29 May 12 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
Ethiopian Police have detained two journalists who were working for US funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA). Peter Heinlein, a VOA correspondent, was arrested along with freelance reporter Simegnish Yekoye and an interpreter. The trio were detained whilst covering a demonstration of Muslims protesting against government interference in religious affairs. They are currently being held in a federal detention centre in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, but no charges have been filed. A police spokesperson said Heinlein was arrested after refusing to show his press accreditation.
29 May 12 | Europe and Central Asia, Index Index, minipost
A Russian journalist has been hospitalised after being stabbed 20 times. Sergei Aslanyan from Radio Mayak, was lured out of his house by an anonymous caller who invited him for a chat at around midnight. The former presenter on Echo Moskvy, Russia’s leading liberal radio station, was stabbed repeatedly in the chest, neck and arms. Local newspapers have suggested the attack was a result of a recent radio appearance, in which Aslanyan insulted the prophet Muhammad. The journalist remains in hospital, where his condition is believed to be stable.
25 May 12 | Americas, Index Index, minipost
The son of a murdered Mexican journalist has called for protection of journalists in Veracruz. Journalist and photographer Miguel Ángel López Solana, whose father, mother, brother and five colleagues have been murdered in the city, has said “things have to change”. Speaking at a journalism conference he added “We shouldn’t have to suffer from anymore deaths in Veracruz.” The journalist lost his father, journalist Miguel Ángel López Velasco, his brother Misael López Solana, and his mother, Agustina Solana, in June 2011 when gunmen stormed their house and shot them in their sleep.
25 May 12 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
A journalist from Radio Shabelle has been murdered in Somalia. Ahmed Ado Anshur was shot dead on his way home from work in Mogadishu yesterday. The young journalist was the host of a popular radio programme Qubanaha Wararka, and was renowned for his outspoken views on the political situation. He was shot several times in the head and chest as he crossed a local market and died instantly. Anshur is the sixth journalist to be murdered in Somalia since the start of the year. Six other journalists from Radio Shabelle have been killed in the last five years.
