IRAQ: Le forze statunitensi detengono ancora un giornalista, anche se le accuse sono state respinte.

Pubblicato il 30 giugno 2009 da RSF Italia

arton33651-65dadAs the US troops begin their withdrawal from Iraqi cities today, many questions remain about the persons still detained by the US forces. Reporters Without Borders reiterates its call for the release of Reuters photographer Ibrahim Jassam, who has been held since last September.

“The US armed forces are now withdrawing from the main Iraqi cities after six years of occupation,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We hope this will result in the release of detainees still held by the Americans, such as Ibrahim Jassam, who was arrested 10 months ago. His detention is illegal as the Iraqi central criminal court dismissed all charges against him last November. He must be freed.”

One of his sisters told Reporters Without Borders by phone: “Ibrahim began a hunger strike four days ago in protest against his illegal detention. His health is deteriorating. We are very worried about him.” His family is allowed to visit him every two months.

Jassam was arrested by US and Iraqi soldiers in the south Baghdad district of Mahmoudiyah on 1 September. No evidence was produced against him when the central criminal court heard his case on 30 November and dismissed all the charges. Nonetheless, he is still being held in Buki prison in Basra, 550 km south of Baghdad.

The situation of journalists continues to be critical in Iraq and the danger persists as the US forces pull out. Three journalists have been killed since the start of the year.

Archiviato in: Iraq | Commenti disabilitati

RUSSIA: Shock per la morte di un editore di giornali, picchiato selvaggiamente 2 mesi fa.

Pubblicato il 30 giugno 2009 da RSF Italia

arton33646-9839cReporters Without Borders is deeply saddened to learn that newspaper editor Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, who spent several days in a coma after being attacked and beaten outside his home on 29 April, died today in the southwestern city of Rostov-on-Don. He was 63.

“There is an urgent need for an impartial investigation into all the circumstances of Yaroshenko’s death,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The Russian authorities cannot keep covering up crimes of violence against journalists by pretending they were accidents and leaving those responsible at large, completely unpunished.”

Yaroshenko’s colleagues at his newspaper, Koruptsiya i Kriminal(Corruption and Crime), believe he was murdered in connection with his work.

He was attacked and beaten about the head by unidentified assailants when he arrived home from work on the night of 29 April. After spending several days in a coma and undergoing two major operations to the brain, he was eventually released from hospital. But his health suddenly worsened a few days ago and he was admitted to an intensive care unit.

Sergey Sleptsov, who worked for Yaroshenko at Koruptsiya i Kriminal, said: “The authorities have been trying to convince us for the past two months that he fell off a ladder but that is not credible because of the location of his injury.” Journalists in Rostov-on-Don are carrying out their own investigation into his death.

The Rostov-on-Don authorities refuse to open an investigation, insisting that Yaroshenko just fell off a ladder. The pro-government news agency Ria Novosti also referred to theory of a fall, reporting that “witness saw the journalist fall downstairs.”

Archiviato in: Russia | Commenti disabilitati

NIGERIA: Gruppo radio-tv sospeso per la radiodiffusione di un appello dell’opposizione.

Pubblicato il 30 giugno 2009 da RSF Italia

arton33667-194deReporters Without Borders firmly condemns the order issued unilaterally yesterday by the head of the High Council for Communication (CSC), Daouda Diallo, suspending the operations of the Dounia radio and TV group “until further notice” for broadcasting an opposition coalition’s call to resist a presidential bid to amend the constitution.

“People in Niger are outraged by this biased and unfair decision,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The head of the CSC is clearly acting on the orders of the country’s highest authorities, discrediting this regulatory body and exposing the lack of independence of many of its members.”

The press freedom organisation added: “It is astonishing that only the Dounia group has been suspended although all the privately-owned media broadcast the same call. It shows yet again how the authorities have hounded this media group. We urge the head of the CSC to reverse this decision and to allow Dounia to resume operations without preconditions.”

The CSC directive ordering Dounia to suspend activities “until further notice” was received by the group’s director general, Abibou Garba. The order, a copy of which has been given to Reporters Without Borders, is signed by Diallo. Six of the CSC’s 11 permanent members immediately disowned it, saying they were not consulted and that “the principle of shared decision-making was not respected.”

The Dounia group is accused of “calling for an insurrection by the defence and security forces” because – like all the local radio and TV stations – it broadcast a statement by the opposition coalition known as the Front for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) on 27 June urging the population to block President Mamadou Tandja’s attempt to hold a referendum on a constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for a third term.

