It is now nine years since the murder of our colleague
Gyorgy Gongadze on 16 September 2000, and on this occasion we once again call
on the Ukrainian authorities to undertake a proper investigation of those who
ordered the killing. The brutal kidnap and murder of Gyorgy, which took place
after senior Ukrainian politicians had discussed harming him, was notorious,
because it underlined the impunity with which those with power could use assassination
as a means to silence journalists. This summer there have been important developments in the
case. Olexiy Pukach, who has been named by investigators and in court
proceedings as the murderer, has been arrested. It has been reported…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today expressed its concerns over the closure of four independently-owned radio stations by Uganda Broadcasting Council (UBC) and the suspension of their operating licenses for what it called “flouting rules by inciting people, mainly the Baganda tribe against President Yoweri Museveni, his government and against other tribes”.
“The circumstances within the past few days have been disheartened and it is necessary for all parties concerned to engage in a dialogue to avoid further violence,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office.
On Friday, Independent…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today said that the report of the
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on the trial of Sri Lankan journalist
J. S. Tissainayagam vindicates the criticism of the 20 year jail term imposed
on him by the High Court of Colombo on 31 August.Tissainayagam was found guilty of "causing
communal disharmony" and "receiving money from Tamil Tiger rebels to
pay for his website" in a case that sparked global condemnation from
journalists and human rights' groups. "The
report is a clinical analysis of a flawed judicial process," said Aidan White,
IFJ General Secretary. "It shows, in particular, lack of reliable evidence…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on Iranian authorities to reopen the office of the
Association of Iranian Journalists
(AoIJ) which was closed down on 5 August on the order of the government's
general prosecutor. The Association said the decision was illegal and has submitted an
application signed by 325 Iranian journalists to the prosecutor general for the reopening of their office. "This
measure was clearly designed to disrupt the work of the Association," said
Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "One month after the office's closure,
there has been no explanation for it, making it yet another act of media
repression played out in recent months in…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today welcomed the rescue of a
British journalist in Afghanistan
but called for a safety review after his Afghan interpreter was killed in the
military operation. According
to reports from Afghanistan,
Nato troops raided the place where Taliban militants were holding Stephen
Farrell and Sultan Munadi in the Char Dara district at dawn on 9 September.
Farrell was rescued but Sultan, 34, died in the fire fight between Nato
soldiers and the militants. One Nato soldier and two civilians were also
killed. "The
good news of Stephen's successful rescue has been overshadowed by Sultan's
tragic killing," said Aidan White, IFJ General…
The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) today protested to the Tunisian government over the action of
police who laid siege to the offices of Tunisian Syndicate of Journalists
and assaulted the union's President after he tried to enter the building. "This is heavy-handed and violent
interference in journalism," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "It is
unacceptable and demonstrates the intolerance of a regime which puts power
politics before democracy." According to reports from the
Syndicat National des Journalistes Tunisiens (SNJT) the union President Neji Beghori
was today barred from entering the offices, assaulted and dragged away by police. The
offices were…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) warmly welcomes an official pardon from Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for
a young Afghan journalist sentenced to 20 years’ jail on charges of blasphemy.
Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh, 24, was pardoned, freed from imprisonment and is
now in exile in Europe, Reporters Without
Borders reported on September 7.
“Kambakhsh’s pardon and release from prison is a rare victory for
journalists, media workers and press freedom advocates who remain constrained
by the authority of clerical powers to overrule Afghanistan’s constitutionally
guaranteed rights to freedom of expression and the press,” IFJ…
Xi Jinping, Vice President of China
Wen Jiabao, Premier of China
Meng Jianzhu, Minister of Public Security
Sir Donald Tsang Yam-Kuen, Chief Executive of Hong Kong
Peng Qinghua, Director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council
September 7, 2009
Dear
Sirs,
Re: Police
Abuses in Xinjiang and Sichuan
Provinces
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed to receive reports that Chinese
authorities used force and violence to prevent journalists and media workers reporting
on matters of major public interest in Xinjiang and Sichuan provinces.
