tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575083617843785402024-02-07T18:30:47.905-08:00NEWS : free expression and strugglesThis blog is dedicated for ‘Freedom of Expression’, and 'Human Rights' , all news and information posted herein, are collected from online (published) news. maintained and updated by Albert Ashok on behalf of Rainbow Artists and Writers Foundation If you find any news/information incorrect/wrong please bring it to our knowledge for immediate correction, we express our unwilling ignorance . We pray you to donate us for maintenance of our blogs. Our address is rawfkolkata at live dot comBLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.comBlogger162125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-47434216878084467182012-04-17T02:38:00.001-07:002012-04-17T02:38:54.541-07:00Nominate a woman for Courage in Journalism Awards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
Nominate a woman for Courage in Journalism Awards</h1>
<h1>
</h1>
<h1>
</h1>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is seeking nominations
for its 2012 Courage in Journalism Awards, which honour women reporters
around the world whose work puts them in danger. The deadline for
nominations is 2 March 2012.
</span></span></h3>
<br /><div>
The Courage in Journalism Awards (of US$5,000 apiece) will honour
three women working in the news media who have risked political
persecution, physical injury and death in their efforts to expose
corruption and champion human rights.
<br />
<br />Plus, the Lifetime Achievement Award recognises a woman journalist
who has a pioneering spirit and a strong commitment to press freedom,
and whose determination has paved the way for future generations of
women in the media.
<br />
<br />Candidates for both awards can be full-time, part-time or freelance
women journalists working in print, broadcast or online media in any
country. Candidates for the Lifetime Achievement Award can be retired
journalists.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://iwmf.org/honoring-courage.aspx" target="_blank">Click here for more information or to fill out a nomination form.</a></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Source :<a href="http://www.ifex.org/international/2012/02/08/iwmf_courage_in_journalism/" target="_blank"> IFEX</a>
</div>
</div>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-48187873491235254242012-04-17T02:34:00.001-07:002012-04-17T02:34:26.829-07:00Have your say: What should the global standards for free expression be?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
Have your say: What should the global standards for free expression be?</h1>
<br />
<div style="margin: auto; padding: 10px 0 10px 0; text-align: center; width: 434px;">
<img alt="" height="196" src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2012/02/08/free_speech_debate_434.jpg" width="434" />The Internet and mobile phones have opened up endless possibilities for
free expression. But how best should we use this freedom? What limits
should there be and what should be regulated by law? And who should
decide? Oxford University has launched a multilingual platform, <a href="http://www.freespeechdebate.com/" target="new">Free Speech Debate</a>, to debate global norms for free expression - and wants you to join the conversation.
</div>
<br />The conversation is organised around 10 draft principles for global
free expression. Each comes with an explanation and case studies - all
up for debate. Prominent individuals have been asked to comment on
specific issues, including Indian novelist Arundhati Roy on the media
and national security in India; Iranian cleric Mohsen Kadivar on Islam
and free speech; Chinese academic Yan Xuetong on universal values; and
former Formula One head Max Mosley on privacy. Hear their thoughts, and
then have your say in any or all of the online discussions.
<br />
<br />You can enter into conversation with users from other countries and
cultures, propose new case studies and submit suggestions for the 11th
principle, which has intentionally been left open.
<br />
<br />The research project is headed by U.K. historian and journalist
Timothy Garton Ash, with help from a team of graduate students who are
native speakers of each of the website's 13 languages: Arabic, Chinese,
English, Farsi, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish, Turkish and Urdu.
<br />
<br />Free Speech Debate estimates they can potentially reach more than 80
percent of Internet users - and work towards "a more genuinely
universal universalism."
<br />
<br />The debate will run for about six months. It will also be archived
by Oxford University's Bodleian Library, so that future readers can see
how it evolved and use it as an online resource.
<br />
<br />Access it here:
<br /><a href="http://www.freespeechdebate.com/" target="_blank">Free Speech Debate</a>
</div>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-63226386105840707812012-04-17T01:54:00.000-07:002012-04-17T02:17:26.171-07:00UNESCO supports prize backed by African dictator<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
UNESCO supports prize backed by African dictator</h1>
<br />
<div style="margin: auto; padding: 10px 0 10px 0; text-align: center; width: 532px;">
<img alt="UNESCO has decided to support a prize backed by Teodoro Obiang Nguema (above), President of Equatorial Guinea and Africa’s " height="411" src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2012/03/14/equatorial_guinea_obiang_2011_532.jpg" width="532" /><br />
<div class="caption">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">UNESCO
has decided to support a prize backed by Teodoro Obiang Nguema (above),
President of Equatorial Guinea and Africa’s "longest-serving dictator"</span><br />
<div class="credit">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">UN via Human Rights Watch</span></div>
<div class="credit">
</div>
<div class="credit">
</div>
<div class="credit">
After nearly two years of debate, the executive board of UNESCO last
week approved a life sciences prize sponsored by Africa's
longest-serving dictator, despite intense lobbying by IFEX members and
other international and African rights groups, as well as findings from
UNESCO itself that the prize violates the organisation's own rules.
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
There was one significant change. While the prize originally was
named after the sponsor, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled
Equatorial Guinea since 1979, the award was renamed the
UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life
Sciences.
<br />
<br />
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the decision is "a blow to the credibility of the organisation."
<br />
<br />
"The purpose of this prize is to whitewash the image of one of
Africa's most repressive leaders, and no one is fooled by the name
change," CPJ Africa advocacy coordinator Mohamed Keita said. "The 33
states who voted in favour have chosen to promote the image of Obiang
rather than uphold basic standards of human rights. They should be
ashamed."
<br />
<br />
IFEX members have consistently voiced their opposition to the prize,
saying that Equatorial Guinea's record on human rights, including press
freedom, makes it incompatible with UNESCO's mission. Due to the
international outcry, the prize has never been awarded since its launch
four years ago.
<br />
<br />
CPJ, along with six other rights groups including Human Rights
Watch, said in a statement that the vote "put the President's interests
above UNESCO's basic principles of human rights and good governance."
<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, UNESCO found that the US$3 million prize would violate
the organisation's own rules, reports Human Rights Watch. UNESCO's legal
advisor concluded that the prize is "no longer implementable" due to a
"material discrepancy" between its stated and actual funding source.
<br />
<br />
While the official statutes of the award say that the money came
from a foundation bearing Obiang's name and dedicated to "the
preservation of life," Equatorial Guinea informed UNESCO last month that
the money had in fact been drawn from the country's public treasury,
according to an internal UNESCO document provided to reporters.
<br />
<br />
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said she would seek further
legal counsel. Last year, Bokova asked Obiang to withdraw the prize and
spare UNESCO a diplomatic nightmare that would damage its reputation.
Right before the vote, she told the board's 58 members, "It is my
responsibility to alert you to risks that might do harm to that
reputation."
<br />
<br />
IFEX members have long accused Obiang of using state money to pay
for his family's extravagant lifestyle. He and his family are being
investigated for corruption and money laundering in France, Spain and
the United States.
<br />
<br />
According to "The New York Times", as part of the France case, the
police have twice raided the stately Paris residence of Obiang's son - a
government minister and the recently appointed permanent assistant
delegate to UNESCO - seizing assets reportedly worth several tens of
millions of dollars, including a fleet of luxury sports cars.
<br />
<br />
The prize was approved by a vote of 33 to 18, with seven
abstentions. African nations, joined by delegations from Arab states as
well as China, India, Brazil, Russia and others, supported the award.
Most Caribbean and European members opposed it, along with the United
States, Afghanistan and Peru.
<br />
<br />
According to Human Rights Watch, Equatorial Guinea restricts and
controls news so severely that journalists working inside the country
are not able to freely report about the corruption allegations or the
concerns raised about the prize.
<br />
<br />
Freedom House listed Equatorial Guinea as one of the "Worst of the
Worst" countries in 2011 for its abysmal record of civil liberties and
political rights.
</div>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-42670071328797527002012-04-17T01:48:00.000-07:002012-04-17T02:17:05.451-07:00State media outlets label journalists "traitors"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
State media outlets label journalists "traitors"</h1>
<br />
<div class="floatthird" style="width: 216px;">
<img alt="Tense environment for journalists? Thousands of people in Sri Lanka took to the streets in February to protest against the proposed UN Human Rights Council resolution on alleged human rights abuses during the country's civil war" height="300" src="http://www.ifex.org/sri_lanka/2012/03/28/sri_lanka_anti_un_resolution_protest_2012_206.jpg" width="206" /><br />
<div class="caption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<h4 style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
Tense environment for journalists? Thousands of people in Sri Lanka took to the streets in February to protest against the proposed UN Human Rights Council resolution on alleged human rights abuses during the country's civil war</h4>
<h4 style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
Rohan Karunarathne/DEMOTIX</h4>
<h4 style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
</h4>
<h4 style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
Sri Lankan authorities have openly threatened journalists who supported a UN resolution calling for an investigation into the country's abuse of international laws during its war with Tamil separatists, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Watch, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Officials are calling these journalists "traitors" and one threatened to break their legs. </h4>
<br />
The UN Human Rights Council resolution, passed on 22 March, called
for an investigation into human rights violations carried out by the
military in the last phase of the country's long civil war.
<br />
<br />
"In its failed efforts to block the council resolution, the Sri
Lankan government saw fit to put its own citizens at risk through
vicious personal attacks on rights advocates," said Human Rights Watch.
"It's a credit to Human Rights Council members that they saw through the
government's scare tactics to avoid accountability."
<br />
<br />
Human rights advocates and journalists attending the UN session in
Geneva were labelled traitors and their photos were published in
national media and blogs, reports Human Rights Watch. The BBC reports
that although the activists and journalists were not specifically named,
Sri Lankan state television repeatedly zoomed in on thinly disguised
photographs of them, promising to give their names soon and to "expose
more traitors."