The FDD statement called on the country’s citizens “to mobilise using all legal means to thwart this attempt to destroy the rule of law and democracy.” It also called on the security forces “to refuse to obey the orders of a man who deliberately chose to violate the constitution and who has now lost all political and moral legitimacy.”

Tension is mounting in Niger. Yesterday the president dissolved the constitutional court, which rejected his referendum project three times. Three days before that, he granted himself “exceptional powers” under article 53 of the constitution, allowing him to govern by decree. On 23 May, he dissolved the national assembly.

Archiviato in: Nigeria | Commenti disabilitati

HONDURAS: Blackout di notizie dopo il colpo di stato.

Pubblicato il 29 giugno 2009 da RSF Italia

arton33640-a9072Reporters Without Borders is very worried about the impact of yesterday’s military coup d’état on press freedom. President Manuel Zelaya’s ouster was followed by a curfew during which the broadcasts of several radio and TV stations were suspended.

“We condemn a coup against a democratically-elected president on principle, especially as it raises concern about respect for basic freedoms including press freedom,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The suspension or closure of local and international broadcast media indicates that the coup leaders want to hide what is happening. The Organisation of American States and the international community must insist that this news blackout is lifted.”

As soon as the curfew had been decreed, the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) notified cable TV operators of a ban on broadcasting certain international TV stations such as Telesur, Cubavisión Internacional and CNN Español. The broadcasts of Radio Globo and several other stations were also either interrupted or shut down.

In the provinces, around 25 soldiers stormed into the studios ofRadio Progreso, a station affiliated to the Latin American Association of Radio Education, four hours after the coup and forced the staff to stop all work. In a statement, station manager Ismael Moreno said the intervention of local residents prevented more serious violence. Still in the military’s sights, Radio Progreso has not yet resumed broadcasting.

The military coup and Roberto Micheletti’s subsequent installation by congress as the new president prompted demonstrations in support of the ousted president. Members of the Association of Taxis of Honduras who were staging a demonstration in Tegucigalpa attacked a photographer with the daily El Heraldo, throwing stones at him and then beating and kicking him as he lay on the ground.

Reporters Without Borders added: “Honduran journalists already suffer from the high level of violent crime in normal times. We also appeal to the media to act responsibly at this difficult moment. They should refrain from fuelling a polarisation in public opinion that could expose journalists to more reprisals.”

(Photo : AFP)

Archiviato in: Honduras | Commenti disabilitati

IRAN: Dietro le porte chiuse: che cosa sta succedendo nel silenzio della prigione di Evin?

Pubblicato il 27 giugno 2009 da RSF Italia

iran 27.6Nothing and no-one comes out of Iran’s prisons. Iranians line up at the gates of the prison, looking for a name, searching for relatives of whom they have had no news. The same desperate search is replicated in all the cities of the country. The list of 700 names posted at the entrance to Evin jail is incomplete. Families are systematically refused the right to see their disappeared loves ones. The doors stay closed. Some 150 Iranian lawyers on 22 June appealed to the authorities for the release of those arrested and calling at least for the right of access to the prison for their lawyers.

The relatives of arrested journalists are pushed from pillar to post by the different administrations. “No, he is not here. Go there.” And once they get to the place indicated they get sent back to where they started from.

“The families of hundreds of Iranians imprisoned in Evin jail have the right to see their loved ones and to get information about the reasons for their detention. Those held in Section 209 are particularly at risk. We urge the Tehran authorities to allow representatives of the foreign press and of human rights organisations to visit the prison, as was allowed in 2006”, Reporters Without Borders said.

“Several witness accounts makes us fear that torture and ill-treatment are being systematically inflicted on prisoners who have demonstrated against the regime. Several journalists and bloggers were brutally treated by the guards and by men employed by the state prosecutor Saaed Mortazavi,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said.

“Like Chile’s Santiago football stadium in 1973, Evin prison has become a bloody detention centre where arbitrary treatment is meted out. We urge the international community to do its utmost to break the silence surrounding prisoners of opinion in Evin prison”, the organisation added, pointing out that 26 June is World Day against Torture”.

Reporters Without Borders has in the past gathered a lot of information about cases of torture within Evin. Iranian-Canadian journalist Zara Kazemi died under torture there in 2003, and more recently the blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi, who died on 19 March 2009.

