Subjectivity, advocacy in covering human rights. Photojournalists face deportation in Thailand. Bangkok, January 21, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the charges and threatened deportation of Thailand-based freelance photojournalists John Sanlin, a Burmese passport holder, and Pascal Schatterman, a Belgian national. "We call on Thai authorities to reconsider the deportation of journalists John Sanlin and Pascal Schatterman and take into consideration the prospect that Sanlin will suffer severe reprisals if he is forcibly returned to Burma," said , CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative.
"Thailand has long been a safe haven for exiled journalists to report freely on Burma. CPJ encourages the Thai government to maintain that important press freedom role for the region. " Both reporters were arrested by Thai authorities at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday in the Thai border town of after re-entering the country from , where they were covering the escalating armed conflict between Burmese government troops and ethnic Karen insurgents. Hungary must repeal repressive new media law. January 10, 2011 Viktor Orban Prime Minister of Hungary 1357 Budapest, Pf 6th Hungary Via e-mail: orbanviktor@orbanviktor.hu Dear Prime Minister Orban, The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on you to work toward the immediate repeal of Hungary's new, severely restrictive media law. "On Media Services and Mass Media," better known as the Media Act, was approved by the Hungarian parliament on December 21 and signed by President Pal Schmitt on December 30, despite domestic and international alarm at the potentially devastating effect on press freedom.
The measure came into force on January 1, the same day Hungary assumed the rotating European Union presidency, sending the very damaging message that Hungary is seeking to nullify citizens' internationally recognized rights to free expression and access to information. Multiple articles in the Media Act raise alarm, including its scope. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. Sincerely, Joel Simon Executive Director. Lebanon Cracks Down on Internet Freedom. A First glimpse at the Internet Filtering in Tunisia. We learned that the censorship imposed illegally on hundreds of Tunisian blogs and websites, both Tunisians and foreigners, was “shut off” temporarily for few hours on Monday, August 16, 2010.
And although the information on this brief lifting of the censorship in the country is still contradictory – as some claimed they had no access to certain websites, while to others the same websites were accessible- it is still early to determine what really happened at the top level of Tunisian censorship, which is, remember, dark, top-secret, centralized at the highest level of the state and is never in the control of the several Tunisian ISPs, though, with an excess of zeal, they have the ability to add an extra layer of censorship to their customers. Thus, we learned that access to Flickr, the photo sharing site (censored April 22, 2010) and video-sharing sites, blip.tv and wat.tv (respectively censored on the 22nd and 28th of April, 2010), has been restored. Click to enlarge. Pakistani Journalist Speaks Out After an Attack. Derakhshan case: When keeping quiet does not work. The severity of the nearly 20-year jail sentence handed down to veteran Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, left, has shocked many exiled Iranian journalists and bloggers with whom I've spoken.
It's also reinforced their belief that the best way to help jailed colleagues is not through quiet diplomacy but by making a lot of noise. Derakhshan's case made headlines last month when human rights groups reported that prosecutors were seeking the death penalty for the writer, dubbed the "blogfather" of Farsi blogging, on a raft of antistate charges. In the end, a Revolutionary Court sentenced the Iranian-Canadian dual national to nineteen and a half years in prison. His family and lawyer learned of the verdict through the news media. Derakhshan's case does not fit the mold of oppressed Iranian online journalists and bloggers. He talked openly in his blog about his visits to Israel and publicly criticized the government in Tehran and later the reformist movement. Four-Year Anniversary of Politkovskaya Murder. Social Media and Subpoenas: The Loophole That Puts Journalistic Sources at Risk. The Department of Justice issued Twitter a subpoena for access to the accounts of Julian Assange and several others in relation to its investigation of the whistle-blower organization, which released roughly 2,000 classified cables.
As a result of its current law enforcement guidelines, Twitter is going to divulge the information. The provision is fairly typical for technology startups to include in their policies as a way to protect themselves from getting involved in legal issues pertaining to the platform's users. With such a policy, Twitter is not held responsible, and in many ways it should not be. According to the media lawyers we interviewed, this kind of government request is not unique. Jodi Olson, a spokeswoman at Twitter, would not comment on details about the subpoena, but she said that "to help users protect their rights, it's our policy to notify users about law enforcement and governmental requests for their information, unless we are prevented by law from doing so.
" WhatDoTheyKnow - make and browse Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. A Bold Step For Afghan Women Journalists « Afghan Women's Writing Project. Malaysian Website Blocked to Cover Up a Scandal. Unknown forces attempt to block Malaysia Today from printing documents involving a huge scandal Malaysia Today , the hard-hitting news website edited by Raja Petra Kamarudin, has been blocked by mysterious technical problems twice in the last 24 hours after publishing damning articles of deep corruption at the top of the Malaysian government. One implicated the United Malays National Organization, the country's leading political party, in looting MAS, the country's flag carrier.
A second alleged that a friend of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was attempting to steer RM200 million into the pockets of Najib's family from China Railways Engineering Corporation (CREC), for double-tracking the national railway. "We are under severe attack," Raja Petra said in an email from London, where he now lives. "We've been down for the last 12 hours and a day before that for 24 hours. Looks like someone is spending a lot of money to keep us off the air. " "It was the MAS story," Raja Petra said. Urges Morocco to improve press conditions. King Mohammed IV at the United Nations last week. (Reuters/Chip East) New York, September 26, 2010--On the eve of a high-profile conference on press freedom in Rabat, the Committee to Protect Journalists reiterates its call to King Mohammed VI to use his constitutional prerogatives to bring Moroccan legislation in line with international standards for freedom of expression.
CPJ also urged the monarch to end the use of the judiciary and other government agencies to harass critical journalists. The conference, taking place Monday and Tuesday, brings together local and international civil society advocates, journalists, media experts, and representatives of the European Union and the Moroccan government for an exchange of views on "the media potential and the challenges it faces" in Morocco, according to an official announcement made by the organizers. Participants will also discuss "European and international practices and standards.
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