The IFJ is informed that Xinjiang…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today welcomed the release by presidential pardon of six journalists who were sentenced on 6 August to two years in jail and fined US$ 20,000 each by the High Court in Banjul for seditious publications criminal defamation.
“The IFJ and journalists worldwide celebrate today the release of the six Gambian journalists and the dropping of the case against them,” said Jim Boumelha, IFJ President. ”We applaud their courage, resilience and determination in risking their freedom to uphold the principles of a free press in the Gambia. We also congratulate their union, the Gambia Press Union, for standing by them and…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns a new series of bans and restrictions on
the media issued by China’s
Central Propaganda Department,
saying the bans appear designed to control media content in the lead-up to the
country’s National Day on October 1.
Local sources told the IFJ that all media outlets have been
ordered not to report on events related to the lead-poisoning of more than 2000
children in Huana, Shanxi and Yunan
provinces in mid-August. Public displays of anger outside government offices
and the detention of protesting parents of poisoned children are reportedly
off-limits.
A ban also has been ordered on reporting…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has learnt with great sadness the death of its treasurer Uli Remmel.
Uli died at the age of 54. He was elected treasurer of the IFJ in 2007 and elected on the Executive Committee in 2004. In a letter to the President of Uli's union, the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband, the IFJ General Secretary Aidan White…
(The Guardian) More than 30 photographers held a protest outside Guardian News & Media's central London offices today.
The protest was held to protest an alteration to GNM's standard terms for commissioned photography, under which it will no longer pay to reuse commissioned pictures. GNM publishes the Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk, the website network that includes MediaGuardian.co.uk.
Author: Spehen Brook
read: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/sep/01/guardian-photographers-protest
(The Guardian) More than 30 photographers held a protest outside Guardian News & Media's central London offices today.The
protest was held to protest an alteration to GNM's standard terms for
commissioned photography, under which it will no longer pay to reuse
commissioned pictures. GNM publishes the Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk, the website network that includes MediaGuardian.co.uk.
Author: Spehen Brook
read: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/sep/01/guardian-photographers-protest
28 August
France: Gamma Agency Facing Danger
of Closing Down
Gamma,
the renowned French photo agency is facing the danger of closing down as it can
no longer pay its bills, according to it’s owners, the Eyedea Presse group.
Eyedea Presse CEO Stephane Ledoux said the business of photojournalism is no
longer viable as it has to adapt to globalisation and technical developments.
Many French professionals and public figures signed a petition to save Gamma.
On the same topic, the European Federation of Journalists is finalising a
survey on press photographers in Europe that
shows the difficulties faced by the profession: high competition with…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the regional group of the
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says Italian Prime Minister
Berlusconi is putting press freedom to the sword by launching a legal vendetta against
media at home and abroad for reporting on his troubled personal life."It's understandable that Prime Minister Berlusconi wants to keep his
colourful personal life out of the headlines," said Aidan White, IFJ and EFJ
General Secretary. "But he puts press freedom at risk by trying to use the law
to intimidate journalists and to stifle media reporting."The EFJ says that Berlusconi often used his power as both media magnate
and political leader to…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned a
20-year jail term against senior Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam as
"brutal and inhumane" and accused Sri Lankan authorities of abusing anti-terror
laws to silence peaceful critics. The High Court of Colombo today convicted
Tissainayagam, a prominent Tamil journalist, of "causing communal disharmony"
and "receiving money from Tamil Tiger rebels to pay for his website". He was detained last year and later
charged with inciting violence in articles in his magazine, the North
Eastern Monthly, which has since closed. The landmark ruling makes
Tissainayagam one of a handful of journalists in the world to be…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
strongly condemns a police assault on radio reporter Dawa Khan Meenapal at the
site of a bomb attack in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar,
in which at least 40 people were killed and 65 wounded on August 25.
According to
the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA),
an IFJ affiliate, Meenapal was recording
witness accounts of the attack in his job as a reporter for Radio Free
Afghanistan when he was detained. His wrists were bound and his recording
equipment was confiscated by police.
