PEN International

Enoh Meyomesse was convicted on charges of supposed complicity in the theft and illegal sale of gold. Since his arrest, there have been serious concerns about the charges against him, including reports that the prosecution fabricated evidence.

Pınar Selek is facing trial on charges she has already been acquitted of three times. She is accused of involvement in an explosion at the Istanbul Spice Bazaar in 1998. Commentators believe that Selek’s prosecution is linked to her work researching Kurdish issues and to contact with the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party.

While welcoming moves to implement measures that guarantee media independence, IFEX-TMG calls on the Tunisian government to fully respect free expression in the new Constitution and put an end to attacks on journalists and artists.

Chinese activist, novelist and poet Li Bifeng has been sentenced on fraud charges, although it is widely believed that the charges are without foundation and politically motivated.

Civil society delegates at a UN Inter-Agency meeting have agreed to support the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.

PEN International calls on the Turkish government to reverse an alarming rise in the number of writers, journalists, translators and publishers imprisoned or on trial.

Songwriters Vo Minh Tri and Tran Vu Anh Binh were sentenced to four and six years in prison in Vietnam respectively, for conducting “anti-state propaganda” via their critical songs posted on the Internet.

MFWA welcomes the move by Gambian authorities to drop charges against two journalists for seeking permission to peacefully protest the execution of death row inmates, but calls for investigation into death threats against journalists.