<br />
<br />
"Things are quite tense here. We've had anti-U.S. and
anti-resolution protests the past few days, and now we're waiting to see
who they will hit out at next," one journalist in the country told CPJ.
<br />
<br />
Perhaps it was Sandhya Eknelygoda, the wife of disappeared
journalist and cartoonist Prageeth. In the magistrate's court where
Sandhya has been trying to gain any information about the whereabouts of
her husband, who disappeared on 24 January 2010, she came under harsh
questioning from government lawyers about her presence at the UN
session, reports CPJ. Before she returned from Geneva, she too had been
denounced in the government-controlled media.
<br />
<br />
In another instance, "Minister of Public Relations Mervyn Silva
warned that he will break the limbs of some journalists, who have gone
abroad and made various statements against the country, if they dare to
set foot in the country," according to the pro-government "Daily
Mirror". CPJ says that given Silva's history of violence against the
media, his threats need to be taken seriously.
<br />
<br />
IFEX members have documented numerous examples of state media
outlets that criticised advocates and journalists who supported the
resolution or took up the campaign for human rights.
<br />
<br />
For instance, "Ceylon Daily News" attacked three leading rights
advocates and a journalist who were advocating for the resolution,
alleging that they were supporters of the secessionist Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and were acting to "betray Sri Lanka," says Human
Rights Watch.
<br />
<br />
According to IFJ, the attacks have become particularly harsh since
the country's main media associations and journalists' unions
commemorated "black January" this year, to protest against the
continuing impunity for attacks on free expression that historically
have occurred in the month of January.
<br />
<br />
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government has a long and alarming
record of denouncing its critics, say the IFEX members. Earlier this
month, Sri Lanka's military authorities told all news and media
organisations that they would have to get prior approval before
releasing text or SMS news alerts containing any news about the military
or police - a restriction that was purportedly lifted last August.
<br />
<br />
Those that write about them without permission "have to be prepared
to abducted by a white van," a source told CPJ - referring to white
Toyota Hi Ace vans with deeply tinted windows that have been used to
abduct critics in the past - and have seemingly made a return.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
More on the web</h3>
<br />
<a href="http://cpj.org/blog/2012/03/eknelygodas-wife-latest-victim-of-sri-lankan-intol.php" target="_blank">Eknelygoda's wife latest victim of Sri Lankan intolerance (CPJ)</a>
</div>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-9934923585326136482011-10-16T22:35:00.000-07:002011-10-16T22:38:28.069-07:00IFEX launches International Day to End Impunity poster contest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="date">
5 October 2011
</div>
<h1>
IFEX launches International Day to End Impunity poster contest</h1>
Source : <a href="http://www.ifex.org/international/2011/10/05/impunity_poster_contest/">Ifex</a><br />
<h4>
im•pu•ni•ty \im-'pyü-nə-tē\ n. without punishment, without consequences</h4>
<a class="arabic" href="http://www.ifex.org/international/2011/10/05/impunity_poster_contest/ar/"><br /></a><br />
<div class="item">
</div>
<div class="floatthird" style="width: 170px;">
<img alt="" height="268" src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2011/10/07/en_idei_web_0_160.png" width="160" /></div>
A poster about impunity. That's what IFEX wants from you as we prepare
to launch the inaugural International Day to End Impunity on 23
November. Deadline for entries is 4 November 2011.
<br />
<br />
Journalists, media workers, writers and others who speak the truth
against power continue to be murdered with impunity in countries from
Mexico to Russia, Iraq to Somalia. In our free expression community,
impunity consistently ranks among the top concerns and remains a global
issue that has defied all borders and political structures.
<br />
<br />
Fact: More than 500 journalists have been killed and the murderers have gone free in 9 out of 10 cases.
<br />
<br />
Help draw the world's attention to impunity by designing a poster that depicts impunity in some way. Watch our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/IFEXorg#p/a/u/0/FE_TO8MrQA8" target="new">International Day to End Impunity trailer</a> for some inspiration!
<br />
<br />
Our favourites will be featured on the International Day to End
Impunity website, and the top three winners will receive cash prizes.
<br />
<br />
<b>The fine print</b>
<br />
<br />
<b>What can I win?</b>
<br />
First prize: US$500
<br />
Second prize: US$250
<br />
Third prize: US$100
<br />
<br />
As well, your name and poster will be featured on the International Day to End Impunity website.
<br />
<br />
<b>Who can participate?</b>
<br />
The competition is open to everyone from any country, whether or not
you're an established artist, an individual or an organisation. You can
submit as many posters as you like.
<br />
<br />
<b>How do I participate?</b>
<br />
All posters must be submitted by email to contest (@)
daytoendimpunity.org along with your name, address, email and phone
number. (This information is for administrative purposes only - please
note that entries will be judged blind.)
<br />
<br />
The file must be submitted in jpeg, in standard poster format (11" x
17"). Please hang on to the originals! We may ask for them later.
<br />
<br />
Designs may use any form of photography, illustration, collage or typography, provided no copyrights are violated in the design.
<br />
<br />
By entering, you have cleared any material submitted to the
competition. IFEX assumes all entries are original and are the works and
property of the entrant, with all rights granted therein. IFEX is not
liable for any copyright infringement on the part of the entrant and
will not become involved in copyright disputes.
<br />
<br />
<b>When is the deadline?</b>
<br />
The deadline for entries is midnight EST on 4 November 2011. Winners
will be revealed on the International Day to End Impunity website on 23
November.
<br />
<br />
<b>How will my poster be judged?</b>
<br />
Your design will be posted on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/International.Day.to.End.Impunity" target="new">International Day to End Impunity Facebook page</a>.
Members of the public will be invited to vote on the posters from 7-21
November. The public's top 10 posters (as determined by the number of
"likes" the posters receive) will make up the shortlist, from which the
IFEX Clearing House will select the three winners.
<br />
<br />
<b>Anything else I should know?</b>
<br />
Materials may be reproduced freely by IFEX and/or any of its 95
members. Any material used by IFEX or its members shall carry the
designer's credit line.
<br />
<br />
<b>More questions?</b>
<br />
Send us an e-mail: contest (@) daytoendimpunity.org
<br />
<br />
<b>About IFEX</b>
<br />
The <a href="http://www.ifex.org/" target="new">International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX)</a>
is the most extensive community of leaders defending and promoting
freedom of expression around the world. We share content, analysis and
tools on free expression cases and trends, campaign on critical issues,
and support collaboration to increase our members' effectiveness.
<br />
<br />
<b>More about the International Day to End Impunity</b>
<br />
IFEX members chose the symbolic date of 23 November for the
International Day to End Impunity because it's the anniversary of the
Ampatuan massacre, the single deadliest day for journalists in recent
history. The purpose of the day is to raise public awareness and
showcase the work of organisations working for justice for those being
persecuted for practising their right to freedom of expression. This is
the campaign's first year.
</div>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-90587316908745241532011-10-16T22:24:00.000-07:002011-10-16T22:26:00.545-07:00"Mother of the Revolution" wins peace prize<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<br />
<div class="date">
12 October 2011
</div>
<h1>
"Mother of the Revolution" wins peace prize; two journalists killed</h1>
<br />
<div style="margin: auto; padding: 10px 0 10px 0; text-align: center; width: 532px;">
<img alt="Tawakul Karman congratulated by supporters in Sanaa after it was announced that she won the Nobel Peace Prize" height="365" src="http://www.ifex.org/yemen/2011/10/12/yemen_tawakul_karman_532.jpg" width="532" /><br />
<div class="caption">
Tawakul Karman congratulated by supporters in Sanaa after it was announced that she won the Nobel Peace Prize<br />
<div class="credit">
REUTERS</div>
<div class="credit">
</div>
<div class="credit">
</div>
<div class="credit">
Freedom of expression organisations around the world are cheering the
news that Yemeni press freedom advocate Tawakkul Karman was among three
women awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week. But the celebration is
also marked with sadness and frustration due to the murders of two more
Yemeni journalists, say IFEX members.
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
The International Press Institute (IPI), Human Rights Watch, the
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), ARTICLE 19, the Committee
to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report
the Nobel committee has this year recognised the tireless work of three
women fighting for peace and democracy: Karman, a partner of several
IFEX members, as well as Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee and
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
<br />
<br />
Founder of Yemeni group Women Journalists Without Chains, Karman was
instrumental in organising the protests against the human rights abuses
of the 30-year regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh long before the
"Arab Spring". She has been jailed numerous times since her organisation
first launched non-violent protests in 2007, notes IPI, IFJ and ARTICLE
19.
<br />
<br />
While ARTICLE 19 reports that Karman has received many death
threats, the mother of three is adored by Yemen's pro-democracy
protesters, who refer to her as the "Mother of the Revolution".
Thousands gathered in a peaceful sit-in to demand her release from jail
after she was arrested in January, says RSF. She has been a tireless
advocate for free expression, and held regular sit-ins to demand freedom
for jailed journalists.
<br />
<br />
"I dedicate [this prize] to all the martyrs and wounded of the Arab
Spring… in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Syria and to all the free
people who are fighting for their rights and freedoms," Karman told the
BBC Arabic Service.
<br />
Sadly, also last week Abdel Hakim Al-Nour, a cameraman with the
Hayel Saeed Anam Association, and Abdel Majid al-Samawi, a reporter with
Al-Yemeniya TV, died, according to RSF. Al-Nour was killed on 3 October
while reporting on a military offensive in Taiz province. Al-Samawi
died in hospital on 4 October, succumbing to a gunshot wound from the
sniper fire that hit him a week earlier while covering an
anti-government protest in Sanaa, RSF reports.
<br />
With IFEX organisations reporting numerous cases of assassination
attempts on journalists in Yemen, it is not unlikely the journalists
were specifically targeted by pro-Saleh forces.