US citizen Roxana Saberi, recently released from Evin said, “I am worried for the people being held there. I think they are in worse conditions than I suffered. Some are probably physically tortured.”

Elsewhere, Reporters Without Borders has learned of the arrest on 20 June of Mehdi Zabouli, journalist and photographer on the dailyHamshahri. He was injured during demonstrations following the disputed re-election of the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and taken to hospital. Other patients were arrested on the same day.

Amanolah Shojai and Mashalah Hidarzadeh, arrested in Bushehr on 16 June, were released on 25 June. Since 20 June 2009, the organisation has no news of Ali Mazroui, president of the Association of Iranian journalists.

Since the disputed election, at least 25 journalists who were arrested remain in prison. With a total of 33 journalists in prison, Iran is the country with the most journalists in jail, following China and Cuba.

14 June 2009: · Cyber-dissident Somaieh Tohidlou (http://smto.ir) · Ahmad Zeydabadi, · Kivan Samimi Behbani, · Abdolreza Tajik, · Mahssa Amrabadi, · Behzad Basho, cartoonist · Khalil Mir Asharafi, Iranian television producer · Karim Arghandeh, journalist for reformist newspapers Salam, Vaghieh etafaghieh, and blogger (http://www.futurama.ir/) was arrested at his home in Tehran. · Shiva Nazar Ahari, cyber-dissident and human rights activists (see his blog: http://azadiezan.blogspot.com), was arrested at his home in the capital.

15 June 2009: · Mohamad Atryanfar, editor of several publications like Hamshary, Shargh, Shahrv and Emrouz, was reportedly transferred to the security section of Evin jail. · Saïd Hajarian, former newspaper editor Sobh-e-Emrouz, was arrested by the security forces overnight on 15-16 June at his Tehran home despite the fact that he is handicapped. · Mojtaba Pormohssen, journalist on several reformist papers, contributor to radio Zamaneh and editor of the newspaper Gilan Emroz, was arrested in Rashat in the north of the country.

16 June: · Mohammad Ali Abtahi, nicknamed “Mullah blogger“, was arrested at his home in Tehran. His blog: http://www.webneveshteha.com/. · Mrs Hamideh Mahhozi, arrested in Bushehr, south of Iran Hossin Shkohi, journalist on the weekly Paygam Jonob, arrested in Boshehr · Fariborez Srosh, freelance journalist reportedly arrested the same day. Imprisoned in the past because of his work with Radio farda (Radio Free Europe).

17 June: · Saide Lylaz, journalist on newspaper Sarmayeh, arrested at his home in the capital. The financial specialist has been an outspoken critic of the policies of President Ahmadinejad. ·Rohollah Shassavar, journalist in Mashad, detained the same date.

18 June: · Mohammad Ghochani, editor of the daily Etemad Meli,owner of Mehdi Karoubi, one of the candidates opposing Mahmoud Ahamadinejad in the presidential elections, arrested in Tehran at 2am.

20 June: · No news from Ali Mazroui, president of the Iranian Association of journalists since June 20th. · Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee and his wife Jila Baniyaghoob arrested at their home at midnight, following a search by plain clothes agents of the intelligence ministry. Winner in 2009 of the Courage in Journalism prize, awarded by the International Women’s Media Foundation, Jila Baniyaghoob is head of a feminist news website Canon Zeman Irani (http://irwomen.net). Her husband Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee, works for several pro-reformist publications. · Arrest of Mehdi Zabouli, journalist and photographer on the daily Hamshahri. He was injured during demonstrations following the disputed re-election of the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and taken to hospital.

21 June: · Correspondent for Newsweek, Maziar Bahari, arrested at 7am by security forces at his home.

22 June: · Mostafa Ghavnlo Ghajar, contributor to several newspapers, a specialist in foreign media on Radio Goftogo, was arrested at his home. His blog: http://www.ghajar.ir/. · Iason Athanasiadis, Greek-British journalist on the Washington Times · 25 staff and journalists on Kalemeh Sabz arrested, including the editor, Alireza Behshtipour Shirazi.

Archiviato in: Iran | Lascia un commento »

ECUADOR: Stazione TV rischia la. chiusura per 90 giorni

Pubblicato il 27 giugno 2009 da RSF Italia

teleamazonasThe privately-owned national TV station Teleamazonas has just been told it is being fined 40 dollars for “broadcasting unverified information.” The notification comes just a few weeks after it was fined 20 dollars on 3 June for “broadcasting a bullfight outside permitted viewing times.”