Meenapal
told the AIJA that police assaulted him with rifle butts and pushed him around, ostensibly because he…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate in Zimbabwe,
the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists
(ZUJ), cautiously welcomed recent announcements made by the coalition government
in its effort to turn over a new leaf on six years of intimidation and stifling of
independent journalists. "There
have been in recent weeks a flourish of announcements by government officials
of the start of a new era of free expression in Zimbabwe.
But the jury is out and, in the next few months, we will be watching intently
to see what is going to come out of that process," said IFJ President Jim Boumelha following his visit to Zimbabwe early this month with a solidarity…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges China’s
Central Propaganda Department and Central Government to investigate the manner
in which provincial governments are overriding constitutionally guaranteed
rules about media access and rights in reporting on issues of public interest.
On August
25, the deputy editor of the Nanning-based
Nanguo Morning Post, Liu Yuan, 35, was reportedly forced to resign after reporting on
the murder of a teenage boy on August 4.
A senior
editor at a sister paper, Modern Life Daily, received a suspension order from the newspaper management,
reportedly under pressure from Guanxi Province’s propaganda…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today urged Serbian
lawmakers to throw out a package of controversial draft amendments to the
Public Information Act proposed by the government of Serbia.
In a letter to the
President of Serbia, Mr Boris Tadi?, IFJ President Jim
Boumelha urged him to withdraw the amendments. He wrote: "We are concerned
about the Serbian Government's haste
to adopt these amendments at an extraordinary session of Parliament, without
any prior public debate, or even consultation with media associations,
journalists and/or experts." According to a thorough
analysis by independent legal experts…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) demands that Pakistan’s
Government launch a swift and full inquiry into the murder of a veteran Afghan
journalist in Pakistan
yesterday.
Peshawar-based journalist Janullah
Hashimzada was shot dead by four unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas
(FATA) as he travelled from Afghanistan’s
Eastern Nangahar
Province to Peshawar, in Pakistan’s
North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).
The minivan in which he was
travelling was ambushed near Jamrud in the Khyber tribal district. Two
gunmen entered the van and shot Hashimzada four times, according to the
Pakistan…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) notes with alarm that
police in Nepal brutally assaulted Bimal Bista, a correspondent for Nepal Samachar Patra, before taking him
into custody in the district headquarters town of Doti in the country’s far
west on August 23.
According to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), an IFJ
affiliate, Bista was on a reporting assignment, seeking information on some
local disputes, when he was hustled into a police van and badly beaten up. He is
reportedly still in custody.
“The IFJ endorses the FNJ’s demand that Bista be released immediately,”
IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes the reported release in China
this week of the founder of an online discussion forum who disappeared for more
than a month after riots erupted in Xinjiang
Province in early July.
IIham
Tohti, who established Uyghur Online at www.uighurbiz.cn and is a professor at the Central National University
in Beijing, disappeared from his home in Beijing on July 7.
He had reportedly told friends he
had received a “formal notice” from local authorities late on July 7 referring
to articles posted that day on Uyghur Online criticising the Chairman of the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Regional People’s…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today called for the release of Hanevy Ould Dehah, editor of Taqadoumy website, who was charged with “offending public decency” and sentenced to six months imprisonment by the court in Nouahchott.
“This is an unduly severe and political judgment, especially as only one of the charges was finally retained,” declared Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office. “Our colleague must be released,” he added.
Following a complaint on 22 May 2009 against him for publishing a report on the sudden wealth of one of the presidential candidates who bought a house in one…
The International Federation of Journalists (FIJ) has called today to lift the suspension meted to Sky One, a private radio station broadcasting from Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon.
“The suspension of the radio is disproportionate, more especially that this programme for the past two years has done nothing but only allowing citizens to voice their points of view in the public debates” declared Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office.
On Monday August 17, 2009, the Minister of Communication Mr. Issa Tchiroma Bakary said at the national radio that the decision was taken to close “temporarily” Sky One radio for many professional misconducts in particular…
The IFJ has called for
the lifting of all censorship reporting from Afghanistan as rumours spread of
violence and chaos in the wake of presidential elections taking place today.