<br />
Their deaths bring the number of journalists killed on duty to five
since the start of Yemen's pro-democracy protests. RSF notes that
killings of demonstrators have especially escalated since President
Saleh returned to Yemen from Saudi Arabia on 3 October.
<br />
<br />
Recognising that it has been one year since Chinese dissident writer
Liu Xiabo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, RSF is calling for this
year's three female honourees to use their celebrity to draw attention
to the fact that Xiabo remains in prison, where he is often held in
solitary confinement and denied family visits.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Source : <a href="http://www.ifex.org/yemen/2011/10/12/karman_peace_prize/">IFEX </a></div>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-62010506148577848242011-10-16T22:21:00.000-07:002011-10-16T22:22:17.315-07:00Pakistani journalist tortured found lifeless<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="date">
12 October 2011
</div>
<h1>
Journalist tortured in "targeted killing </h1>
<h1>
</h1>
<h1>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">"</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The lifeless body of Faisal Qureshi, a Pakistani journalist who wrote
for British online publication "The London Post", was found in his
Lahore home on 7 October, report the International Press Institute
(IPI), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ).</span>
</span></h1>
<br />
The 28-year-old's throat had been slit and his body bore signs of
torture, the organisations report. Qureshi's brother, Zahid, says the
journalist had received death threats from men who said they were from
the Muttahida Quami Movement, Pakistan's third-largest political party.
"The London Post" had published a series of articles investigating the
MQM's links to terrorism and murder and calling into question the
suspicious travel activities of its exiled London-based leader.
<br />
<br />
CPJ called Pakistan "the deadliest country in the world in 2010,"
and noted it "ranked 10th on CPJ's global Impunity Index, which
spotlights countries where journalists are regularly slain and
authorities fail to solve the crimes."
<br />
<br />
Also pointing out the danger for journalists in Pakistan, RSF said,
"This year, journalists have been threatened, attacked, kidnapped,
tortured and murdered by religious extremists, Taliban, separatists,
security agencies, soldiers, police and political movements."
<br />
<br />
In 2011, at least eight journalists have been killed in Pakistan in retribution for their reporting, RSF says.<br />
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Source : <a href="http://www.ifex.org/pakistan/2011/10/12/targeted_killing/">IFEX</a> </div>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-61188890083902906132011-08-28T20:11:00.000-07:002011-08-28T20:20:38.273-07:00India : Another right to information activist shot dead<div class="date">24 August 2011 </div> <h1>Another right to information activist shot dead</h1>
<br /><div style="width: 210px;" class="floatthird"><img src="http://www.ifex.org/india/2011/08/24/shehla_masood_fb_200.jpg" alt="Shehla Masood joins a dozen people killed in the last year for seeking information under India’s Right to Information Act " height="299" width="200" /><div class="caption">Shehla Masood joins a dozen people killed in the last year for seeking information under India’s Right to Information Act <div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style ">A Tribute to Martyr Shehla Masood Facebook page<a href="http://www.ifex.org/india/2011/08/24/rti_activist_masood_killed/#" class="addthis_button_compact at300m"><span class="at300bs at15nc at15t_compact"></span></a> </div></div></div><div class="share"> </div><div class="item"> <h3>
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<br /></div>A woman activist who was a strong advocate of India's right to information law has been gunned down in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, making her the 13th right to information activist murdered in the past year, say Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and news reports.
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<br />Shehla Masood, who was also an environmental and anti-corruption activist, was shot dead on 16 August in front of her home as she prepared to go to a demonstration in support of jailed anti-corruption leader Anna Hazare. He has since been released from prison.
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<br />Over the past two years, Masood had been campaigning for the 2005 Right to Information (RTI) Act to be better implemented. Since her death, she too has attracted a lot of attention, with nearly 1,500 supporters on a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Shehla.Masood.Memorial" target="new">Facebook tribute page</a> already.
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<br />The act allows Indian citizens to file requests for information to most government bodies. Through RTI requests, activists have often uncovered illicit activities, making them targets of threats and violence.
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<br />In a January 2011 visit to India, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders said that "RTI activists, who may be ordinary citizens, have increasingly been targeted for, among others, exposing human rights violations and poor governance, including corruption of officials."
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<br />Masood joins a dozen people "apparently killed last year… for seeking information under the act," says RSF.
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<br />She had reported threats to the local police as early as January 2010 but nothing was done, RSF added.
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<br />"I think it is very risky and unsafe for activists to work for civil rights in India, especially in Madhya Pradesh," RTI activist Ajay Dubey, who is also based in Bhopal, said in an interview with "The Wall Street Journal".
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<br />According to the paper, Dubey is the founding member of Prayatna, an activist group of which Masood was a member. RTI requests have been their main weapon. Dubey says that he alone has filed more than 5,000 RTI applications, on issues ranging from industrial pollution to police reforms. One particularly successful RTI request led to the closure of illegal mines in his home state, Dubey said.
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<br />Dubey told the paper that he blamed Masood's murder on the lack of state protection. "There is no provision to protect activists; this puts RTI activists in particular danger since they often collect evidence that can cause problems for corrupt officials."
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<br />Dubey and Masood had both been pressing for the state government to implement a law aimed at protecting whistleblowers. In February 2010, Masood wrote about "the need for a Whistleblower (Protection) Act in India" on her blog.
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<br />According to "The Wall Street Journal", family members and fellow activists have filed a request to the Indian government demanding the Central Bureau of Investigation, the country's top investigative body, to probe Masood's death. The request is currently under consideration.
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<br />Source : <a href="http://www.ifex.org/india/2011/08/24/rti_activist_masood_killed/">IFEX</a> , <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/08/22/whistleblowers-demand-greater-protection-after-masoods-death/">The wall Street Journal</a>
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<br /><div class="articleHeadlineBox headlineType-newswire"> <ul class="cMetadata metadataType-articleStamp "><li class="dateStamp first"><small>August 22, 2011, 10:30 AM IST</small></li></ul> <h1>Whistleblowers Demand Greater Protection After Masood’s Death</h1> </div>
<br /><h3 class="byline">By Margherita Stancati</h3><p>The murder of Shehla Masood last week stoked fresh fears among Right-to-Information activists, who renewed demands for greater state protection.</p> <div class="mceTemp" style="text-align: left"> <dl class="wp-caption alignright caption-alignright neeki" style="width: 272px"><dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img class="size-full wp-image-5" src="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-PF603_irti08_D_20110819083931.jpg" alt="" height="174" width="262" /></dt><dd class="wp-caption-dd wp-cite-dd" style="text-align: right">Prakash Singh/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images</dd><dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="text-align: left">Survivors of 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy gathered outside the Prime Minister’s office to file a Right-to-Information petition in New Delhi in May 2010.</dd></dl> </div> <p>Ms. Masood, an environmental and anti-corruption activist, was shot dead outside her home in Bhopal, in India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday. Ms. Masood joins a growing list of <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703369704575462563730785770.html">RTI activists</a> who many say have been targeted because of the information they gathered under the law.</p> <p>The 2005 Right-to-Information Act allows Indian citizens to file requests for information to most government bodies. Through RTI requests, activists have often uncovered illicit activities and this has made them targets of threats and violence. Many feel too little has been done to safeguard whistleblowers.</p><p>“I think it is very risky and unsafe for activists to work for civil rights in India, especially in Madhya Pradesh,” RTI activist Ajay Dubey, who is also based in Bhopal, said in an interview on Friday.</p> <p>Mr. Dubey is the founding member of <a href="http://www.prayatnaindia.org/index.aspx">Prayatna</a>, an activist group of which Ms. Masood was an active member. RTI requests have been their main weapon. Mr. Dubey says that he alone has filed “more than 5,000” RTI applications, on issues ranging from industrial pollution to police reforms. One particularly successful RTI request, Mr. Dubey said, led to the closure of illegal mines in his home state.</p> <p>Mr. Dubey, who described Ms. Masood as “one of the leading activists in Madhya Pradesh,” is sure her death is linked to her activism, and suspects it may have to do with her campaign in support of tiger conservation. Others, including Manoor Sachdev, a friend of Ms. Masood, instead suggested her death may have to do with her anti-corruption work.</p> <p>Police said it’s too early to say. “We are still investigating the case and we are not in a position to say what is the reason behind the attack,” superintendent of police Adarsh Katiyar said in a phone interview from Bhopal on Wednesday.</p> <p>Mr. Dubey blamed Ms. Masood’s murder – the first of an RTI activist in Madhya Pradesh – on the lack of state protection. He is also concerned about what could happen to RTI activists like himself. “There is no provision to protect activists; this puts RTI activists in particular danger since they often collect evidence that can cause problems for corrupt officials.”</p> <p>Mr. Dubey says he’s pressing the state government to implement a law aimed at protecting whistleblowers. This is something Ms. Masood herself had been campaigning for — in February last year, she wrote about “the need for a Whistle-blower (Protection) Act in India” on <a href="http://www.scratchmysoul.com/bloggingView.aspx?authkey=pz6jQJJileJrwqY9cP0MlXBEKPUz1WLqU9ey8Nj2eV1p5ZNYqWtjdA==">her blog</a>.</p> <p>Family members and fellow activists have filed a request to the Indian government demanding the Central Bureau of Investigation, the country’s top investigative body, to probe Ms. Masood’s death. The request is currently under consideration, a spokesman for the Madhya Pradesh government said Friday.</p> <p><em>– Vibhuti Agarwal contributed to this post. </em></p> <p><em>You can follow Ms. Stancati on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/margheritamvs">@margheritamvs</a>.</em></p><p><em>
