alan Shadrake was arrested in Singapore for alleged criminal defamation and contempt of court .The state run Media Development Authority filed a complaint against Shadrake’s book, which examines the death penalty in Singapore, accusing it of questioning the impartiality of the judiciary. Last year Singapore ejected British journalist Ben Bland and charged the Wall Street Journal with contempt of court . Last week the authorities banned a film containing a speech made by an ex political prisoner.

Scottish local authority accused of political censorship

16 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost

The Scottish local authority, Dumfries and Galloway Council, has blocked access to the Scottish News of the World website. The council has setup a filter which prevents employees accessing the website. Elaine Murray, a member of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, claims that council chiefs are attempting to stop employees using the website as a source to substantiate smear campaigns against political opponents. Critics claim that the decision to block the website was due to the newspaper’s investigation into the council scandal. A spokesman for the council involved stated that access to the website is restricted due to bandwith issues.

Bribery and censorship in Paraguay

16 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost

The SPP (Paraguayan Union of Journalists) has condemned the recent actions of politicians in the city of Cuidad del Este. Last week Juan Pío Balbuena had his programme cancelled on Radio Corpus after the owner of the station made a ‘business deal’ with local politician Javier Zacarías Irún, in which he agreed not to criticise Zacarías’s political group. Zacarías’ wife, Sandra Mcleod, is mayor of Ciudad del Este and was recently accused of attempting to bribe another Radio Corpus journalist to favour her party on air. He refused and was later forced to resign.