"The world needs to
know about what's happening in the streets of Kabul," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.
"The ban on reporting is only encouraging ignorance, speculations and fear". The Afghan government
issued a statement on 18th August asking all news agencies to
refrain from covering any incidents of violence between 6 am and 8 pm on election day, fearing that such coverage would dissuade people
from voting. The IFJ this morning
received a number of reports of violence across the country and…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) notes with great concern that two journalists
from India’s web-based news portal cobrapost.com have been charged with
corruption offences for their role in a “sting” operation that exposed a “cash
for questions” racket among elected members of parliament in India.
Along with 11 former members of
parliament, who face prosecution under India’s Prevention of Corruption
Act (PCA), the two journalists, Aniruddha Bahal and Suhasini Raj, have been
charged with abetment of an offence.
The telecast of the “sting” over
several Indian television channels in 2005 led to great…
(GFMD) A new Arab satellite channel specializing in women's affairs recently launched in Cairo, Egypt.
The channel, Eve, aims to present Arab women's identity via social, economic, and cultural programs. Issues including fashion, sports and female activities across the world will be portrayed.
For more information (in Arabic), go to http://www.sho3a3.com/mag/post.php?partid=8&id=1777Source: http://www.ijnet.org/gfmd/media_development_news/new_tv_channel_to_broadcast_arab_women_s_interests
(GFMD) A new Arab satellite channel specializing in women's affairs recently launched in Cairo, Egypt. The channel, Eve, aims to present Arab women's identity via social,
economic, and cultural programs. Issues including fashion, sports and
female activities across the world will be portrayed. For more information (in Arabic), go to http://www.sho3a3.com/mag/post.php?partid=8&id=1777
Source: http://www.ijnet.org/gfmd/media_development_news/new_tv_channel_to_broadcast_arab_women_s_interests
Xi
Jinping, Vice President of China
Wen Jiabao
Premier of China
Meng
Jianzhu , the Minister of Public
Security
Jiang
Jufeng , Governor of Sichuan Province
Peng
Qinghua , Director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of
the State…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) and its local affiliate,
the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA),
reiterate their concerns for ensuring the safety of media personnel working in Afghanistan
in the run-up to presidential elections on August 20.
A photographer and a cameraman for the Associated Press (AP) were
seriously injured when a road-side bomb exploded near Kandahar, in Afghanistan’s
south, on August 12.
The two journalists,
identified by AP as Islamabad-based Spanish reporter Emilio Morenati, 40, and
Indonesian reporter Andi Jatmiko, 44, were travelling with United States military personnel.
At a national…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the unexplained detention of two Hong Kong journalists
by local police at a Sichuan
hotel yesterday.
A journalist, who wishes to remain
anonymous, told the IFJ that two Beijing-based journalists who work for the
Hong Kong-based Now Television broadcaster were detained by police at their
hotel in the early morning as they were leaving to report
on the court case of poet, writer and environmental activist Tan Zuoren.
Tan is charged with inciting
subversion of state power. According to Amnesty International,
it is believed that Tan’s detention is linked to reporting on the May 2008 Sichuan…
El sábado anterior hugo elecciones en el Sindicato de Prensa de Ushuaia, organización afiliada a la FATPREN, para renovar autoridades por finalización de mandato. La lista Blanca "Unidad y Compromiso", única oficializada, presentó candidatos y recibió el apoyo del 53 por ciento del padrón de afiliados
Integran la nueva conducción Pamela Demartín como secretaria general; Fernando Quiroga, secretario adjunto; Horacio Ferreira Da Cámara, secretario gremial; Walter Maciel, administrativo y de actas; Walter Idone, tesorero; Miriam Azcurra, en acción social y Carlos López como secretario de prensa y organización; los vocales titulares son Alejandro Heis y Marcelo Charadía.
