Unions are important to any Middle Class, but, the free practice of journalism is vital to human rights and democratic principles.
October 30, 2017
By Murat Yetkin
The Istanbul 27th Criminal Court (click here) is due to hold another hearing in the trial of four members of the center-left Cumhuriyet newspaper on Oct. 31.
On Oct. 30, 365 signatories - representing the 365 days since the Cumhuriyet arrests started - were publicized for the release of editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, prominent investigative reporter Ahmet Şık, Cumhuriyet Foundation head Akın Atalay, Emre İper and other journalists, writers and media employees currently in Turkish jails.
According to the Turkish Journalists’ Association (TGC), as of Oct. 24 - when journalist Murat Aksoy was released after spending more than a year in jail the number of imprisoned media workers under arrest in jail stood at 153.
The main accusation from the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office against Cumhuriyet is its report from January 2014, describing a gendarmerie operation near the border with Syria against Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MİT) trucks allegedly carrying military material to rebels in Syria. The story was actually a version of earlier reports that were later placed under legal restriction, but it did add new details....
Turkey is currently jailing 12 journalists.
October 30, 2017
More than 300 Turkish intellectuals, (click here) including academics, authors, journalists and doctors declared on Oct. 29 that they have signed a petition demanding the release of jailed daily Cumhuriyet journalists, who will appear before a judge for a fourth hearing on Oct. 31.
“The text presented as ‘an indictment’ is far from demonstrating concrete evidence and violates the principles of crime and punishment, as it undermines the concept of ‘legal security’ in the country,” the statement regarding the arrest of four daily Cumhuriyet journalists read, addressed by Istanbul Bar Association Chair Mehmet Durakoğlu.
“We demand the freedom and release of all journalists, including daily Cumhuriyet employees, who have been subjected to illegal prosecution processes on the basis of doing their jobs—which is journalism,” Durakoğlu said.
In a press conference in Istanbul, the intellectuals declared they stand together for the release of editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, reporter Ahmet Şık, Akın Atalay and Emre İper –who have been jailed for 365 days in the case.
The union includes famous names, such as singer Sezen Aksu, photographer Ara Güler and actress Müjde Ar, as well as renowned journalists, such as Fehim Taştekin, İsmail Saymaz and Nevşin Mengü....
26 April 2017
Press freedom (click here) has never been as threatened as it is now, in the "new post-truth era of fake news", strongmen and propaganda, Reporters Without Borders said.
Its annual World Press Freedom Index, published on Wednesday, warned of a "tipping point" for journalism.
"Attacks on the media have become commonplace and strongmen are on the rise. We have reached the age of post-truth, propaganda, and suppression of freedoms - especially in democracies," the report said.
"Media freedom has never been so threatened."...
November 2, 2017
By Shahira Amin
A campaign launched by the Egyptian government (click here) to promote the World Youth Forum scheduled for Nov. 4-10 at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh appears to have backfired after internet activists hijacked the conference hashtag #WeNeedToTalk to highlight human rights abuses in the country under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s regime.
The conference’s organizers had hoped the hashtag would encourage interaction among the participants ahead of the forum and promote Egypt as a safe tourist destination. Instead, the activists posted images of security forces assaulting and arresting youths at protest sites and shared portraits of jailed journalists, activists and others who have allegedly been tortured or forcibly disappeared.
“#WeNeedToTalk about forced disappearances,” Amr Bakly, the director of the Cairo Liberal Forum, an Egyptian nongovernmental organization working to spread liberal values and culture among Egyptian youths, posted on Twitter....
November 1, 2017
An opposition politician and critic (click here) of Cameroon president Paul Biya has been jailed by a military court in a trial human rights group, Amnesty international, described as “unfair and deeply flawed.”
Aboubakary Siddiki is to serve 25 years behind bars after the military court in Yaounde found him guilty of charges including hostility against the homeland, revolution and contempt of the President.
Siddiki who is president of ‘Mouvement patriotique du salut camerounais’ – the main opposition party in northern Cameroon was arrested in August 2014 along with one Abdoulaye Harrisou – a well known notary....
Where is the American Baptist Convention to hire lawyers and advocate for other pastors abroad?
October 3, 2017
Two assistant pastors arrested by the Burma (Myanmar) (click here) army last December were sentenced to prison on Friday (Oct. 27) on false charges of unlawful association, defaming the military and spying, sources said.
