Defamation

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Amid rising repression, Burmese journalist given jail term

Bangkok, April 7, 2014–A Burmese journalist was sentenced to one year in prison today on charges of “trespassing” and “disturbing an on-duty civil servant” while reporting a news story, according to local reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the verdict to be overturned on appeal. 

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Burma clampdown gathers pace as legislation passed

In a clear step backwards for press freedom in Burma, new legislation will give the government censorship powers and the sole authority to issue and revoke news publication licenses. While the legislation enshrines into law broad press freedom guarantees, specific provisions will give the Ministry of Information ultimate power over what news is permissible for…

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Journalist sentenced to jail for defamation in Honduras

Honduran journalist Julio Ernesto Alvarado was convicted on charges of criminal defamation on December 9, 2013, according to local human rights groups. The Supreme Court of Justice sentenced the journalist, who hosts the news program “Mi Nación” on Globo TV, to 16 months in prison on charges of damaging the reputation of the rector of…

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In Angola, police detain journalist for three days

Cape Town, South Africa, February 5, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on police in Angola to release a journalist who has been held since Sunday on accusations of slander and defamation.

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Burmese journalist jailed for three months

Bangkok, December 20, 2013–A Burmese journalist was sentenced to three months in prison on Tuesday on charges of defamation, trespassing, and “using abusive language,” according to local news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the conviction and calls on the court to reverse the verdict on appeal.

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Journalists charged with criminal defamation in Thailand

Bangkok, December 20, 2013–The Royal Thai Navy should immediately drop the criminal defamation charges lodged on Wednesday against two journalists in connection with a report on alleged military abuses of ethnic Rohingya people, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Republic of Congo regulators suspend three newspapers

On November 13, 2013, the state-run media regulatory board High Council on Freedom of Communication (CSLC), suspended three private weeklies from circulation for nine months in connection with articles they published that were critical of the authorities, according to news reports. The 11 members of the council are hand-picked by the president and have the…

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Somali journalists arrested after airing rape allegations

Nairobi, November 21, 2013–Somali authorities arrested two journalists, one of them the victim of an alleged rape, on Wednesday in Mogadishu, the capital, and charged them with defamation in connection with a report on the alleged rape, according to news reports and local journalists.

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In Senegal, journalists convicted of defamation

A court in Dakar, the capital, on August 14, 2013, sentenced Mamadou Biaye, former editor of the private daily Le Quotidien, and Bastien David, an intern reporter for the paper, to one month in prison each on charges of criminal defamation, Agence France-Presse reported.

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CPJ hails elimination of criminal defamation in Jamaica

New York, November 7, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the repeal of criminal libel provisions by the Jamaican Parliament on Tuesday as a step forward in the campaign to eliminate criminal defamation in the Americas.

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