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<br />BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-57308180040689336602011-06-08T16:45:00.000-07:002011-06-08T16:47:22.505-07:00A prominent Pakistani journalist found dead<div class="date"> 1 June 2011 </div> <h1>Journalist found dead after reporting links between Pakistani officials and militants</h1>Source : <a href="http://www.ifex.org/pakistan/2011/06/01/militant_journalist/">IFEX</a><br />A prominent Pakistani journalist considered to be an expert on Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants was found dead on 31 May about 150km outside the capital, Islamabad, where he had been abducted two days earlier, report the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Freedom House and other IFEX members.<br /><br />Syed Saleem Shahzad, 40, was the Pakistan bureau chief of the "Asia Times" online website and South Asia correspondent for the Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI). On 29 May, he was on his way to participate in a talk show on Dunya Television to discuss his investigative work, describing links between Al-Qaeda and Pakistani naval officials. But Shahzad never arrived at the TV station. Two days later his body was pulled from a canal, and showed signs of torture.<br /><br />He recently reported in an "Asia Times" article published on 27 May that members of Al-Qaeda had carried out a 22 May attack on a naval air station in Karachi, in retribution for the arrest of several naval officers with ties to the militant group. It was the first of a two-part series. He was also the author of the recent book "Inside al-Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11".<br /><br />Shahzad had told Human Rights Watch that he was afraid of being killed by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and had reported receiving threats from ISI members. There are concerns that the ISI may have been involved in his disappearance, IFEX members report.<br /><br />"Shahzad was an experienced journalist who covered very sensitive subjects and it is highly likely that his reporting upset people within the government or armed forces," said Reporters Without Borders (RSF).<br /><br />In a joint action sponsored by CPJ, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), 34 IFEX members urged the Government of Pakistan and its law-enforcement and security agencies to protect media personnel and to prosecute murderers of journalists in Pakistan.<br /><br />In recent years, journalists have been murdered in North Waziristan, Wana, Quetta, Punjab and Swat, but authorities have failed to conduct proper investigations; only in the internationally high-profile case of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl have culprits been identified and prosecuted. The joint action supports the PFUJ in its recent request to Minister for Interior Rehman Malik to initiate and oversee a comprehensive inquiry and report into the killings of journalists in all of Pakistan's provinces.<br /><br />"Previous enquiries into the murders of journalists have not been made public and it is not clear if the fate of the enquiry into Shahzad's death would be any different," said PPF.BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-28787599726105842802011-04-27T00:51:00.000-07:002011-04-27T00:53:41.793-07:00War correspondents invited to apply for Bayeux-Calvados Awards3 April 2011<br /><a href="http://www.ifex.org/awards/nominations/2011/04/13/bayeux_calvados/">War correspondents invited to apply for Bayeux-Calvados Awards</a><br /><br /><img src="http://www.ifex.org/awards/nominations/2011/04/13/prix_bayeux_2011_185.jpg" /><br /><br /><br />War correspondents and photographers from all over the world are invited to apply for the Bayeux-Calvados Awards for War Correspondents, which honour journalists who risk their lives in the world's hot spots to cover the news. The deadline for applications is 6 June 2011.<br /><br />The prize carries five cash awards of 7,000 Euros (US$10,100) each in the categories of television, radio, print, photography, and new this year: web journalism.<br /><br />Four special awards, worth 3,000 to 3,800 Euros (US$4,300-$5,500) each, are also up for grabs, including a Young Reporter Prize for journalists 28 and under.<br /><br />The entry should report on a conflict and its consequences for the civil population, or an event concerning the defence of press freedom and democracy.<br /><br />Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Bayeux, France, in October.<br /><br />For more information, see the<br />Bayeux-Calvados Awards websiteBLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-78406812293811857302011-04-27T00:44:00.000-07:002011-04-27T00:46:26.296-07:00Apply now for Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship<div class="date">20 April 2011 </div> <h1>Apply now for Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship</h1> <br /> <div style="width: 150px;" class="floatthird"><img src="http://www.ifex.org/awards/nominations/2011/04/20/elizabeth_neuffer_140.jpg" alt="Elizabeth Neuffer" width="140" height="195" /><div class="caption">Elizabeth Neuffer<br /><br /></div></div><a class="arabic" href="http://www.ifex.org/awards/nominations/2011/04/20/elizabeth_neuffer/ar/"></a><div class="item"> </div> The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is now accepting applications for the 2011-12 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, which is open to women journalists working on human rights and social justice issues. The deadline for applications is 27 May 2011.<br /><br />The fellowship allows one woman journalist to spend nine months in a customised academic programme in the U.S., with access to Boston-area universities, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as popular newspapers "The Boston Globe" and "The New York Times".<br /><br />The fellowship is named for the 1998 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner and "The Boston Globe" correspondent who was killed in Iraq in May 2003.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.iwmf.org/pioneering-change/elizabeth-neuffer-fellowship.aspx" target="_blank">Click here to apply.</a>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-48443509420558249812011-04-27T00:35:00.000-07:002011-04-27T00:40:25.526-07:00Help Human Rights Watch win a Webby Award20 April 2011<br />Take action!<br />Help Human Rights Watch win a Webby Award<br /><br /><br />You can help Human Rights Watch win a People's Voice Webby Award and amplify the voices of brave human rights defenders and survivors of abuses in Burma, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. You have until 28 April 2011 to cast your vote.<br /><br />To vote, follow these three steps.<br /><br />1. Register to vote via Facebook, Twitter or email: http://webby.aol.com/<br /><br />2. Click each of the following links (one for each nomination):<br /><br /><img src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2011/04/20/hrw_colombia_185.jpg" /><br />Deadly Threats: Successors to the Paramilitaries in Colombia<br />Still images and audio document the strength and survival of ordinary people who stand up to armed groups that attack and kill civilians.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2011/04/20/hrw_drc_185.jpg" /><br /><br />Dear Obama: A Message from Victims of the Lord's Resistance Army<br />A direct appeal from the children and adults who survived attacks by the rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries.<br /><img src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2011/04/20/hrw_burma_185.jpg" /><br />Exiled: Burma's Defenders<br />The stories of Burmese people fighting for change.<br />3. Vote for Human Rights Watch. Check the box below the Human Rights Watch logo and click "Cast My Vote".<br /><br />Human Rights Watch also hopes you will spread the word. Donate your Facebook status to asking your friends to register and vote for all three nominations: http://bit.ly/hrw2011webbys<br /><br />Tweet your votes from the polling page, or retweet the votes of your fellow supporters.<br /><br />And comment on the videos. Tell the Webby community why you voted for Human Rights Watch. More comments increase the profile of Human Rights Watch's work.<br /><br />The 15th Annual Webby Awards received more than 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries. Winners will be announced on 3 May, and honoured at a ceremony in New York City on 13 June.BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-85090622331696509772011-04-27T00:22:00.000-07:002011-04-27T00:23:14.840-07:00Threatened journalist killed20 April 2011<br />Threatened journalist killed<br /><br />A journalist who had been threatened for his critical coverage of criminal groups and local authorities was shot dead in the northeastern city of Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco, report the Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (ABRAJI) and other IFEX members.<br /><br />Luciano Pedrosa, host of the TV show "Ação e Cidadania" (Action and Citizenship) on TV Vitória and contributor on Radio Metropolitana FM, was shot in the head at a restaurant on 9 April 2011. According to witnesses, Pedrosa was followed to the restaurant by two men on a motorcycle.<br /><br />A police spokesperson said there was no indication it was a robbery.<br /><br />According to the Knight Center, Pedrosa had received several threats, but he had never submitted a formal complaint about them. "On the threats, he had always spoken with me, because he was at the department all the time to ask the police to investigate issues he covered on his show. But he never submitted a police report, because he said he didn't fear anyone and thought it was all a joke," officer Maria Betânia Tavares, the lead investigator on the case, told Brazilian daily "O Globo".<br /><br />Pedrosa's killing was the second shooting of a Brazilian journalist this year. Last month, critical blogger Ricardo Gama was seriously wounded when an unidentified gunman shot him in the head, neck, and chest as he walked in his Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood.BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-15541530259985245592011-04-27T00:19:00.000-07:002011-04-27T00:21:39.989-07:00Italian journalist kidnapped and killed in Gaza20 April 2011<br />Italian journalist kidnapped and killed in Gaza<br /><br /><img src="http://www.ifex.org/palestine/2011/04/20/vittorio_arrigoni_ism_532.jpg" /><br /><br />Vittorio Arrigoni (left)<br /><br />Hamas officials have found the body of an Italian journalist and activist who was kidnapped last week in Gaza, report the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) and the International Press Institute (IPI). Vittorio Arrigoni was affiliated with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian rights group, and reported on Palestinian issues for the Italian newspaper "Il Manifesto" and online paper Peacereporter, and also wrote a blog.<br /><br />Arrigoni was kidnapped on 14 April by a militant Islamist group, Jihad Salafist, which released a YouTube video saying that they would kill Arrigoni unless Hamas released a number of political prisoners. But before the 15 April evening deadline had passed, Hamas announced that Arrigoni's body had been found.<br /><br />The last foreigner kidnapped in Gaza was BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, who was captured in March 2007 and held for four months. He was released without violence after negotiations between Hamas and his kidnappers, who belonged to a radical group calling itself the Army of Islam. Since then, there has been a "history of bad blood" between the rival Islamist groups, IPI reports.<br /><br />But journalists working in Gaza and the West Bank have frequently complained of attacks and harassment by Palestinian security forces, from both Hamas and Fatah, the political group that dominates the Palestinian National Authority and has de facto control over the West Bank. A new report by Human Rights Watch, "No News is Good News", found that since Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the majority of abuses against journalists in both the West Bank and Gaza have been related to tensions between Hamas and Fatah.