World News Censorship

A Bangladesh court has indicted four bloggers for their supposedly inflammatory writings about Islam and the religious character Muhammad.

This will be the first case to be tried under Bangladesh's recently amended Information and Communication Technology Act, enacted after widespread violent street protests demanding the blood of atheist bloggers. The new law features extreme punishments of up to 14 years in jail.

The opening of the trial was set for 6th November.

Cameroon's National Communications Council has closed down 11 newspapers, television and radio stations. Journalists say these private media outlets are being silenced because they are critical of the government.

Cameroon's state radio CRTV announced the suspension of three radio stations, a television station and seven newspapers. The report said Cameroon's National Communications Council also suspended a journalist and two publishers.

The journalists and media organs were accused of failing to respect professional norms and ethics. But Ngah Christian Mpipgo, publisher of the Guardian Post --- one of the suspended newspapers --- called the act an abuse of press freedom:

I mean, I look at it as some kind of repression. It is understood that the Guardian Post is too critical of government action, and then coming at a time when we are preparing for elections, I have to just conclude that it is a way of stopping us from exposing a well-planned government rigging machinery.

Reporters Without Borders is appalled by a Dakar criminal court's decision to close the privately-owned newspaper Le Quotidien for three months and sentence its editor, Madiambal Diagne, to a month in prison and a damages of 10 million CFA francs (15,000 euros) for an article criticizing a former foreign minister.

The court also imposed one-month jail terms on one of the newspaper's reporters, Mamadou Biaye , and a French intern who is no longer in Senegal. The case was brought by former foreign minister Alioune Badara Cisse' -- usually referred to as ABC in the Senegalese media -- over an article published on 20 June.

Reporters Without Borders said:

The court's decision is highly regrettable because it means the authorities are refusing to defend media freedom. Despite repeated calls by journalists and the international community, the decriminalization of press offences is still not on the agenda in Senegal.

Egyptian security forces continue to detain and harass journalists working for news outlets critical of the military-led government, particularly Al-Jazeera and its affiliates.

The Ministry of Investment has said it would ban Al-Jazeera Mubashir, the network's Egyptian affiliate, because it lacked the required legal permits, according to news reports . The statement accused the channel of spreading lies and rumors damaging to Egyptian national security and unity. The Ministry of Interior issued a statement saying it had confiscated two broadcasting cars and equipment from Al-Jazeera Mubashir.

Egyptian security forces detained without charge four staff of Al-Jazeera English, including correspondent Wayne Hay, cameraman Adil Bradlow, and producers Russ Finn and Baher Mohammed, the station reported. Al-Jazeera Arabic correspondent Abdullah al-Shami and Al-Jazeera Mubashir cameraman Mohamed Bader had been arrested earlier this month while covering protests and held under charges of threatening national security and possessing weapons, respectively.

Al-Jazeera Mubashir's office was raided and shut down on July 3, shortly after the military announced Morsi's removal. Its sister channel, Al-Jazeera Arabic, was raided in mid-August and shut down. Both stations continue to broadcast from Qatar with feeds from inside Egypt.

Update: 4 channels banned

4th September 2013. See review from  albawaba.com

A Cairo court ordered on Tuesday Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr be taken off air . The administrative court ruling also banned Al-Yarmouk, Al-Quds and Ahrar 25, regarded as channels linked to Islamists, off the Egyptian airwaves .

The news channel has come under fire as local media and authorities accused it of bias against the popularly-backed overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July, in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood from which he hails. Egyptian officials even said Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr posed a threat to national security. The three other channels were also blamed for one-sided reporting in favour of the Brotherhood and its supporters.

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an amendment to a media law adopted by the Gambian parliament that imposes lengthy prison sentences and heavy fines on individuals who use the Internet in any capacity to criticize government officials.

Peter Nkanga, CPJ's West Africa consultant said:

Gambian authorities are trying to protect themselves by denying their citizens the right to use modern communications fully. This amendment should be repealed immediately.

The Gambian Parliament on July 4 amended the 2009 Information and Communication Act to introduce a 15-year jail term and fine of 3 million Dalasis (about US$100,000) to any individual convicted of using the Internet to spread false news or make derogatory statements, incite dissatisfaction, or instigate violence against the government or public officials, news reports said. The penalties apply to individuals living in the country or abroad, the reports said .

Information Minister Nana Grey Johnson said the amendment had been passed to prevent Gambians from engaging in unpatriotic behavior against the government and public officials, according to news reports .

Gabon's state-run media regulatory agency, the National Communications Council, suspended three newspapers on May 29, 2013, according to news reports .

The Council suspended private weekly Ezombolo for six months because of an April 22 column that criticized President Ali Bongo's record in office, according to news reports.

The Council also suspended for six months the satirical supplement of La Griffe newspaper, Le Gri-Gri de la Griffe , on broad accusations of indulging in indecency and vulgarity in most of its publications, according to news reports. La Griffe Managing Editor Olivier Konate' told CPJ that prior to the suspension, the Council had warned the newspaper to tone down its content after receiving a complaint over a caricature of a former official.

The Council suspended La Calotte for two months after summoning Editor Habib Antoine Bibalou over articles critical of Investment Minister Magloire Ngambia and Alice Bikissa Nembe', deputy to the minister for health, local news website Infosgabon reported . The Council accused Bibalou of failing to report to several summons, according to news reports.

A ruling by a court in the central Russian town of Ulyanovsk ordering a state-run Internet provider to block access to 15 websites, including those of two prominent national newspapers, has sparked fears of a broader campaign of Internet censorship in the country.

Two of the blocked websites, Gazeta.ru and Komsomolskaya Pravda, are among the top 10 news websites in Russia.

Local prosecutors said in a statement that the ruling was based on the presence on the websites of articles explaining the intricacies of giving a bribe in Russia and how to escape prosecution afterward.

Prosecutors emphasized that the court ruling had not ordered whole websites to be blocked but only specific pages containing the illicit information. Internet provider Rostelecom made the decision to block the sites themselves, going beyond the court's instructions, they said.