The station, which is owned by banker Fidel Egas, could be shut down for 90 days if it receives a third sanction for a similar reason.

President Rafael Correa, who takes over the rotating presidency of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) next month, has meanwhile proposed the creation of a UNASUR body to defend citizens and governments against press abuses.

12.06.2009 – TV station in open conflict with president could be stripped of its frequency

Reporters Without Borders urges the government and National Council for Radio and Television (Conartel) to withdraw the latest administrative proceedings against the privately-owned national TV station Teleamazonas, which could force it off the air. The offensive comes amid a war of nerves between the station and President Rafael Correa, who has said he wants to “put an end” to news media he regards as “corrupt” and “mediocre.”

“President Correa has had to face very harsh criticism from the privately-owned media since he first took office, but his desire to punish them for this violates the very principle of press freedom,” Reporters Without Borders said. “This is the unfortunate backdrop to the three proceedings brought against Teleamazonas.”

The press freedom organisation added: “If the final objective is to withdraw the station’s broadcast frequency, it will in no way solve the problem of ‘false information’ decried by the president, and will never eliminate the criticism, fair or unfair, to which all governments are exposed. It could even fuel more radical polarisation beyond the reach of the media’s filtering.”

The latest administrative proceedings against Teleamazonas got the green light from Conartel chairman Antonio García on 9 June. The station has already been punished once, but this time it could be silenced for good.

The proceedings are in response to a recent Teleamazonas report about the environmental consequences of a project by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA in the southwestern Gulf of Guayaquil. The issue was already raised by the daily El Universo, which is also in the president’s sights. Teleamazonas has said it will refer the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

The first case brought by Conartel against Teleamazonas, for broadcasting a bullfight at a peak viewing time, resulted in the imposition of a modest fine of 20 dollars in April. The station’s appeal was rejected on 3 June.

A second case was brought against the station in May because it reported the existence of a “clandestine” vote-counting centre and the possibility of fraud after the 26 April general elections. In this case, it faces the possibility of a three-month suspension under a provision of the radio and TV broadcasting law that punishes “reports based on presumption, liable to cause harm or to cause social or public disorder.”

The situation is all the more delicate as an independent report by experts that was submitted to President Correa on 18 May accuses Conartel of serious irregularities in the allocation of broadcast frequencies, to the detriment of community media.

Correa, who takes over the rotating presidency of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in July, has meanwhile proposed the creation of a UNASUR body to defend citizens and governments against press abuses.

Although the proposal has little chance of being approved, it has been backed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who is himself trying to silence the privately-owned Venezuelan TV stationGlobovisión

Archiviato in: Ecuador | Lascia un commento »

BIRMANIA: L’arresto, la censura e la manipolazione nel processo a Aung San Suu Kyi

Pubblicato il 26 giugno 2009 da RSF Italia

arton33621-c396fReporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association today condemned the military junta for intimidating the press trying to cover recent national and international events, as a journalist was jailed for two years after being arrested near the home of Aung San Suu Kyi.

“Since the UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Burma one might expect greater tolerance on the part of the authorities, but on the contrary, the trial of Suu Kyi is being held in a climate of repression and censorship,” the press freedom organisations said.

“We call on the UN envoy to show firmness in his talks with the authorities, including on the release of all political prisoners and an end to prior censorship. Without this, there can be no approval of any reconciliation process or elections,” they said.

The two organisations strongly condemned the two-year sentence imposed on freelance journalist Zaw Tun on 18 June. A former journalist with the magazine The News Watch, he was arrested near the Suu Kyi’s home by a police officer who claimed he had shown “hostility” towards him. He was found guilty at a court in Bahan, near Rangoon, of obstructing the work of an official. A Rangoon journalist said that Zaw Tun was taken immediately to jail after the verdict.

Military intelligence agents on 23 June went to several media offices to demand lists of journalists who had taken part in journalism training sessions at the US Embassy in Rangoon.

The renowned journalist U Win Tin, who was cited as a defence witness in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under constant surveillance by the special police. The prosecutor refused to accept the former political prisoner as a witness because he criticises the government, particularly in foreign media.

The junta has imposed strict censorship on both national and international news items. The censorship bureau, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, banned the publication of news on the arrival of a North Korean cargo ship, Kang Nam 1, in a port near Rangoon, which is suspected of transporting weapons.

