9 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
A draft decree by the Fiji’s military-backed regime calls for tighter control of the media and increased press censorship. The proposals, announced on Wednesday, would require daily monitoring of all news stories, as well as new restrictions on cross-media ownership. This would directly affect Fiji Times, one of the nation’s oldest and largest newspapers which is owned by the Australian company News Limited. Breaches of content regulation could result in media organisations, publishers and journalists being fined and imprisoned for up to five years.
8 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Following Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s declaration of a state of emergency yesterday the government has begun targeting news sources aimed at anti-government protesters, the so-called red shirts. The “red shirt” financed a television station, PTV was closed down today. government has also begun blocking internet content, which according to RSF has amounted to the closure of at least 36 websites and blogs to date. Chiranuch Premchaipoen, editor of the independent news website Prachatai.com, was arrested on 31 March on lèse majesté charges.
23 Mar 2010 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, Uncategorized
EU foreign ministers have described the current situation in Iran as “unacceptable”, in a joint statement they call for an end to the jamming of satellite broadcasts from international news networks. In the crackdown since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election, dozens of journalists and campaigners have been arrested, including Ali Kanturi, a young student activist who fled Iran and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in his absence, and journalist Emadeddin Baghi who has been detailed by the Iranian authorities. See the “Our Society Will Be a Free Society” campaign for more information.
23 Mar 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Belarus’s Supreme Court has stripped the Belarusian Association of Journalist’s (BAJ) ability to offer protection to journalists who are not officially authorised, such as opposition newspapers, websites and foreign news outlets.These journalists could now face 15 days in jail. BAJ president Zhanna Litvina said yesterday that this will discourage independent media coverage in the run-up to the elections. This comes a week after Charter97, an opposition website and are a nominee for this year’s Index On Censorship Freedom of Expression awards had its offices raided and its head of press beaten.
