Articles by International Press Institute (IPI)
Trinidad and Tobago partially decriminalises defamation
A bill to partially decriminalise defamation in Trinidad and Tobago has received final parliamentary approval, the latest sign of growing momentum around the International Press Institute’s Campaign to Repeal Criminal Defamation in the Caribbean.
Ugandan journalist says anti-gay law denies rights to expression, privacy
President Yoweri Museveni’s approval of a harsh anti-homosexuality law has stirred considerable attention, including a rebuke from United Nations’ officials and an array of human rights groups. But for veteran Ugandan journalist Peterson S. Ssendi, the government’s campaign against homosexuals is nothing new.
Syrian radio station suspends broadcasting in protest
A community radio station in north-eastern Syria suspended all of its programming on 19 February 2014 to protest an order issued by local authorities to temporarily halt its news reports in the largely Kurdish region. The order has since been lifted.
Rights groups call for charges against Moroccan editor Ali Anouzla to be dropped
Journalist and editor Ali Anouzla was arrested on 17 September 2013 in connection with a 13 September news article published on the Arabic edition of news website Lakome. Ahead of a Rabat court hearing scheduled on 18 February, local and international rights organisations came together to call for the charges against him to be dropped.
British Virgin Islands must include public-interest exception in cybercrime bill
A bill unveiled in the British Virgin Islands that would punish the publishing of sensitive computer data with 20 years in prison should be amended to include a public-interest exception for legitimate journalistic activity, says the International Press Institute.
Vehicle owned by Montenegrin daily set on fire in latest incident targeting the newspaper
A car marked with the name of the the Montenegrin daily Vijesti was set ablaze on a street in the Podgorica on 13 February 2014, the latest of several attacks against Vijesti‘s journalists and property over the past eight years. In three separate incidents in 2011, four company cars were set on fire by unidentified assailants.
Gambia’s ‘green’ revolution
Authorities in The Gambia have pressed charges against two journalists over an article written in December 2013. The report describes a meeting where 19 members of the “Green Youths”, a group loyal to the ruling Alliance of Patriotic Re-Orientation and Construction, announced that they planned to join the United Democratic Party.
Austrian asylum advocate faces prison time over op-ed
An Austrian man who argued in an op-ed that some human smugglers perform a public service could spend up to two years in prison in a case that has chilling implications for free expression.