Media restrictions

Global civil society network CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is shocked at the two year sentence handed out to members of Russian band Pussy Riot by a Moscow Court.

“Members of the band have clearly been victimised in what appears to be a blatant attack on free speech,” says Netsanet Belay, Policy and Research Director of CIVICUS. “The way in which the band members have been treated is designed to send a chilling message that democratic dissent is not welcome in Russia.”

Civil society concern at ban of newspaper in Tanzania

Article 19, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Committee to Protect Journalists, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, Legal and Human Rights Centre, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition and the Media Institute of Southern Africa-Tanzania, are concerned about reports that, on Monday 30 July, the government of Tanzania indefinitely banned MwanaHalisi, a weekly Kiswahili newspaper.

Civil society concern at ban of newspaper in Tanzania

Article 19, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Committee to Protect Journalists, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, Legal and Human Rights Centre, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition and the Media Institute of Southern Africa-Tanzania, are concerned about reports that, on Monday 30 July, the government of Tanzania indefinitely banned MwanaHalisi, a weekly Kiswahili newspaper.

In this pre electoral period in DRC, many journalists and newspapers are threathened by National Intelligence Agents who want to silence them and don't want that medias speak or write on politics issues.

Deux journalistes de Umurabyo accusées de diffamation, de divionisme et d'idéologie du genocide, aussi d'inciter le public à la desobéissance se sont présentées devant le tribunal. Le procureur demande à la cour une pine d'emoprisonnement de 33 ans.

The space for civil society to freely express, associate and assemble remains constrained in Swaziland.  Statements in the press on 19 October by Swazi Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini outlined his intentions to propose legislation to force columnists to request prior permission before publishing comments that criticise the government. The Prime Minister stated that columnists write pieces that are harmful to the image of the country and that they receive compensation from foreign sources with interests in Swaziland.

On 27 October the newspaper Uralskaya Nedelya (Ural Week) received the collection order for the amount of 20 million tenge, the equivalent of $133,500 to the Tengizneftestroi Oil Company. Journalist Luqpan Akhmedyarov was found guilty of libel and obliged to pay for his article about an allegedly rigged tender won by Tengizneftestroi. The trial was biased. The sentence was unfair.

What is believed to be politically motivated, a special tax inspections were made at editorial offices of five opposition newspapers "Vzglyad" (Glance), "Azat", "Alga" (Ahead), "Golos Respubliki" (Voice of the Republic), "Moya Respublica" (My Republic). Total tax claims were outlined at the level of 100 million Tenge (about 500 thousand Euro). All the newspaper being registered with different tax authorities received the notifications on inspections and survey reports virtually on the same day.

Askar Nurgaziev, Deputy City Administration Head of Ust Kamenogorsk continued the the chain of facts of pressure on journalists of Stan.kz Video Portal. This time it was a threat to Alla Stepanova for showing protests of city pensioners against public transport fees raise.

Journalists of TV channels Sedmoi (7th) and KTK were detained when they attempted to film story near the pretrial detention centre about criminal actions of one of the financial police officers in Karaganda.

On 21 October Olga Gorai and Nikolai Soloviev, the reporter and photojournalist of Nasha Gazeta (Our Newspaper) Weekly arrived to a meeting of Kostanai City Administration and the citizens to discuss complaints of the dwellers about additional housing developments imposed by the city administration aggravating residential space of the living quarters below the norm. The journalists were invited by the participating citizens but they were not allowed to the meeting by the city administration guards.