<br /><br />Human Rights Watch documents scores of cases in which Palestinian security forces tortured, beat and arbitrarily detained journalists, confiscated their equipment and barred them from leaving the West Bank and Gaza.<br /><br />Last month, Hamas violently dispersed protests in Gaza calling for an end to the rivalry between Hamas and Fatah. They also targeted the media: the offices of Reuters, Japan TV, CNN and other news agencies were attacked, and individual reporters received death threats, said MADA and Human Rights Watch.BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-41866782708725599922011-04-13T21:00:00.000-07:002011-04-13T21:02:06.319-07:00UNESCO: WikiLeaks Newspapers Honoured For Their Contribution To Freedom Of Information<h2 class="ReadMsgSubject">UNESCO: WikiLeaks Newspapers Honoured For Their Contribution To Freedom Of Information</h2><br /><div align="center"> <img src="http://65.55.33.103/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=900ac5a2-6127-11e0-b90a-002264c18ba6&attindex=1&cp=-1&attdepth=1&imgsrc=cid%3aeafcf64a6393491b8b66822cdb89acb6&shared=1&hm__login=rawfkolkata&hm__domain=live.com&ip=10.12.128.8&d=d385&mf=0&hm__ts=Thu%2c%2014%20Apr%202011%2004%3a00%3a22%20GMT&st=rawfkolkata%25live.com%407&hm__ha=01_f140531ba21d4de9bc9f146a4fa458b7c35ced869f8152fe0b58615efd0b66b0&oneredir=1" alt="ARTICLE 19" border="0" width="116" height="74" /> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",Verdana; font-weight: bold;">PRESS RELEASE</span> </div><br /> <div style="text-align: justify;">For immediate release: 07 April 2011<br /><br /></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-size: 140%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; text-transform: capitalize;" align="center">UNESCO: WikiLeaks Newspapers Honoured For Their Contribution To Freedom Of Information</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">Malaga, Spain: 07.04.11: The UNESCO Chair of Communication 2011 Press Freedom Award of the University of Malaga, taking place today, recognises the valuable contribution made by five globally influential national newspapers in the dissemination of the WikiLeaks cables. ARTICLE 19 is thus particularly pleased to be associated with this Award, as a jury member at this year’s awards. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;">“<em>The five newspapers that we are honouring today – El Pais, Le Monde, the Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel - have played a central role in bringing to worldwide attention diplomatic cables released by the website WikeLeaks. By doing so, they have multiplied the effect of these leaks beyond what could have been expected originally,</em>” said jury-panel member, Agnes Callamard, Executive Director ARTICLE 19, whilst presenting one of the awards today.<br /><br />“<em>In a world dominated by talk of electronic media, the Internet, social media and cyber activism, one may be tempted to forget the fundamental role played by traditional and mainstream print media in strengthening the free flow of information around the world, and as a result in the movements for greater freedom. Their role remains particularly crucial in a world still characterised by uneven and unequal access to the means of electronic communication</em>,” Callamard continued.<br /><br />Following the release of the cables, the US Government and other countries have sought to prosecute a WikiLeaks representative for violating the Espionage Act or other national Officials Secrets Acts. Governments and elected officials have exerted much political pressure on internet companies, to force them to deny provision of services to WikiLeaks even though there had been no prior authorisation from a court. There have been calls for violence against Wikileaks staff and whistleblowers, including from public officials. There have been demands to maintain or expand secrecy legislation. <br /><br />ARTICLE 19 believes that documents released by the newspapers have revealed information of great public interest to citizens around the world, including on issues such as corruption in Afghanistan, Kenya, Tunisia, and Nigeria, and censorship in China and Russia. Other issues covered include efforts by the US government to pressure the Spanish government to limit prosecutions of the American military officials who killed a Spanish journalist in Iraq, and pressure on French parliamentarians to adopt a controversial intellectual property law cutting people off of the internet.<br /><br />The Award highlights the best kind of journalism possible: ethical, professional, investigative, in depth, contextual, analytical and supporting public‘s right to know.<br /><br /></div> <div align="center"><strong>ENDS</strong><br /></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;">NOTES<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;">• For more information or to arrange an interview with Dr Agnes Callamard, please contact Mona Samari on +44 (0) 7515 828 939 or email <a href="mailto:mona@article19.org">mona@article19.org</a>.<br />• To access Dr Agnes Callamard’s speech, please click on the following link: <a href="http://www.article19.org/alists/lt.php?id=cEkGU1FdCVdWTQ4DB04HBQBU" target="_blank">http://www.article19.org/pdfs/conferences/press-freedom-award.pdf</a></div>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-1977474289888165872011-04-04T08:57:00.000-07:002011-04-04T08:58:03.070-07:00Condemn Abduction and Beating of Journalist Seymur Khaziyev29 March 2011<br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 15px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-size: 140%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; text-transform: capitalize;" align="center">Azerbaijan: International Organisations Condemn Abduction and Beating of Journalist Seymur Khaziyev</div><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">London 29.03.11: The International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan condemns the 26 March 2011 abduction and beating of journalist Seymur Khaziyev. The group is deeply concerned by the cycle of violence against journalists and impunity for those who commit such attacks in Azerbaijan, and calls on the authorities to immediately and impartially investigate all instances of violence against journalists and bring the perpetrators to justice.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>“The latest attack against Khaziyev is another disturbing example of retaliation against journalists who express critical opinions in Azerbaijan. The authorities must take immediate steps to put an end to this alarming trend,”</em> says ARTICLE 19 Executive Director, Agnès Callamard.<br /><br />On 26 March 2011, Azadliq newspaper correspondent Seymur Khaziyev was abducted by six masked assailants who forced him into a bus, drove him to an unknown location and beat him, warning him to “be clever” and not mention Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in his articles. The abduction and beating of Khaziyev follows many similar attacks against journalists since the March 2005 murder of editor Elmar Huseynov, virtually all of which remain unsolved. The incident also follows a recent wave of arrests of bloggers and youth activists in connection with a series of pro-democracy protests in the country.<br /><br />"Khaziyev is the latest victim of the poisonous climate that has developed over the past few weeks. Far from fulfilling their obligations to protect media professionals, the Azerbaijani authorities seem so scared by the prospect of a potential popular uprising that they have launched a campaign against oppositionists and free-thinkers, which is starting to produce violent results", said Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Jean-François Julliard.<br /><br />Khaziyev was previously beaten in May 2010 by unidentified officials in a police detention facility after he was arrested during an unsanctioned opposition political protest. During the incident, Khaziyev’s attackers questioned him about his criticism of President Aliyev. The officials responsible have not been identified or prosecuted.<br /><br />The International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan condemns the use of violence to restrict freedom of expression and the climate of impunity for those who wish to silence critical voices in Azerbaijan. The group calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately and impartially investigate the attack against Khaziyev and all instances of violence against journalists and prosecute those responsible.<br /><br />ENDS</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;"><br /><br />NOTES : </div><br />• For more information on the cycle of violence against journalists and impunity for their attackers in Azerbaijan, see the joint report Free Expression Under Attack: Azerbaijan’s Deteriorating Media Environment available at http://www.article19.org/pdfs/publications/free-expression-under-attack.pdf.<br />• The International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan is a coalition of 20 international NGOs working to promote and protect freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. For more information about the Partnership, please contact Rebecca Vincent at ARTICLE 19 on +44 (0)207 324 2500 or rebecca@article19.org.BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-88485633441014784872011-03-04T19:47:00.001-08:002011-03-04T19:47:45.385-08:00Journalists invited to apply for Samir Kassir awards<div class="date"> 2 March 2011 </div> <h1>Journalists invited to apply for Samir Kassir awards</h1> <br /> <div style="width: 160px;" class="floatthird"><img src="http://www.ifex.org/awards/nominations/2011/03/02/samir_kassir_award_150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="144" /></div> <div class="share"> <div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "><br /></div></div>The Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press 2011 competition is accepting entries from journalists until 30 March 2011.<br /><br />Journalists will compete for two prizes of 10,000 Euros each (US$13,500) - for the best opinion piece and the best investigative report related to human rights or the rule of law - to be awarded on 2 June in Beirut.<br /><br />Print and online journalists who are citizens of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates or Yemen are eligible to apply.<br /><br />Samir Kassir was a Lebanese journalist who was assassinated on 2 June 2005 for criticising Syria's policy towards Lebanon. The award in his name is given each year by the European Union and the Samir Kassir Foundation.<br /><br /><a href="http://prixsamirkassir.org/intro-ENG.htm" target="_blank">Visit the Prix Samir Kassir website here.</a>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-43815582818813364842011-03-04T19:41:00.000-08:002011-03-04T19:43:13.214-08:00Cartoonists wanted for World Press Freedom Day exhibition<div class="date"> 2 March 2011 </div> <h1>Cartoonists wanted for World Press Freedom Day exhibition</h1> <br /> <div style="width: 195px;" class="floatthird"><img src="http://www.ifex.org/awards/nominations/2011/03/02/exile_cartoon_exhibition_185.jpg" alt="" width="185" height="101" /></div> <div class="share"> <div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "><br /></div></div><br />Calling all cartoonists! On World Press Freedom Day (3 May) this year, an international exposition organised by La Maison des journalists in Paris will exhibit the best editorial cartoons on the theme of "exile" by some of the most talented cartoonists in the world. Be one of them.<br /><br />Posters, postcards and a catalogue gathering all of the artwork will be created and sold to support La Maison des journalistes, a safe house in Paris that helps exiled journalists who were forced to leave their country to escape persecution.<br /><br />The travelling exhibit will start in the building of La Maison des journalistes and will then move to several cities in France and Europe.<br /><br />Cartoonists can send their cartoons to Kianoush Ramezani before 31 March 2011 at: expo @ maisondesjournalistes.comBLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-45646613098108877832011-03-04T19:30:00.000-08:002011-03-04T19:36:23.903-08:00Sing for press freedom<div class="date"> 2 March 2011 </div> <h1><a href="http://www.ifex.org/campaigns/2011/03/02/iapa_singing_contest/">Sing for press freedom</a></h1> <br /><div style="text-align: center; margin: auto; padding: 10px; width: 420px;"><img src="http://www.ifex.org/campaigns/2010/11/17/lend_your_voice_400.