International Press Institute (IPI)

Tanzanian lawmakers have withdrawn the Access to Information Act and the Media Services Act from discussion during the current parliamentary session.

On 1 July 2015, Turkey’s Constitutional Court rescinded columnist Bekir Coşkun’s suspended 14-month prison sentence for “insulting” public officials. The court opined that “acceptable limits to criticism of politicians are wider than acceptable limits to criticism of other people.”

“Given the fundamental need for independent media in a democracy, we urge Japan’s leaders to ensure that media outlets’ ability to report freely is respected and to take steps to protect that ability,” said IPI Director of Advocacy and Communications Steven M. Ellis.

In an open letter, the leaders of 15 groups urged President Pierre Nkurunziza, who is seeking a third term in office in a poll scheduled for July 15, to allow shuttered media outlets to reopen and operate without interference.

IFEX members urge the UN Security Council to ensure the protection of journalists in Yemen in light of historic resolution.

A threatening letter by banned Islamist group Ansarullah Bangla Team apparently targets people for their perceived support for war crimes trials stemming from Bangladesh’s bloody 1971 war of independence.

Police have reportedly opened an investigation centred on a man that journalist Haider Khan’s reporting implicated in a wrongful land transfer.

Jason Rezaian is being held on charges of spying and collaborating with hostile governments, gathering classified information and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic Republic. International observers have criticised the charges as being politically motivated.