En la…
El
sábado anterior hugo elecciones en el Sindicato de Prensa de Ushuaia,
organización afiliada a la FATPREN, para renovar autoridades por finalización de
mandato. La lista Blanca "Unidad y Compromiso", única oficializada, presentó
candidatos y recibió el apoyo del 53 por ciento del padrón de
afiliados Integran la nueva conducción
Pamela Demartín como secretaria
general; Fernando Quiroga, secretario adjunto; Horacio Ferreira Da Cámara,
secretario gremial; Walter Maciel, administrativo y de actas; Walter Idone,
tesorero; Miriam Azcurra, en acción social y Carlos López como secretario de…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
worried by reports that two journalists were asked to file a self-assessment report
explaining their motivations for covering a rape case in Beijing on August 6.
A
journalist, who wishes to remain
anonymous, told the IFJ that two
journalists and their senior supervisors at Southern
Weekend were reportedly asked by the newspaper’s chief editor to file a self-critical
assessment after publishing information about a rape case in which police were alleged to be involved.
The
journalists told the IFJ they were made to write a self-critical assessment of
how their professional work in reporting this case…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the International News Safety Institute (IFJ) today called for the urgent release of jailed journalists in Gambia, adding their voices to growing global protest at the press freedom crisis in the country after judges jailed six journalists for two years last week because they had supported a statement by the country’s press union criticising the government.
“Intolerant government has created a culture of neglect for free speech and human rights,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “The jailing of journalists simply because they express dissent is a sign of a country betraying the…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on Iranian authorities
to end the campaign of intimidation of journalists in the country following the
closure last night of the Association of Journalists in Tehran whose offices were raided and sealed
by armed men. In
a meeting this morning with the Iranian
Ambassador to the European Union and Belgium,
the IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said that up to 42 journalists held in
jail should be set free and the Association of Iranian
Journalists (AoIJ), an IFJ affiliate, should be allowed to function. "There
must be an end to intimidation of journalists if there is to be a new
dialogue," said White. The IFJ says…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the charges brought by Sudanese authorities against Amal Habani, a female journalist and editor of the column "Tiny Issues" in Ajrass Al Horreya newspaper for having denounced the prosecution of Sudanese women who wear trousers.
“This is a blatant violation of freedom of expression. Our colleague just expressed a candid opinion in her column,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office. “These charges are nothing more than harassment and must be dropped.“
Amal Habani published an article on 12 July 2009, entitled "Lubna, a case of subduing a woman's body," in which she…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on the international community to denounce
the action of Venezuela's
President Hugo Chavez who has cut deep into the fabric of press freedom in the
country with his government's announcement of a widespread attack on
independent media voices. The IFJ says the Government's
decision to revoke licences of a dozen of private radio stations with up to 200
others facing the same fate is an unprecedented attack on independent
journalism. "Free media in Venezuela
are facing a complete wipe out," said Aidan White,
IFJ General Secretary. "If these actions stand, they spell the end of
alternative and dissident opinion. They…
(Moscow Times)The government has drafted legislation that would make it easier for news agencies to contest plagiarism of their reports, drawing cheers from big outlets like Interfax and RIA-Novosti, but critics say the bill is too vague to be effective. The law, drafted by the Communications and Press Ministry, would extend copyright protection to news reports, with the threat of fines and the possible confiscation of publications to dissuade media from using information without properly attributing its source.
Read: http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1010/42/379728.htm
Author: Natalya Krainova
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today denounced charges against Burundian journalist Jean Bosco Ndayiragije, head of the private radio station, Radio Publique Africaine(RPA) who was interrogated on July 27 by Mrs. Capitoline Havyarimana, a deputy prosecutor in the province of Ngozi (Northern Burundi), for broadcasting information which was critical of the justice system in Burundi.
“This summon is not justified, especially as the radio only relayed the opinions of the populations on the problems which they encounter with the judiciary,” declared Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office. “These media reports contribute to reinforce…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns a group attack on three mainland China journalists who were reporting on an
accidental fire at a factory in Xiegang town in Dongguan city in China’s
in the south of the country on July 27.