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="263" /></div> <div class="share"> <div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "> <a class="addthis_button_compact at300m"><span class="at300bs at15nc at15t_compact"></span></a> </div> </div><div class="item"> <h3>Fancy yourself as a bit of a singer but need some inspiration? The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has launched a music contest to draw attention to and fight impunity involving crimes against journalists in the Americas. The "Lend Your Voice to the Voiceless" contest - wrapping up at the end of March - invites the public to participate by posting videos, songs or lyrics about crimes against journalists on their new website, Lend Your Voice, available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.<br /></h3> </div><br />Fledgling artists from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and the U.S. kick off the campaign with some promotional videos available on the site, including the catchy tune by Latin Black "No podemos callar" ("We cannot be silent").<br />Not sure exactly what to sing about? IAPA makes it easy with an outline of some of the emblematic cases of journalists killed under the section "Find inspiration here".<br /><br />For the musically challenged, use your voice by voting for your favourite video or signing IAPA's petition to end impunity - both available on the site.<br /><br />IAPA say it will use Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube to encourage Internet users to join the anti-impunity cause. The winner will have their song professionally recorded.<br /><br />While crimes against journalists have not decreased in the Americas - with at least 21 murders so far this year alone - in recent years there has been a notable increase in the prosecution and conviction of criminals, says IAPA.<br /><br /><br /><br />Watch it here:<br /><br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8Nmzuknj8eQ" allowfullscreen="" width="480" frameborder="0" height="390"></iframe>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-79922895736663617992011-02-18T20:48:00.000-08:002011-02-18T20:50:26.086-08:00CPJ accuses UN of failing to protect journalists<div class="date">16 February 2011 </div> <h1>CPJ accuses UN of failing to protect journalists</h1> <br /><div style="width: 130px;" class="floatthird"><img src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2011/02/16/cpj_attacks_on_press_2010_120.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="180" /></div><div class="share"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&winname=addthis&pub=ifex&source=tbx-250&lng=en&s=www.ifex.org&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ifex.org%2Finternational%2F2011%2F02%2F16%2Fattacks_on_press_2010%2F&title=CPJ%20accuses%20UN%20of%20failing%20to%20protect%20journalists%20-%20IFEX&ate=AT-ifex/-/fs-0/4d5f4b92be5bd389/2&sms_ss=1&at_xt=1&acn=RSS&acc=www.ifex.org&acu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ifex.org%2Finternational%2Frss%2Findex.xml&CXNID=2000001.5215456080540439074NXC&pre=http%3A%2F%2Fby153w.bay153.mail.live.com%2Fmail%2FInboxLight.aspx%3FFolderID%3D00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001%26fav%3DTrue%26n%3D1395553420&tt=0" class="addthis_button_www.ifex.org at300b" title="RSS"><span style="background: url("http://www.ifex.org/includes/button_rss.gif") no-repeat scroll left top transparent;" class="at300bs at15t_www.ifex.org"></span></a> <a class="addthis_button_compact at300m"><span class="at300bs at15t_compact"></span></a> </div> </div><div class="item"> <h3><br /></h3></div> While attacks on journalists caught up in the spreading Middle East unrest continue, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the United Nations and other global and regional organisations responsible for defending press freedoms largely fail to protect them. Nor do they defend other journalists who are killed, threatened and harassed with impunity around the world, says CPJ in its annual report, "Attacks on the Press".<br /><br />CPJ found that the UN, the Organization of American States and the Arab League are among groups that haven't consistently defended free expression, especially against government repression. "While international law guarantees the right to free expression, journalists cannot count on a robust defence of those rights," said CPJ executive director Joel Simon.<br /><br />"The failure to take a consistent position suggests a willingness to speak out publicly in support of press freedom that is based more on political considerations than a deep commitment," Simon said at the launch of the report at the UN. "As events in Egypt make clear, the stakes are enormous."<br /><br />UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was cited for his failure to congratulate Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo for winning the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.<br /><br />In another example, CPJ points out that journalism and human rights organisations were forced to launch an international campaign to stop UNESCO from presenting a prize honouring President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, one of Africa's most notorious press freedom abusers.<br /><br />According to "Attacks on the Press", at least 44 journalists were killed specifically for their work worldwide in 2010. Pakistan accounted for eight of those 44, making it the most dangerous country for the press last year.<br /><br />CPJ also says the number of jailed journalists is the highest it has been in 14 years, with 145 reporters, editors and photojournalists behind bars in 2010. China and Iran tied for the lead in number of journalists jailed, at 34 each.<br /><br />"Attacks on the Press" provides more than 50 country and regional analyses on press freedom violations in 2010. This edition also includes a special feature on the invisible nature of online attacks meant to curb journalists, such as online surveillance and malicious software.BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-3014075215361347832010-12-08T21:02:00.000-08:002010-12-08T21:05:03.967-08:00Insult laws<div class="date"> 8 December 2010 </div> <h1><a href="http://www.ifex.org/international/2010/12/08/wpfc_insult_laws_survey/">WPFC's 2009 insult laws survey: steps forward, steps back</a></h1> <br /><div style="width: 195px;" class="floatthird"><img src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2010/12/08/insult_laws_2009_wpfc_185.jpg" alt="" width="185" height="239" /></div> <div class="share"> <div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&winname=addthis&pub=ifex&source=tbx-250&lng=en&s=www.ifex.org&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ifex.org%2Finternational%2F2010%2F12%2F08%2Fwpfc_insult_laws_survey%2F&title=WPFC%27s%202009%20insult%20laws%20survey%3A%20steps%20forward%2C%20steps%20back%20-%20IFEX&ate=AT-ifex/-/-/4d0062cd4a91d340/2&sms_ss=1&at_xt=1&acn=RSS&acc=www.ifex.org&acu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ifex.org%2Finternational%2Frss%2Findex.xml&CXNID=2000001.5215456080540439074NXC&pre=http%3A%2F%2Fby153w.bay153.mail.live.com%2Fmail%2FInboxLight.aspx%3Fn%3D1264311850&tt=0" class="addthis_button_www.ifex.org at300b" title="RSS"><span style="background: url("http://www.ifex.org/includes/button_rss.gif") no-repeat scroll left top transparent;" class="at300bs at15t_www.ifex.org"></span></a> <a class="addthis_button_compact at300m"><span class="at300bs at15t_compact"></span></a> </div> </div>Spreading defamatory information through the Internet can land you in jail for up to six years in Indonesia - a greater crime than if you defamed someone through traditional means. It's just one example where new media has fuelled restrictive governments to seek even more special protection for public officials, says the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC) in its just-published annual survey of insult laws.<br /><br />The comprehensive survey, "Insult Laws: In Contempt of Justice", covers 61 countries where journalists were punished, sometimes with lengthy prison sentences, for allegedly "insulting" the dignity of officials or institutions in 2009. It also provides key portions of insult and criminal defamation laws.<br /><br />While WPFC says there were notable advances for free expression that year, "steps forward in one country seem to be matched by steps back elsewhere." For instance, while international efforts to make "defamation of religion" a crime were resisted, individual Islamic countries enforced laws against the notion of "hisba" - harming society by failing to uphold religious principles.<br /><br />Ireland even managed simultaneously to abolish libel as a criminal offence while instituting blasphemy as a new crime, says WPFC.<br /><br />Meanwhile, in the U.K., a small, "incestuous" class of specialised lawyers have made fortunes exploiting an anomalous legal regime, says Peter Preston, former editor of the "Guardian", in the introduction to the survey. British politicians have in fact responded to public outcries over heavy libel penalties and have lobbied hard to remove them. "The people who are fighting hardest to preserve the status quo - or, at least its money-raising aspects - are lawyers themselves," notes Preston.<br /><br />WPFC's annual guide to insult laws is researched and written by Austrian lawyer Uta Melzer, and sponsored by a grant from the Swiss-based global printing and publishing company Ringier AG.<br /><br />Hard copies can be requested in North America from Carolyn Wendell at cwendell (@) gmail.com or from WPFC European representative Ronald Koven at KovenRonald (@) aol.com<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wpfc.org/" target="_blank">The report will soon be available on WPFC's website.</a><br /><br />zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz<br /><br /><div class="date"> 8 December 2010 </div> <h1>U.K. libel reform group puts out libel guide for bloggers</h1> <br /><div style="width: 156px;" class="floatthird"><img src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2010/12/08/threatening_letter_146.jpg" alt="" width="146" height="86" /></div> <div class="share"> <div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&winname=addthis&pub=ifex&source=tbx-250&lng=en&s=www.ifex.org&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ifex.org%2Finternational%2F2010%2F12%2F08%2Flibel_guide_bloggers%2F&title=U.K.%20libel%20reform%20group%20puts%20out%20libel%20guide%20for%20bloggers%20-%20IFEX&ate=AT-ifex/-/-/4d00632efd98a189/2&sms_ss=1&at_xt=1&acn=RSS&acc=www.ifex.org&acu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ifex.org%2Finternational%2Frss%2Findex.xml&CXNID=2000001.5215456080540439074NXC&pre=http%3A%2F%2Fby153w.bay153.mail.live.com%2Fmail%2FInboxLight.aspx%3Fn%3D1264311850&tt=0" class="addthis_button_www.ifex.org at300b" title="RSS"><span style="background: url("http://www.ifex.org/includes/button_rss.gif") no-repeat scroll left top transparent;" class="at300bs at15t_www.ifex.org"></span></a> <a class="addthis_button_compact at300m"><span class="at300bs at15t_compact"></span></a> </div> </div>Picture this: someone writes, emails or phones you to say that something you wrote on your blog is libellous and is threatening to sue. Do you take it seriously? Do you take down your material? Do you say you're sorry? Or do you face your nemesis in court? The independent charitable trust Sense About Science has put together a guide entitled "So you've had a threatening letter. What can you do?"<br /><br />"So you've had a threatening letter" explains exactly what defamation is, and what to do if you are threatened with it. For instance, the guide proffers that how you react in the first few weeks after you receive a threat is crucial in deflecting an unfounded claim or correcting something you got wrong.<br /><br />"Stay calm, review the material, and be friendly and open in your correspondence. Lawyers say the best way to avoid ending up in court is to write letters that would go down well if read out in court," says the guide.