07 Sep 11 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
A Syrian journalist has been arrested by security forces in Damascus. Amer Matar, from pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat was arrested on Saturday, though reasons for this are still unclear. Before his arrest, Matar emailed a friend a copy of his will, stating “I may not come back from Friday prayers.” Matar, who is also a political activist, called for peaceful anti-regime demonstrations via Facebook, much like journalist Omar al-Assad who was arrested in July. The condition and whereabouts of both journalists remain unknown. Meanwhile, the Syrian government recently announced a new media law, proclaiming freedom of speech as a fundamental principle.
31 Aug 11 | Index Index, minipost
Elena Bondar, an Uzbekistani freelance journalist who was briefly detained at Tashkent airport last week, has been notified that she is to be prosecuted for not declaring the professional material that was seized from her at the time, and that it will be examined by a censorship committee. When interrogated again for three hours on 27 August, Bondar was told that she is to be prosecuted under articles of the customs law and the civil code for failing to declare the four USB flash drives, three CDs and two video cassettes that were taken from her when she landed in the Uzbek capital on 22 August. She is facing a possible fine on these charges.
02 Aug 11 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features
The BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil has been arrested in Egypt while reporting from Cairo. In her most recent tweet, Khalil said she and those with her were “OK” and on the way to see district prosecutors. She had travelled to Tahrir Square after Egyptian security forces had moved in to clear the area of protesters. In her last tweet before her arrest, Khalil noted the atmosphere was “extremely tense” and that the area was surrounded by “military”, “riot police” and “armoured vehicles”.
