Jimmy Lai , 71, the founder of the Hong Kong pro-democracy daily Apple Daily , was arrested at his home on the morning of August 10, 2020 on charges of “collusion with foreign powers”
Security forces thwarted the July 31 protests against corruption and poverty,arresting Chin’ono and an opposition leader. South Africa is sendingenvoys to Zimbabwe to investigate reports of escalating rightsabuses,which the government denies
Since the onset of the health crisis, which affected more than a million people and caused more than 21,000 deaths in Africa, RSF has already recorded more than a hundred press freedom attacks in connection with the coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic across the entire African continent. Zimbabwe alone has a quarter of the violations recorded, including a dozen arbitrary arrests , and ranks among the most repressive countries in this area
Qatari TV has rejected the accusations: but the whole affair is a sign of the conflict that has arisen between the government and journalists. Yet Reporter Sans Frontieres (RSF), the largest organization to defend press freedom, recently wrote that “after the surprise defeat of the party of ex-premier Najib Razak in May 2018, a breath of fresh air began to blow on the freedom of the press; the blacklisted journalists and mass media were able to resume their activity and the general environment in which the journalists operate has significantly eased; self-censorship has shrunk enormously and the country’s publications now present much more balanced views between the opposition and the majority”.
Censors at the social media platform Weibo were meanwhile stepping up warnings to platform users that they could be pursued for comments deemed to be “attacks on government departments or state media agencies.”
For Yemeni journalists Abdul Khaleq Amran, Akram Al-Walidi, Hareth Hamedand Tawfiq Al-Mansouri , who were tried by a Houthi court for spying, the maximum sentence was imposed on April 11 in Sanaa. Iranian opponent Rouhollah Zam, who ran the Telegram channel AmadNews , learned of his death sentence for “corruption on earth” just a week ago in Tehran
The regime of Beijing adopted on June 30, in defiance of its international commitments, a national security lawwhich makes liable to life imprisonment, even the death penalty if cases are tried in China, “terrorist activities” , “secession” , “subversion” and “collusion with a foreign power” linked to Hong Kong. The law could be invoked against journalists wherever they are based in the world
An outcry following a new draft amendment of Afghanistan’s media laws has led the Presidential Palace to announce it will recall the draft until the proposals are discussed further with the news media
The head of his newspaper’s local office, Ritesh Shukla , cites in particular the name of a businesswoman, Divya Awasthi, involved in land transactions. A version confirmed by the journalist’s uncle, Dhirendra Mani Tripathi, quoted by the NewsClick portal : “Divya Awasthi had taken possession of public land, and Shubham had denounced these embezzlement , he explains. Members of his militia had already attacked him at his home last year after his investigation. This time they killed him. ”
The decision, adopted on 28 May by the National Assembly Chinese People, is to allow the repression of “terrorism” , the “secession” of “sedition” and the “foreign interference” in the Hong Kong area . These four crimes, for which no official definition has yet been given, are in China punishable by death and frequently used against journalists.