29 Mar 11 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Reporters Aleksandr Lomashkin and Ales Asiptsu were arrested in separate incidents on Thursday, 24 March. Both were detained on the eve of “Freedom Day”, an unofficial holiday traditionally celebrated by members of the opposition. Lomashkin is a Russian journalist who worked in Belarus and founded the human rights website Svoboda. He was forced to get off a train at the Belarusian border and was searched by two officers who claimed that they were looking for drugs. He was arrested for “insulting an officer” and imprisoned for three days. Asipstu is an independent Belarusian journalist who was also arrested for allegedly “urinating in a public place.”
28 Feb 11 | Index Index, minipost
Chief editor Ram Pukar Raut, and editor Pravin Sharma Jha, of the New Times Today have been arrested by police in the Southern Nepalese district of Rautahat. They were charged with having links with a militant underground group, and printing a press release from the group. Sources from the newspaper assert that the arrests were a response to an article in the newspaper alleging that the police had taken bribes from an animal smuggler.
18 Feb 11 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
In a bid to stifle anti-government protests, the Iranian government has intensified its censorship, especially of online media, and arrested journalists covering demonstrations. Opposition websites and independent news websites have come under cyber-attacks limiting their functionality. Bloggers and journalists reporting on the protests continue to be arrested, and security forces have also reportedly beaten relatives of detained protestors.
08 Nov 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
The authorities have arrested 10 journalists employed by a news agency run by a son of Muammar Gaddafi. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is seen as a reformist and has been increasingly critical of his father’s government. The six men and four women were detained at the office of Libya Press on Friday. Officials have not yet provided a reason for the arrests. Last week, another part of Gaddafi media empire, the Oea newspaper, had its printing suspended by the government.