<br /><br />The guide is specifically designed for bloggers in the U.K. and has been published as part of a campaign to reform English libel laws. In a recent survey, Sense About Science found that service providers and bloggers are increasingly vulnerable because of their unfamiliarity with media law.<br /><br />Sense About Science cautions that the guide is not a substitute for legal advice, but "it does provide information which other bloggers and writers who have been through the experience say they wished they had known at the outset."<br /><br />The guide was compiled in association with Index on Censorship, English PEN, the Media Legal Defence Initiative, the Association of British Science Writers and the World Federation of Science Journalists.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/PDF/So%20youve%20had%20a%20threatening%20letter.pdf" target="_blank">Read "So you've had a threatening letter" here.</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.libelreform.org/" target="_blank">Sign a petition for English libel law reform here.</a><br /><br />Source : IFEXBLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-60632945965956415882010-12-08T21:00:00.001-08:002010-12-08T21:01:00.309-08:00Get Liu Xiaobo out of prison in time for Nobel prize ceremony<div class="date">10 November 2010 </div> <h2>Take action!</h2> <h1>Get Liu Xiaobo out of prison in time for Nobel prize ceremony</h1> <br /><div style="text-align: center; margin: auto; padding: 10px; width: 420px;"><img src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2010/11/10/free_liu_xiaobo_400.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="226" /></div>This year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xiaobo, is serving an 11-year sentence in a jail in the remote province of Liaoning for defending human rights and press freedom. Join Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) in calling for the release of Liu - one of China's most famous dissidents - in time for him to attend the Nobel prize ceremony in Oslo on 10 December. Sign the petition here: <a href="http://en.rsf.org/petition-liu-xiaobo,38708.html">http://en.rsf.org/petition-liu-xiaobo,38708.html</a><br /><br />"We urge you to intercede quickly to obtain his release, the quashing of his conviction and the withdrawal of all charges pending against members of his family, especially his wife, Liu Xia, who is under house arrest in Beijing," reads the petition.<br /><br />In the weeks since the award was announced on 8 October, more than 100 Liu supporters, students, lawyers, journalists and bloggers have been placed under house arrest or subjected to increased police surveillance, or have disappeared, reports RSF.<br /><br />News of the award is practically non-existent in China's media and has been blacked out from international news broadcasts on the BBC and CNN. Instead, Liu is being portrayed as a "traitor" and a "criminal" on China's official news agency, Xinhua.<br /><br />Meanwhile, at least four RSF members and two other human rights activists were arrested in Paris on 5 November after opening umbrellas bearing the words "Free Liu Xiaobo" as Chinese President Hu Jintao passed by in a motorcade during his three-day state visit.<br /><br />Liu, whose activism dates back to the days of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, was the lead author of a document called Charter '08, calling for multi-party elections in Communist Party-led China. The petition led to his 11-year jail sentence.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.rsf.org/petition-liu-xiaobo,38708.html" target="_blank">Help get Liu to Oslo by signing the petition here</a>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-71482996848852353012010-12-08T20:56:00.000-08:002010-12-08T20:59:59.371-08:00WikiLeaks - Don't shoot the messenger, say IFEX members<div class="date"> 8 December 2010 </div> <h1>WikiLeaks - Don't shoot the messenger, say IFEX members</h1> <br /><div style="text-align: center; margin: auto; padding: 10px; width: 420px;"><img src="http://www.ifex.org/international/2010/12/08/wikileaks_we_open_governments_400.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="257" /><div class="caption"><div class="credit">WikiLeaks</div></div></div> <div class="share"> <div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "> Since online whistleblower WikiLeaks started publishing classified U.S. embassy cables on 28 November, it has come under fire on several fronts, from hacking attacks to hosting companies pulling the plug. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Index on Censorship and other IFEX members have condemned the attacks for "threatening the core principles of freedom of speech."<br /></div> </div><br />Online retail giant Amazon dropped the site from its servers on 2 December, after political pressure from Joe Lieberman, chair of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee. Amazon denied caving into Lieberman's request, posting on its blog that WikiLeaks was violating its terms of service by publishing "harmful" content.<br /><br />WikiLeaks moved to French Internet company OVH, sparking French industry minister Eric Besson to write to Internet companies warning them that there will be "consequences" for any companies or organisations helping to keep WikiLeaks online in France. This week a French court refused to order OVH to stop hosting WikiLeaks.<br /><br />WikiLeaks.org was also recently dropped by its registry, EveryDNS. EveryDNS claimed that hacking attacks ("distributed denial of service", or DDOS attacks) against WikiLeaks were disrupting its service provided to thousands of other customers. The site's new Swiss registry rejected international calls to force the site off the net, saying there was "no reason" why it should be forced offline.<br /><br />The reassurances come just hours after eBay-owned PayPal, the primary donation channel to WikiLeaks, terminated its links with the site, citing "illegal activity". Visa and MasterCard have also followed suit, as has Swiss Postfinance, which shut down a bank account of Julian Assange, WikiLeaks's founder.<br /><br />Meanwhile, DDOS attacks by unknown hackers still bring the site down.<br /><br />"This is the first time we have seen an attempt at the international community level to censor a website dedicated to the principle of transparency," said RSF. "It is up to the courts, not politicians, to decide whether or not a website should be closed."<br /><br />IFEX members say it's not surprising that the usual suspects - China, Tunisia and U.A.E., for instance - have blocked access to WikiLeaks or sites that have been reprinting the cables. What is new is that countries that purport to stand for free expression have also been clamouring to shut down WikiLeaks.<br /><br />For example, Index on Censorship points out that not even a year ago, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a landmark speech about Internet freedom, which was widely interpreted as a rebuke to China for its alleged cyberattack on Google.<br /><br />Students at Columbia University in New York have been advised not to download or comment on the cables if they might want a government job. According to WikiLeaks journalist James Ball, writing on Index's website, the 19 million U.S. federal government employees have been told not to read the cables material - or any publication containing them. Agencies have added virtually every mainstream news outlet to web filters and blocks, "a move reminiscent of China's Great Firewall."<br /><br />Said Index's Jo Glanville, "When one of the world's leading liberal educational institutions advises self-censorship to its students, rather than encouraging them to explore and read one of the most significant publications of our time, it is clear that we are in the grip of such a damaging panic that it is threatening the core principles of freedom of speech."<br /><br />IFEX members ARTICLE 19, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have also spoken out against the backlash.<br /><br />Lieberman and other senators are trying to introduce emergency legislation to make it illegal to publish the names of U.S. military and intelligence agency informants - which would ultimately allow the administration to go after WikiLeaks. Whether this tactic gains momentum remains to be seen.<br /><br />According to "The Washington Post", Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, has been urging WikiLeaks to "redact from the documents the names of any U.S.-supported human rights defenders who might be placed in jeopardy," such as activists who have spoken with U.S. diplomats in countries with repressive governments. At the same time, however, he voiced concern that the U.S. State Department was trying to use the fear of disclosure about human rights defenders "as an excuse to pursue WikiLeaks or restrict access to this kind of information."<br /><br />"It is perhaps the fallout from Wikileaks's mass publication of diplomatic cables, rather than the content of the cables themselves, that may do the most harm in the end," Glanville lamented.<br /><br />RSF is also concerned for Assange, who is currently facing sex assault allegations. In a letter to U.K. Secretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke, RSF says the proceedings should concern solely the private accusations made against Assange in Sweden, "and must not turn into a proxy trial for the publication of leaked documents by WiliLeaks."<br /><br />In the meantime, WikiLeaks says it is here to stay. On 7 December, the day Assange was arrested, WikiLeaks tweeted, "Today's actions against our editor-in-chief Julian Assange won't affect our operations: we will release more cables tonight as normal." Copies of WikiLeaks are now loaded on more than 300 different servers worldwide. You can still donate at: <a href="http://wikileaks.ch/support.html">http://wikileaks.ch/support.html</a><br /><br />SOURCE: <a href="http://www.ifex.org/international/2010/12/08/wikileaks_harassment/">IFEX</a>BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-53521176173047825852010-12-04T20:59:00.000-08:002010-12-04T21:03:07.295-08:00Artist Alert: October 2010<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-size: 140%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; text-transform: capitalize;" align="center">Artist Alert: October 2010</div><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">Art, in any form, constitutes a key medium through which information and ideas are imparted and received. Artist Alert, launched by ARTICLE 19 in 2008, highlights cases of artists around the world whose right to freedom of expression has been curtailed and abused, and seeks to more effectively promote and defend freedom to create.<br /></div><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;">China: leading artist’s studio to be demolished</div><br />One of China’s leading artists, Ai Weiwei, has been informed by the authorities that his new $1.1 million studio in Shanghai must be demolished. The BBC reports that Ai, who was involved in the design of the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing, was initially invited to build the studio in an emerging arts district, but the building has now been ruled illegal for not following proper planning procedures. The artist, a vocal critic of human rights abuses in China, was held under house arrest for two days in Beijing, while supporters held a protest party at the studio on 7 November to mark the demolition. The Tate Modern gallery in London is currently displaying Ai’s latest work of art: a giant installation made up of hundreds of thousands of tiny, hand-painted replica sunflower seeds.<br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;">Turkey: Ferhat Tunç acquitted - and immediately charged again</div><br />The Kurdish singer Ferhat Tunç has been informed by the Turkish authorities that he must answer new charges only a day after being acquitted by a court in Diyabarkir of crimes brought under anti-terrorism legislation. The Freemuse award winner had been accused of <em>“spreading propaganda for the [Kurdistan Workers' Party] organization”</em> by the prosecution, and <em>“committing a crime on behalf of an illegal organization without being a member of the organization.”