PEN International

(WiPC/IFEX) – British academic Lesley McCulloch and her American colleague, health worker Joy Lee Sadler, went on trial in Indonesia on 25 November 2002, accused of violating visa regulations by collecting information and documents about rebels in the Indonesian province of Aceh. The two women have been in police custody for more than two months […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is deeply concerned by the decision to uphold the eight-month prison sentence against Abdoulaye Tiémogo, managing editor of the “Canard Déchaîné” newspaper. The decision was made by the Niamey Appeal Court on 11 November 2002. Tiémogo had been convicted on 28 June for the offence of “insult and […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – International PEN is concerned over the reported harassment and intimidation of journalist and human rights activist Lachit Bordoloi in Assam, India. PEN believes that Bordoloi, chairman of the Organization for the Struggle for Human Rights (MASS), has been targeted primarily for his coverage of police corruption in Nagaon District, Assam. PEN calls upon […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN welcomes the British authorities’ decision to halt the deportation of Mende Nazer, a Sudanese writer. Nazer published claims in her book on slavery that would endanger her life if she were to be returned to Sudan. On 11 November 2002, the minister for immigration, Beverley Hughes, announced that […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is deeply concerned over the continued imprisonment of Claude Améganvi, editor of the journal “Nwayo”, currently serving a four month sentence. He has been charged with “distributing false information, defamation and disturbance of the public order” and is threatened with a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment. The […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is heartened by the news of the release of Abdallah Zouari on 6 November 2002 following a court hearing. Zouari’s lawyers have been unable to ascertain further details of the court’s decision. The journalist from the banned “al-Fajir” newspaper was imprisoned on 19 August for refusing to move […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is dismayed at the 23 October 2002 arrest and brief detention of Geoffrey Nyarota. The “Daily News” editor-in-chief was charged with “publishing false information” under the Public Order and Security Act and released the same day. The charge stems from an 11 October “Daily News” article regarding the […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is concerned over the imminent risk of deportation from the United Kingdom (UK) faced by Sudanese writer Mende Nazer. Mende Nazer, now aged 22, claims that she was forced to work as a slave in the London house of a Sudanese diplomat after having been brought to the […]