Local sources told the IFJ that the journalists have been
identified as Dong Zhe from Guangzhou
Daily Newspaper, Mo Xiaodong from
Southern Metropolis Daily and Jiang
Yun of Yangcheng Evening News.
Staff from the factory reportedly attacked the journalists, causing injuries on their faces and necks, and threatened them with death in an attempt to
block coverage of the incident.
Jiang’s…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Afghan Independent
Journalists’ Association (AIJA) in condemning a police attack on a group of
journalists working in the western province
of Herat on July 29.
The journalists have been identified by the AIJA Herat office
as Ariana TV reporter Fawad Ahmadi, Reuters reporter Jalil Ahmad Rezai, Saba TV
reporter Sayed Abdullah, Tolo TV reporter Reza Shir Mohammad and Sharaf-u-din
Stanekzai from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty(RFERL).
The journalists were reportedly attacked by police as they
attempted to cover a public demonstration against the killing of a fruit seller
in Herat…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) is dismayed by the acquittal of the sole surviving suspect
in the murder of journalist Parag Kumar Das in the state of Assam in India in 1996.
Das, who was the executive editor of the Assamese-language daily, Asomiya
Pratidin, was shot dead in broad daylight in a busy part of Guwahati city
in the northeastern Indian state, as he was fetching his son from school.
At the time, the state government responded to widespread public outrage
of its handling of the case by handing it over to the police agency controlled
by India’s
union government: the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Four…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today denounced the decision of the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to suspend Radio France Internationale (RFI) broadcasts in the country.
“The suspension of the programmes which follows that in the eastern part of the country on May 5th is an unjust measure that constitutes a violation of freedom of expression and press freedom, especially in a country where independent information is most needed,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office. “We ask the Congolese authorities to lift the suspension immediately and restore RFI programmes on air in the DRC”.
On…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reports
with distress the murder of a radio broadcaster in the Philippines, as the country joins
Somalia as leaders in the world
league of infamy in media worker deaths this year.
According to the
National Union of Journalists of the
Philippines (NUJP),
an IFJ affiliate, Godofredo Linao Junior was shot dead in the early hours of
July 27 in Barabo town, Surigao del Sur, after reportedly receiving a
threatening text message about 1am. Linao is the sixth journalist killed in the
Philippines this
year.
Linao was the coordinator
of the Radyo Natin program “Kapamilya Walan Iwanan” and also…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply worried over reports of Shiva Oli, a
journalist in Doti district of Nepal, remaining missing after leaving his home
with three men on July 25.
According to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), an
IFJ affiliate, Oli left his house in the company of three men who approached
him with the ostensible purpose of discussing a news report he recently filed
documenting corruption allegations against them.
Shiva Oli’s wife filed a complaint with the local police,
naming the three persons he went away with that night, the FNJ reports.
All three have reportedly been apprehended and…
A Somali national journalists' conference launched in Nairobi, Kenya, today (Friday) focused on the threats posed by the high rate of killing of journalists, kidnappings, torture and intimidation of media professionals, and heard calls for an end to the culture of impunity that has been the scourge of media activity in Somalia since 1991.Also on the agenda of the meeting is the challenge of setting professional standards for media in one of the world's most dangerous hotspots for journalists.The three-day conference (24- 26 July 2009), held under the theme: Professional Journalism: Responsibility in a Situation of Violence and Insecurity, and organized by the National Union of Somali…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Dutch affiliate, the NVJ, have welcomed yesterday's decision by the court in Amsterdam which ruled that tapping of journalist Jolande van der Graaf's telephone by the Dutch secret service (AIVD) during their investigation into a departmental leak was illegal. "We have been appalled by the far-reaching investigations by the Dutch secret service and the surveillance of Ms van der Graaf and the tapping of her telephone as well as that of De Telegraaf's editor-in-chief," said Arne König, EFJ President. "We welcome this court victory for protection of sources which adds to an impressive case law in favour of…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) endorses a call by a newly formed network of Sri Lankan
journalists in exile urging Sri Lanka’s
Government to take immediate action to end the safety and censorship crisis confronting
journalists and media workers in Sri Lanka.
