05 Feb 13 | Uncategorized
An unknown gunman in Denmark has shot at a prominent writer and historian who is a critic of Islam. Reports said that Lars Hedegaard was not injured. The perpetrator arrived at Hedegaard’s Copenhagen home today (5 February) pretending to deliver a package, instead firing shots at the Danish writer, missing the intended target. Hedegaard is head of the International Free Press Society, a group claiming that Islam threatens press freedom. He was fined 5,000 Kroner (approximately £575) in 2011 for insulting Muslims in a series of statements.
A woman who claimed she was raped by Somalian authorities and the journalist who interviewed her have today (5 February) been jailed in Mogadishu. Judge Ahmed Adan found the woman guilty of offending the state, who will serve one year in prison after she finishes breastfeeding her baby. Freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdinuur was charged with offending state institutions through false interviewing and entering a woman’s home without the husband present and is to start his one year sentence immediately. Three other defendants, including the woman’s husband and two others who helped introduce her to Abdinuur were found not guilty and freed. The journalist was detained on 10 January for interviewing the woman who had claimed she was raped by soldiers at a displaced person’s camp where she was living in Mogadishu.
A Singaporean photographer was arrested on 4 February in Tokyo for selling books containing pictures of male genitalia. Leslie Kee was arrested along with two members of staff at a publishing firm on suspicion of obscenity and could be jailed for up to two years and / or fined up to 2.5 million yen if found guilty. The trio were detained for selling seven copies of the book to two customers at Kee’s Tokyo gallery — prompting the fashion community in Japan to jump to their defence. The 41 year-old photographer is well known in Japan and has photographed the likes of Naomi Campbell and Beyonce. Japanese domestic law rules that pictures of genitals must be obscured, a method usually practiced through pixelation.
Donald Trump has filed a legal suit against a comedian after proving he is not the spawn of orangutans
The Eritrean government has blocked access to Al Jazeera inside the country. The Qatari TV news network has been unaccessible since 1 February, after the information ministry issued a decree preventing anyone from providing access to its news service. Restaurants, hotels and cafés were particularly targeted and Al Jazeera’s English-language channels were blocked. Eritrean authorities allegedly ordered the ban after Al Jazeera ran stories on demonstrations by Eritrea’s exiles outside Eritrean diplomatic missions in London, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Rome and Cairo in opposition of the government and support of soldiers who staged a mutiny after they stormed the information ministry in Asmara on 21 January. Eritrea holds the highest number of imprisoned journalists in Africa.
Andrew Mitchell, the cabinet minister who resigned following the “plebgate” scandal is to sue The Sun for libel for its reporting of the case. The former government chief whip swore at police officers after they refused him to exit his office through Downing Street’s main gates on 19 September 2012, allegedly saying: “you’re all plebs”. The Conservative MP stepped down from his role a month later. It wasn’t until December that evidence was taken into doubt after CCTV seemed to question the police log and witness reliability. Scotland Yard arrested three police officers in connection with the affair. Mitchell admitted to swearing at the officers but denied using the term “plebs”. He is seeking damages, costs, an apology and an undertaking that the words are not repeated in future.
Donald Trump is suing a comedian after he failed to honour a $5million (£3.1m) lost bet that Trump was the descendent of orangutans. Bill Maher had joked on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show that, if Trump presented him with proof that he was not the product of a tryst between his mother and a primate, he would pay $5million to charity. The business tycoon then proceeded to send a copy of his birth certificate to Maher, along with a note saying “cough up”. Trump said that there was no evidence that the comedian had offered the money as a joke, citing his “pathetic delivery”. Trump then released his birth certificate publicly along with a letter from his lawyer, confirming that he was in fact, entirely human. Maher has failed to offer the cash, prompting Trump to file legal documents in the Superior Court of California on 4 February. Trump has been a prominent voice in the “birther” movement, which claims that Barack Obama was not born in the United States and hence is not eligible to be president.
04 Feb 13 | Uncategorized
Chinese communist party newspaper The People’s Daily has today denied allegations that China hacked into the computer systems of various US media outlets. The state-run newspaper denied that officials had hacked The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, also refuting claims from The Washington Post that it had been targeted. The People’s Daily said that the national security allegations from the US were a cover-up for imposing economic sanctions on China. The Obama administration will reportedly address the attacks as an economic threat in a National Intelligence Estimate report, meaning the US can impose sanctions in China in response. Concern has been mounting in America that China has been responsible for a series of sustained cyber attacks on government agencies, US companies and media outlets — a US congressional report last year named China “the most threatening actor in cyberspace”.
A french journalist researching prostitution and human trafficking in Cambodia has had a seven year jail sentence in absentia upheld under prostitution charges. Daniel Lainé was charged by Phnom Penh City Court on 29 January for soliciting prostitutes and issued with a “red notice” by Interpol following a request from the court, banning him from reporting anywhere outside of France. Lainé had originally been sentenced in 2010 after being caught secretly filming a prostitute without permission, a charge the journalist denies. The charges are thought to be linked to Lainé’s 2003 documentary exposing sex tourism in Cambodia and are allegedly supported by a written witness statement from someone who never appeared in court during the case. Lainé is a filmmaker for Tony Comiti Productions and was winner of a World Press Photo award in 1991.
