13 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost
Two Russians accused of inciting hatred with an art exhibition in Moscow have been found guilty. Andrei Yerofeyev and Yuri Samodurov escaped prison sentences but were fined. Last week 13 prominent Russian artists wrote an open letter to Russian President Dimitry Medvedev asking him to call off the trial on the grounds of the impact it would have on the contemporary art scene. Oleg Kassin, from the ultra-nationalist group which filed the complaint against the “Forbidden Art” exhibition, was quoted as saying “If you like expressing yourself freely, do it at home, invite some close friends”.
13 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost
Senegalese journalist Najib Sagna has been attacked by four people after claiming that Coumba Gaye, the country’s Deputy Minister for Justice and Human Rights, had recently given birth to an illegitimate son, the result of an extramarital affair with a fellow government minister. Sagna, who identified two of his attackers as relatives of Gaye, was assaulted whilst working to work at Walf Grand Place, a privately-owned newspaper in Dakar.
13 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost
The Palestinian authorities have prevented three newspapers from being distributed in Gaza territories for the second day in a row. The ban comes only days after the Israeli authorities lifted their own year and a half ban on the papers. The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) quoted Palestinian sources as saying that the authorities require daily newspapers printed in the West Bank to agree not to print anything critical of Hamas. The newspapers are still waiting for an official announcement as to why they have been banned. MADA strongly condemned the action and demanded that the authorities allow all journalists to work freely in the area.
12 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost
Opposition newspaper Al Intibaha, was “suspended indefinitely” on Tuesday 6 July, according to the Sudanese Media Centre. The move comes ahead of January’s referendum on whether the north and south regions of Sudan should become independent states. The head of the Sudanese intelligent services says the closure designed to “contain the negative role played by the paper in strengthening separatist agendas in both south and north Sudan.” The editors of two other newspapers, Al-Tayyar and Al-Ahdath, were contacted by government authorities and forced to rescind articles about conflicts in the south. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is against independence and has called for Sudan to remain united.