A journalist in Rangoon told the magazine Irrawaddy that “most newspapers have tried to report on the arrival of the cargo vessel but the government censor rejected all the articles”.

The censorship bureau also banned some articles on demonstrations that followed the disputed elections in Iran.

The press was refused the right at the start of June to publish information about the investigation into the collapse of the Danoke pagoda in Dala, near Rangoon, in which several people died. “We cannot publish articles or photos about this incident, because it was the wife of [junta leader] General Than Shwe who installed the sunshade on the pagoda on 7 May 2009″, one journalists explained. She is known to be very superstitious.

The censorship bureau on 1st June threatened the privately owned weekly True News for carrying an article in its 19 May issue by the famous journalist Ludu Sein Win who said that “many governments cannot tolerate criticism from journalists”. The censors alleged that the paper changed the front page after it had been passed by the censors.

Reporters Without Borders revealed at the end of 2008 that the censorship bureau sent all media offices a document detailing ten rules imposed on editors, who would be punished if changes were made after the article had been checked.

The state-run media reported the charges against Suu Kyi, without giving anything the full statements by the defence. The daily New Light of Myanmar reported the main developments in the trial insisting there was complicity between the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the American William Yetaw, who swam to her lakeside home on 3 May. In its 27 May edition, the daily published the full questioning of Suu Kyi by the judge, but the cross examination by defence lawyers were only briefly summarised in the official press.

The state press also relays the junta’s threats against the opposition, as happened on 5 June, when the New Light of Myanmar carried threats by the authorities against the youth branch of the National League for Democracy for putting out a statement.

Archiviato in: Birmania | Commenti disabilitati

SRI LANKA: La restaurazione del Consiglio della Stampa è un “pericoloso passo indietro”

Pubblicato il 26 giugno 2009 da RSF Italia

arton33610-8a410Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about the impact on press freedom of a government decision to restore the former Press Council, which will have the power to pass jail sentences on journalists and newspaper publishers. The decision comes amid continuing tension between the authorities and renewed threats against Jaffna-based Tamil newspapers.

“A press council can be a useful tool for managing relations between the media and the public,” Reporters Without Borders said. “But as it is, this council represents more of a threat than a solution. Sri Lanka was one of the first countries in Asia to decriminalise press offences. Now the government wants turn the clock back and impose controls that that will be a permanent threat hanging over the media. We urge the government to liberalise the 1973 law before reintroducing the Press Council.”

Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena confirmed on 24 June that the government plans to revive the Press Council, which was created in 1973 and then suspended in 2002. He said the decision was taken after a parliamentary committee “discovered” that the government was still paying for the council every though it was not doing anything. The media meanwhile set up a Press Complaints Commission after 2002 that mediates in disputes between members of the public and the media.

Eight Sri Lanka groups that defend press freedom, including the Editors Guild of Sri Lanka, have written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa voicing concern about the Press Council’s return, calling it a “ill-advised decision.” The letter reminded the president that he had himself defended the decriminalisation of press offences to parliament in 2002.

Under the 1973 law creating the council, the president appoints its six members, who include a representative of journalist organisations and a representative of the media owners. Some Colombo-based media have said the writer Somarathna Balasooriya could be named to head the council, which can impose heavy fines on journalists and media found guilty of defamation or insult, and even prison sentences in the most serious cases.

More details on the Press Council

The president’s brother, defence minister Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has publicly voiced regret that Sri Lanka abolished jail sentences for press offences. He brought a libel suit against the Leader Publications newspaper group that led to the group being ordered to publish absolutely no report about him. The Sunday Leader nonetheless did print a profile of him last month (http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20090524/profile.htm) and as a result its editors have been ordered to appear in court on a contempt charge in July.

Reporters Without Borders urges the judicial authorities to withdraw all the proceedings against this press group.

The Tamil newspaper Uthayan has meanwhile again been the target of threats and violence. Yesterday in Jaffna, men armed with machetes forced an Uthayan distributor to burn the copies of the newspaper that he was about to distribute. They also destroyed copies of the Tamil newspaper Valampuri.

Members of Uthayan’s staff said this was a reprisal for its refusal to publish a statement issued by a hitherto unknown group calling itself the Tamil United Force to Safeguard the Country. The newspaper refused to print it because it could not identify its authors.

M. Vithyatharan, the editor of Sudar Oli, a Colombo-based daily linked to Uthayan, also received two threatening phone calls after refusing to print the communiqué.

