Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Mauritanian authorities arrested photojournalist Seif Kousmate earlier this month claiming he was a suspected terrorist. They also cited “his activism in support of the cause of the descendants of slaves,” before they deported him.

RSF is very concerned about opposition TV reporter Hadi al Monajid’s reported disappearance in Eastern Ghouta, the besieged rebel enclave near Damascus, and calls on the international community to do everything possible to protect journalists caught in the fighting.

Around Egypt’s presidential election on 26-28 March, an election with a highly predictable outcome, RSF details the reasons for its deep concern about the fate of press freedom in a country reduced to silence by the incumbent.

The Court found that the journalists’ rights to liberty, security and free expression had been violated and that the two men should be released.

Editor Ashram Abdelaziz and journalist Hassan Warag of the independent daily Al-Jareeda, were convicted for defamation by the Khartoum Press and Publications Court and jailed when they refused to pay the optional fine.

RSF urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address press freedom violations.

The Ethiopian government deported British journalist William Davison after refusing to renew his accreditation. Davison had not hesitated to cover sensitive stories such as government corruption and the re-introduction of a state of emergency.

The parliamentary committee considering the Data Protection Bill is urged to drop amendments that would force news publishers to sign up to a state-backed regulator or face potentially crippling costs.