These crisps have caused offence amongst the Catholic community
On 1 February, a film maker accused the Italian government of censorship for calling off the screening of his film for being too political. Bill Emmott, former editor of the Economist, was due to show his documentary Girlfriend in a Coma on 13 February at the National Museum of the 21st Century Arts, but the organisers were contacted on 1 February to say that the ministry of culture had ordered the event to be postponed ahead of the parliamentary elections on 24 February. Emmott, who’s film takes a critical look at Italy and the problems it faces, said there is a culture of denial in the country. The film has already been screened in several European countries and the US and is expected to remain postponed until the elections are over.
An appeals court in the Philippines has upheld a decision to pursue a libel case and issue of arrest warrants against a minor and five other people for online defamation charges made on 13 March 2012. A teenage blogger was accused of posting defamatory comments on Celine Quanico’s blog on 6 April 2008, along with Justine Dimaano, Francesa Vanessa Fugen, Anthony Jay Foronda, Roberto Armando Hidalgo and Danielle Vicaldo. Quanico said that Dimaano had posted a Yahoo messenger conversation titled “meet my backstabber friend”, but had changed the alleged victim’s name — who was 16 at the time of the alleged offence. Other insults posted on the site included “bitch”, “ugly”, “loser” and “liar”. The Cyber Crime Prevention Act went into effect on 3 October in the Philippines, after it was suspended following calls to remove the law from constitution.
Chain sandwich store Pret A Manger has withdrawn a new “Virgin Mary” brand of crisps from shelves following religious complaints. The bloody mary cocktail flavoured crisps had been introduced last week, but prompted complaints, including from Catholic groups that the brand was offensive to Jesus’ mother. The company said it removed the product to avoid further offence after noting the “strength of feeling” behind the few complaints they received. The unsold crisps will be donated to homeless charities across the country. Among the complainants was The Reverend Nick Donnelly, deacon of the Diocese of Lancaster, who said after Pret removed the product that the incident taught the Catholic community how to defend their faith in the future.
01 Feb 13 | Uncategorized
A US military judge has ruled the government must dismantle a monitoring system which allowed censors to suspend the broadcast of hearings for Guantanamo prisoners suspected of planning the 9/11 attacks. Army Colonel James Pohl said on 31 January it was “the last time” a third party could decide whether the hearings would be broadcast. The closed-circuit broadcast feed was stopped for a few minutes during a 28 January pre-trial hearing of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — alleged organiser of the 9/11 attacks — and four other defendants. It revealed for the first time that an unknown external force was listening in on the trial and censoring proceedings at will. The feed was cut when Mohammed’s lawyer David Nevin requested the preserve secret CIA prisons where the defendants had been held before being taken to Guantanamo. Pohl, who was unsure why the information was censored as it was public information, said he and the court security officer were the only ones allowed to halt the broadcast.
An investigation into protests in Burma in November 2012 has discovered that police forces used white phosphorus to disperse crowds, causing demonstrators severe burns. Police involvement left more than 100 Buddhist monks and other participants badly burned, injuries authorities said were caused by tear gas and smoke grenades. An analysis in a Bangkok laboratory concluded that the canisters, which were collected by lawyers after the protests, contained traces of white phosphorus.
Protestors had staged an occupation at Letpaduang copper mine for 11 days before police broke up the crowd. The report will be sent to a government appointed panel fronted by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for review. White Phosphorus is typically used in war to create a smoke screen and its use against people has been disputed.
An Indian state has banned a film for 15 days following complaints that it was offensive to Muslims. Tamil Nadu state in southern India banned the action film Vishwaroopam — which was due to be released on 25 January — after concerns that protests outside cinemas could turn violent. Muslim groups said the film portrayed their faith in a negative light and were offended that the terrorist in the film was Muslim. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram said the state didn’t have enough police to impose law and order outside the 500 cinemas it was set to play in. Film director and co-producer Kamal Haasan has appealed for the ban to be lifted in Tamil Nadu and is expected to hear a judgement by 6 February.
Naomi Campbell has won damages after the Telegraph falsely claimed she organised elephant polo matches
On 31 January, a 15-year-old girl in Iceland won the right to keep her birth name, despite authorities saying it wasn’t feminine enough. Reykjavik District Court allowed Blaer Bjarkardottir to hold on to her first name Blaer, meaning light breeze — a name her mother Bjork Eidsdottir gave her from birth, apparently unaware the name was on the government banned list. Icelandic authorities had originally rejected the name for being too masculine, referring to her only as “girl” in communication with officials. Iceland has official rules for what name a baby can be given. Names are supposed to fit with Icelandic grammatical rules and the alphabet. The ruling means the name can now be taken by girls across Iceland.
Naomi Campbell has accepted damages from The Daily Telegraph after she was falsely accused of organising an elephant polo match in India for her partner’s birthday. The newspaper had printed a story on 3 November 2012, alleging that Campbell arranged the tournament in Jodhpur for Vladimir Doronin’s 50th birthday celebrations. The model accepted an apology from the Telegraph, as well as “substantial” damages — although the figure has not been disclosed. Campbell’s lawyer Gideon Benaim said at London’s High Court that the “unfounded” claims had caused a “storm” of publicity in India after media outlets across the country republished the story.
20 Dec 12 | Media Freedom, News and features, United Kingdom
A tough but voluntary regulator is the best way to ensure a free press and a fair society, Index says in a new policy note (more…)