A statement issued on July 22 by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS)
highlights unprecedented levels of self-censorship in the Sri Lankan media as a
result of intimidation, harassment
and violence against the media, both
during the war between the Government’s forces and the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and since the war ended.
Since the election of…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today said that the arrest on
Tuesday of General Oleksiy Pukach, the main suspect in the murder of Ukrainian
journalist Georgy Gongadze who was killed in 2000, and his reported confessions
to the killing provide authorities with a unique opportunity to reveal the
truth about this vicious crime and bring to justice all those who were
responsible for it. "This
is the moment of truth which Georgy's family and colleagues have been waiting
for," said Jim Boumelha, IFJ
President. "The authorities must not miss this opportunity to uncover the ring
leaders in this crime." According
to reports quoting senior police sources in…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today voiced its concerns over
the deterioration of press freedom in the self-declared republic of Somaliland
following the arrests of two journalists, Mohamed Osman Mire and Ahmed Suleyman
Dhuhul of radio Horoyaal. "We are deeply concerned about the press freedom situation in Somaliland," said Gabriel Baglo,
Director of IFJ Africa Office. "These latest arrests confirm a worrying pattern
of intimidation and harassment of the independent media in the country." According to the National Union of Somali Journalists( NUSOJ), an IFJ
affiliate, Mohamed Osman Mire, also known as Siyad and Ahmed Suleyman Dhuhul, respectively
Director and…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today raised serious
concerns about the fairness of the trial at the Gambian High Court in Banjul
of the seven journalists charged with six counts of seditious publication and
criminal defamation after the judge, Justice Wowo, overruled all the
applications made by the defence team. "Judge Wowo is showing little
impartiality. By conducting the hearing in camera, he is denying people all
over the world who have been following this trial the ability to hear the
arguments. This is a gross miscarriage of justice and the trial must be opened
to observers," said IFJ President Jim Boumelha. The seven defendants - Gambia Press…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns China’s
use of orders and charges against journalists after journalists and members of the
public were refused entry to the trial of blogger Duan Lei in Shandong province on July 17.
Duan faces
criminal charges of “endangering social stability” for an article published on
July 3 in which he detailed alleged corruption of a Communist Party Committee
Secretary in Cao County.
In what
would be considered a case of alleged defamation under civil legislation, Duan
could face imprisonment if convicted.
Bloggers and online media reporters in
China
have faced a major clampdown by…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today welcomed the decision of
the Palestinian Authority to revoke its order of 15 July to close Al-Jazeera's
office in the West Bank, blaming the television network for "bias and
incitement" in its broadcasts. "This
is a step in the right direction and we welcome it," said Aidan White, IFJ
General Secretary. "But, the Authority must drop the lawsuit, as well, as a
mark of their commitment to press freedom." According
to reports from the West Bank, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr. Salam Fayyad,
on 18 July issued a decision "to halt the suspension of work of the Aljazeera's
office in Palestine,
and allow the office to carry…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called upon the government of Afghanistan to protect journalists and set "model standards" for democracy if it wants upcoming elections in the country to be fair.Speaking at a national assembly of journalists' leaders from across the country in Kabul at the weekend, IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said Afghanistan needed to provide more access to information to media, more guarantees of safety for journalists and more professionalism in the state broadcasting system, which is heavily biased in favour of governing parties."There is no democracy when information is politically controlled, when journalists work in conditions of fear, and…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) calls on China’s
Government to explain why reporting on the forced closure of a research centre
and human rights organisation was banned on July 17.
A journalist told the IFJ they received the ban order on July 17. The
order stated that no media was permitted to publish any information about the
closure of Gongmeng Legal Research Centre, also known as the Open Constitution
Initiative, by the Civil Affairs Bureau of Beijing.
The centre,
run mainly by human rights lawyers, had been providing legal support to
minority groups in China,
most famously during the 2008 tainted milk powder scandal. Officers…
On behalf of the European Commission KEA European Affairs carried out a study on the impact of culture on creativity. The study was released in June 2009.