Reporters Without Borders calls on the police to identify those responsible for the threats and to provide Vithyatharan with protection.

autodafe_Jaffna

Archiviato in: Sri Lanka | Commenti disabilitati

RUSSIA: la Corte Suprema annulla le assoluzioni per l’omicidio della giornalista Politkovskaya

Pubblicato il 25 giugno 2009 da RSF Italia

arton33598-8eef9Today’s Russian supreme court decision overturning the acquittal of three men accused in connection with the 2006 murder of journalistAnna Politkovskaya and ordering a retrial does not bring justice any closer in the case, Reporters Without Borders said.

“We take note of this decision but it does not address the core of the case, which is the identity of those who ordered and carried out the murder,” the press freedom organisation said. “Politkovskaya’s murder will not have been solved until they have been identified, arrested and brought to trial.”

Reporters Without Borders added: “Impunity for those who physically attack and murder journalists is a central problem for press freedom in Russia. We are still waiting for the authorities to give the required pledges to end this situation.”

The supreme court issued today’s ruling in response to an appeal by the prosecutor’s office against the 19 February acquittal of three men – brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov and former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov – who were tried by jury before a military court in Moscow.

Ruling in favour of the prosecutor’s office, the supreme court said the many procedural irregularities during the trial were grounds for quashing the verdict and holding a retrial. The three defendants are accused of assisting in the execution of the murder.

Defence lawyer Murad Musayev said he had been “expecting such a decision” and announced that he would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Aged 48 and the mother of two children, Politkovskaya was gunned down in the elevator of her apartment building on Moscow’s Lesnaya Street on 7 October 2006. She had visited and covered the Russian Caucasus for years for the Moscow-based Novaya Gazeta biweekly and was a fierce critic of then Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Archiviato in: Russia | Commenti disabilitati

CINA: Tibetano in prigione da oltre un anno per aver spedito testi e email.

Pubblicato il 25 giugno 2009 da RSF Italia

moton82-122bbReporters Without Borders today condemned a three-year prison sentence against mountain guide Gonpo Tserangfor sending texts and emails abroad. The messages related to March 2008 demonstrations against the Chinese authorities.

He was found guilty of “incitement to separatism” in the autonomous Tibetan prefecture of Degen, in Yunnan, southern China on 26 April 2008.

“This sentence is unacceptable because it punishes an ordinary citizen who circulated information about the situation in Tibet that the foreign media were banned from covering,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said.

“The offending messages had nothing to do with incitement to separatism and Tserang did not send them with that intention. We call for the suspension of his sentence and for his release,” the organisation said.

According to information gleaned from Tibetan organisations, Tserang, 33, was arrested on 23 March 2008 and is currently imprisoned in Yunnan’s Xianggelila jail. The authorities alleged that from 16-18 March 2008, Tsergan used the Internet and his mobile phone to send provocative messages twisting the real facts and social order in the Tibetan province after the ‘incident’ of 14 March 2008”.

In the Degen prefecture’s verdict, it was stressed that “Tserang used the Internet to deliberately fabricate rumours twisting the facts and inciting separatism”. The Internet user was sentenced under Article 103 (2) of the Chinese criminal code under which “if a counter-revolutionary crime is behind a savage criticism of the state and if the circumstances are particularly flagrant, the death sentence is possible”.

Since March 2008, Reporters Without Borders has recorded a significant increase in trials of Tibetans accused of sending information abroad, mainly to Tibetan communities in exile. To the organisation’s knowledge, seven people have been sentenced between October and November by the intermediary court in the Tibetan capital Lhassa to sentences of up to life imprisonment.

According to a study by Chinese dissident organisation Gongmeng, published in June 2009 and written by four Chinese researchers, accusations of “separatism” are a means of “concealing management errors by local leaders”. During the riots in March 2008, foreign journalists were unable to cover the events and official Chinese media completely ignored them.

A Tibetan monk was also arrested on 11 March 2009 and accused of “separatism” after giving the Tibetan community in exile information about demonstrations and arrests in the province. Tibetan web-journalist Namkha Sonam Drakpa had to leave Tibet on 5 May for possessing and distributing photos of the Dalai Lama. For fear of being discovered by the province’s Chinese authorities, he fled to India and now works for a Chinese online publication based in the United States.

Archiviato in: @ INTERNET, Cina | Commenti disabilitati

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