20 Mar 12 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
A political activist and critic of the President’s administration has been detained in Ghana. Ernest Owusu Bempah was arrested on 14 March on charges of “publishing false information with the intent to cause fear and alarm”. On a local radio station Bempah alleged that President Atta Mills’ wife had received 5m Ghana Cedis (approximately GBP£1,854,449 ) as a gift from a businessman who is facing trial for defrauding the state of millions. The government and the first lady have denied the accusations, and the President’s lawyers plan to take legal action against the journalist.
20 Mar 12 | Americas, Index Index, minipost
A Bolivian journalist has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of “defamation, libel and spreading insults”. Rogelio Peláez, editor of monthly publication Larga Vista, reported that a lawyer who was representing retired public servants had charged excessively high legal fees. Referring to lawyer Waldo Molina, the journalist used the phrase “un robo con la ley en la mano” roughly translated to mean “using the law to steal”, on the front page of Larga Vista. Peláez was sentenced on 8 March.
20 Mar 12 | Azerbaijan News, Europe and Central Asia, Index Index, minipost
Three senior employees of a TV station in Azerbaijan were arrested on 13 March. Vugar Gonagov, executive director; Zaur Guliyev, editor, and Zaur Mustafayev, head of public relations at Khayal TV were arrested along with Jamil Mammadli, a reporter from Polygon news agency. The journalists were arrested following accusations they were implicated in riots in Quba in early March. The four men are being held, reportedly without charge, in Baku. The riots took place on 1 March, demonstrators gathered to demand the resignation of local government head, after a video appeared on YouTube showing him making derogatory remarks about residents.
19 Mar 12 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Two British journalists who were arrested and accused of spying by a Libyan militia group have been released. Gareth Montgomery-Johnson and Nicholas Davies, who work for Iran’s state-owned Press TV were released on Sunday and cleared of all charges. The journalist’s were arrested on 23 February by a Misrata militia based in Tripoli in a direct challenge to the authority of the country’s government. The men were transferred to the custody of the Libyan government last Wednesday and released following questioning to establish if any crime had been committed.