The study aimed to answer the following questions
- How can culture contribute to the development of creative skills within a lifelong learning framework?
- How can culture contribute to the development of creative solutions at the workplace, including through social innovation?
- How can culture contribute to the creation of new services and products? The study comes to the conclusion that the EU should better exploit the potential of culture to beef up creativity and innovation. It suggests strategies to be developed at all…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today strongly condemned the murder of Natalya Estemirova, a prominent journalist and human rights activist who was found dead in Ingushetia, following her kidnapping on Wednesday at her home in Grozny, the Chechen capital."We condemn this appalling murder of Estemirova who showed remarkable courage in exposing the atrocities committed in Chechnya," said Jim Boumelha, IFJ President. "The authorities in Russian and Chechnya must leave no stone unturned in the hunt for her killers."According to the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), an IFJ affiliate, Natalya who worked for the Memorial human rights society and wrote for…
The following is a joint open letter of the International Federation of Journalists and other press freedom organisations addressed to President Mahinda Rajapaska of Sri Lanka over the situation of journalists in the country.
The
International Press Freedom Mission to Sri Lanka, which is comprised of
representatives from the world's media community, is extremely concerned over
the ongoing spate of violent attacks against the media. In spite
of the military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the
deterioration of the press freedom situation in the country has continued. We welcome your recent statement ensuring the safety of…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns actions by
Chinese authorities to locate and detain bloggers and delete online content and
debate concerning controversial issues.
The IFJ received information that a blogger and signatory to the
democratic reform and human rights-focused Charter 08 petition in China was reportedly detained by Mawei District
Police in Fujian Province on July 16 in relation to
comments he posted about the failure of police to properly report the
suspicious death of a woman in hospital in February 2008.
Five bloggers including human rights activists Fan Yanqiong and Wu
Huaying were detained in late June in relation to the…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes a decision by
the South Jakarta Supreme Court to reject a libel suit against local newspaper Koran Tempo by Islamic Troop commander
Munarman.
Munarman reportedly filed the civil suit in relation to images published
in Koran Tempo on June 3 last year depicting
the commander strangling a man during a rally on June 1 in at the Monas National Monument
in Jakarta.
The judge dismissed the suit on the basis that Munarman’s claims were
unsatisfactory, and said Koran Tempo had acted in accordance with
the 1999 Press Law, local news
reports said.
“The judge’s decision to consider…
(IPS) - A public presentation of the "Progress of the World's Women" report by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in Pretoria, South Africa this week suggests that one of the most powerful constraints on realising women's rights and achieving the Millennium Development Goals is a lack of accountability to women's needs.
Author: Sholain Govender-Bateman
source: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47663
(IPS) - A public presentation of the "Progress of the World's
Women" report by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
in Pretoria, South Africa this week suggests that one of the most
powerful constraints on realising women's rights and achieving the
Millennium Development Goals is a lack of accountability to women's
needs.
Author: Sholain Govender-Bateman
source: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47663
On
7 June 2009 the IFJ Executive Committee at its meeting in Oslo, Norway,
agreed unanimously to expel the National Federation of Israel Journalists from
membership of the IFJ. The IFJ wrote to the NFIJ confirming the decision and
offering them the opportunity to appeal the decision which can be heard at the
Congress of the IFJ in Spain
in May 2010.A Financial Decision, not a Political
Decision The
decision to expel the NFIJ was based upon financial matters alone. There was no
political element in the decision. It was taken unanimously. The
NFIJ has not paid any fees to the IFJ for more than five years. (The last
payment made was on 26 April 2004.) The IFJ systematically warns…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges the Government
of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to immediately release Iham Tohti,
founder of Uyghur Online Web, and refrain from detaining journalists reporting
on the conflict between the Uyghur and Han ethnic minorities in China’s north-west.
Tohti reportedly told friends he had received a “formal
notice” from the Xinjiang authorities at midnight on July 7 referring to articles
posted that day on Uyghur Online Web criticising the Chairman of the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Regional People’s Government.
The IFJ understands Tohti was subsequently arrested but…
