3 December 2002
Volume 11 - 2002 Issue 47 (03 Dec. 2002)
International
Index on Censorship (INDEX) is inviting members of the public to nominate candidates for its 2003 Freedom of Expression Awards. The annual awards honour individuals who have made extraordinary efforts to resist censorship, expose censored information and circumvent barriers to freedom of expression.
International
Freedom of expression must be at the centre of any discussions at the upcoming World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), said civil society participants at recent UNESCO-organised conferences in Canada and France.
International
Sixteen journalists and human rights activists who say they were detained and tortured during Nepal's nine-month state of emergency this year have filed legal actions against the Nepalese government, reports the Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES).
International
Reporters Without Borders' (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) legal division, responsible for investigating crimes against journalists and challenging impunity, has launched its new website.
International
Three years after NATO's intervention in Kosovo, how successful has the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) been in rebuilding the media? And how effective have media been in reducing ethnic tensions and restoring public confidence?
Equatorial Guinea
The United Nations' (UN) new Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Ambeyi Ligabo, is in Equatorial Guinea this week to investigate free-expression violations in the West African country, reports IRIN News. The mission is one of the first for Ligabo, a Kenyan, since being appointed Special Rapporteur on 26 August.
Bangladesh
Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) has launched an online petition drive calling for the release of three journalists who have been secretly detained in Dhaka, Bangladesh and are accused of sedition or "anti-state activities." Under the charges, the journalists could be put to death if found guilty.
Indonesia
As Indonesia deals with the aftermath of the Bali terrorist attack which killed close to 200 people in October, the government has introduced two bills which critics say threaten the country's fledgling free press, report the Alliance of Independent Journalists (Aliansi Jurnalis Independen, AJI), ARTICLE 19 and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Colombia
Gimbler Perdomo Zamora, a radio station manager and former politician in Gigante, southwestern Colombia, was shot and killed on 1 December, report the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacion para la libertad de prensa, FLIP), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).
International
The Committee to Protect Journalists honoured journalists from Kazakhstan, Colombia, Bangladesh and Eritrea last week for their fearless reporting on government misconduct.
International
Attacks against journalists in Latin America have risen in the last year, mostly due to the media's reporting on official corruption, says a recently released report by Journalists Against Corruption (Periodistas Frente a la Corrupcion, PFC).
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