</em> Judges in Diyabarkir had ruled that there was no evidence of any crime being committed in a case that gained international support for the singer. After his latest run-in with the government Tunç wrote to Freemuse saying: <em>“Such is my life! Tomorrow I will have to present myself once again to the police.”</em><br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;">Singapore: Shadrake found guilty over death penalty book</div><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">British author Alan Shadrake has been found guilty of insulting the Singapore judiciary after alleging that judges were insufficiently impartial in their use of the death penalty, and has been sentenced to six weeks imprisonment. As reported in the previous Artist Alert, Shadrake’s book tour to promote Once a Jolly Hangman - Singapore Justice in the Dock was severely curtailed by the authorities. After landing in Singapore on 19 July, Shadrake was taken into police custody and detained for a series of interrogations, and will now be sentenced for contempt. The crime is punishable by imprisonment or a fine or both, with no maximum limit set on either, although the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) has called for a jail term of at least 12 weeks. ARTICLE 19 partnered with 27 other free speech organisations in calling on Prime Minister Lee to intercede with the authorities and withdraw the charges. Shadrake, who is also facing separate charges of defamation, is expected to be sentenced on 16 November.</span><br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;">Denmark: Artists' exhibition cancelled over royal orgy cartoon</div><br />A retrospective exhibition of the satirical Danish duo Surrend (a.k.a. Jan Egesborg and Pia Bertelsen) was cancelled when the pair told organisers they would be using a pornographic depiction of the Danish royal family. According to The Art Newspaper, the show had been due to open at the Danish Poster Museum, in Aarhus on 13 October. Thomas Bloch Ravn, the director of Den Gamble By, the open-air village museum where the Danish Poster Museum is located, accused the artists of attention-seeking and said that he will no longer work with Surrend. Ravn denies censorship, saying that the artists are free to publish their works elsewhere. Egesborg, for his part, has accused the people of Denmark of hypocrisy, arguing that while it was happy to allow Kurt Westergaard’s controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed to be published, it has different rules regarding the royal family.<br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;">Malaysia: Cartoonist Zunar challenges cartoon book ban in court </div><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">Political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anawar Ulhaque, better known by the pen name of Zunar, has brought a legal action challenging a government ban on two of his cartoon books, ‘Funny Malaysia’ and ‘Perak Darul Kartun’.. In a separate case, the cartoonist is facing charges of sedition for a collection of satirical works, ‘Cartoon-o-phobia’. Zunar was arrested and bailed in September, and faces a possible three-year jail sentence if found guilty of the charges. Speaking about his work, Zunar said: </span><em style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">“I have always liked political books, which is very different from practising politics. I don’t belong to any party. In my view, a political cartoonist must be well informed, he must know about legal matters, human rights and so on. I hope that, through my cartoons, people understand what is going on. I would like to be a pioneer and for other young cartoonists to take this road. I have already worked with several of them.”</em><br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;">Israel: Funding to be cut for artists who boycott settlement performances</div><br />An increasingly impassioned debate over whether government-funded artists have the right to choose where they perform has reached new heights in Israel, after Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman vowed to penalise artists who are boycotting a new theatre in the illegal Jewish settlement of Ariel. Three days before the Ariel Cultural Center was set to open in the northern West Bank settlement, artists and academics published an open letter calling on performers to boycott the theatre, arguing that Ariel <em>“is an illegal settlement which violates international law and the Geneva Conditions.”</em> Lieberman has hit back at those who signed the letter, saying that <em>“These artists can practice freedom of speech but not on taxpayer's money. Those who refer to Israel as an apartheid state cannot enjoy its fruits.”</em> According to the Jerusalem Post, Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat has announced that her ministry will introduce a legal amendment to force theatre companies to provide services regardless of geographic location.<br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;">India: Award-winning author besieged by nationalist protesters </div><br />The Delhi home of Indian author Arundhati Roy was surrounded by around 150 members of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) women's faction, who demanded Roy leave India after making remarks about the legitimacy of India’s claims to the disputed territory of Kashmir. Roy, whose novel The God of<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> Small Things won the influential Booker Prize in 1997, had told a conference that </span><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">“Kashmir has never been an integral part of India. It is a historical fact.”</em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> According to The Guardian, the BJP protesters gathered outside the author’s home while she was inside, chanting slogans for her to withdraw the statement or leave the country.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Earlier in the month, another leading Indian author, Rohinton Mistry, strongly criticised the decision of Mumbai University to withdraw one of his books from its literature syllabus, following threats from the right wing Hindu political group Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena had publicly burned copies of Mistry’s novel Such a Long Journey, which it claimed contained disparaging comments about the organisation.</span><br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;">Venezuela: ‘Narco-novela’ soap operas banned from television networks</div><br />Venezuela's Nacional Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) has banned television stations from airing two ‘telenovela’ (soap operas) whose main protagonists are drug-dealers. Conatel has said that the shows hurt the social and psychological well-being of children and adolescents, and has banned the Colombian-produced shows under the controversial Radio and Television Social Responsibility Law, according to BBC Mundo. ‘El Capo’ tells the story of a drug dealer who becomes president, while ‘Rosario Tijeras’ depicts a young woman drug dealer and killer, and is a spin-off from the successful 2005 movie of the same name. Telenovela writer Leonardo Padrón told El Universal newspaper that the censorship was an act of <em>“absurd puritanism”,</em> adding, <em>“If it's a measure to reduce violence, it should be applied on the streets.”</em> The ban comes weeks after Venezuelan courts prevented the media from publishing “violent, bloody or grotesque images”, and adds to the growing pressure on freedom of expression in the country.<br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;"><br />China: Two Tibetan writers released conditionally</div><br />Two leading Tibetan writers have been released conditionally by the Chinese authorities. Tagyal, known by the pen name Shogdung, was arrested on 23 April at the Qinghai Nationalities publishing house in Xining, in the province of Qinghai. He spent six months in a detention centre, during which time visits from family members were forbidden, after the Chinese authorities accused him of inciting separatism in his writings. Tagyal was released on bail on 14 October but under a form of parole pending trial that does not protect him from being arrested again. Kalsang Tsultrim, writing under the pseudonym Gyitsang Takmig, was arrested on 27 July in Sichuan province, most probably for expressing his concern about the Tibetan people. He was released on 15 October on condition that he does not participate in political activities.<br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;"><br />NOTES<br /></div><br />• For more information: please contact Oliver Spencer, oliver@article19.org, +44 20 7324 2500BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57508361784378540.post-80346785210091422622010-12-04T20:56:00.000-08:002010-12-04T20:57:00.706-08:00UN General Assembly: UN Member States Should Vote Against Proposed Resolution on “Vilification of Religions”19 November 2010<br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 15px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-size: 140%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; text-transform: capitalize;" align="center">UN General Assembly: UN Member States Should Vote Against Proposed Resolution on “Vilification of Religions”</div><br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">London 19.11.10: ARTICLE 19 and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) urge UN Member States to vote against the draft resolution proposed at the current session of the UN General Assembly on “combating religious hatred and vilification of religions”.</div><br /><em>“We are extremely concerned about the draft resolution on ‘vilification of religions’ proposed by the Organization of Islamic Conference,”</em> says Dr Agnes Callamard, ARTICLE 19 Executive Director. “<em>It fails to address our concerns about earlier resolutions on ‘defamation of religions’ or meet the standards set down in Article 20 of the ICCPR. While we welcome the dropping of the phrase ‘defamation of religions’, the content and implications are even more far reaching than earlier resolutions on combating ‘defamation of religions’, which we have found so problematic from an international human rights perspective”.</em><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />In response to the draft resolution, ARTICLE 19 and CIHRS have produced a detailed legal analysis which raises three areas of concern:<br /><br />In response to the draft resolution, ARTICLE 19 and CIHRS have produced a detailed legal analysis which raises three areas of concern:<br /><br />• ‘Vilification of religions’ is even broader than ‘defamation of religions’ and will have far reaching negative implications for freedom of expression;<br />• The draft distorts and undermines states’ international human rights obligations, particular with respect to Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and<br />• The draft continues to legitimise the fundamentally flawed notion of ‘defamation of religions’ and, if adopted, will provide international support to national laws on blasphemy and defamation of religions which are often used by repressive states to silence religious and political opponents, government critics, dissidents as well as religious minorities and critics of religions.<br /><br />ARTICLE 19 and the CIHRS urge all Member States to vote against the resolution.</div><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-transform: capitalize;"> FURTHER INFORMATION</div><br />• Read the full analysis at: www.article19.org/pdfs/press/un-general-assembly-un-member-states-should-vote-against-proposed-resolution.pdf<br />• For the draft of the resolution on combating defamation of religions www.article19.org/pdfs/press/draft-resolution-on-combating-religious-hatred-and-vilification-of-religions.pdf<br />• For more information, please contact Sejal Parmar, Senior Legal Officer +44 20 734 2500 sejal@article19.org, or Jereme Smith, Director-Geneva Office of CIHRS, jsmith@cihrs.org<br />• CIHRS is an independent regional human rights organization based in Cairo, Egypt with offices in France and at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.BLOGGER code 7http://www.blogger.com/profile/04324505500013284419noreply@blogger.com0