Pastor Dom Dawng Nawng Latt, 65, received a prison term of four years and three months, and fellow pastor La Jaw Gam Hseng, 35, received two years and three months, according to sources present in court in Lashio town, in Shan state.
The two ethnic Kachin pastors, members of the Kachin Baptist Convention, were charged under the Unlawful Association Act for alleged connections with an ethnic armed group, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), and allegedly spying for it. Nawng Latt was prosecuted under a defamation statute. They deny the charges, which colleagues say are baseless.
Nawn Latt received the additional two years under the defamation charge as the military accused him of criticizing the army while speaking to media.
Pastor Zau Ra, secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention in Mong Maung town, Shan state, told Morning Star News the two pastors were likely arrested and charged for speaking to media and helping local journalists cover army attacks on a Catholic church building, schools and houses in Shan state in November 2016....
October 30, 2017
By Murat Yetkin
The Istanbul 27th Criminal Court (click here) is due to hold another hearing in the trial of four members of the center-left Cumhuriyet newspaper on Oct. 31.
On Oct. 30, 365 signatories - representing the 365 days since the Cumhuriyet arrests started - were publicized for the release of editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, prominent investigative reporter Ahmet Şık, Cumhuriyet Foundation head Akın Atalay, Emre İper and other journalists, writers and media employees currently in Turkish jails.
According to the Turkish Journalists’ Association (TGC), as of Oct. 24 - when journalist Murat Aksoy was released after spending more than a year in jail the number of imprisoned media workers under arrest in jail stood at 153.
The main accusation from the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office against Cumhuriyet is its report from January 2014, describing a gendarmerie operation near the border with Syria against Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MİT) trucks allegedly carrying military material to rebels in Syria. The story was actually a version of earlier reports that were later placed under legal restriction, but it did add new details....
Turkey is currently jailing 12 journalists.
More than 300 Turkish intellectuals, (click here) including academics, authors, journalists and doctors declared on Oct. 29 that they have signed a petition demanding the release of jailed daily Cumhuriyet journalists, who will appear before a judge for a fourth hearing on Oct. 31.
“The text presented as ‘an indictment’ is far from demonstrating concrete evidence and violates the principles of crime and punishment, as it undermines the concept of ‘legal security’ in the country,” the statement regarding the arrest of four daily Cumhuriyet journalists read, addressed by Istanbul Bar Association Chair Mehmet Durakoğlu.
“We demand the freedom and release of all journalists, including daily Cumhuriyet employees, who have been subjected to illegal prosecution processes on the basis of doing their jobs—which is journalism,” Durakoğlu said.
In a press conference in Istanbul, the intellectuals declared they stand together for the release of editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, reporter Ahmet Şık, Akın Atalay and Emre İper –who have been jailed for 365 days in the case.
The union includes famous names, such as singer Sezen Aksu, photographer Ara Güler and actress Müjde Ar, as well as renowned journalists, such as Fehim Taştekin, İsmail Saymaz and Nevşin Mengü....
26 April 2017
Press freedom (click here) has never been as threatened as it is now, in the "new post-truth era of fake news", strongmen and propaganda, Reporters Without Borders said.
Its annual World Press Freedom Index, published on Wednesday, warned of a "tipping point" for journalism.
"Attacks on the media have become commonplace and strongmen are on the rise. We have reached the age of post-truth, propaganda, and suppression of freedoms - especially in democracies," the report said.
"Media freedom has never been so threatened."...
November 2, 2017
By Shahira Amin
A campaign launched by the Egyptian government (click here) to promote the World Youth Forum scheduled for Nov. 4-10 at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh appears to have backfired after internet activists hijacked the conference hashtag #WeNeedToTalk to highlight human rights abuses in the country under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s regime.
The conference’s organizers had hoped the hashtag would encourage interaction among the participants ahead of the forum and promote Egypt as a safe tourist destination. Instead, the activists posted images of security forces assaulting and arresting youths at protest sites and shared portraits of jailed journalists, activists and others who have allegedly been tortured or forcibly disappeared.
“#WeNeedToTalk about forced disappearances,” Amr Bakly, the director of the Cairo Liberal Forum, an Egyptian nongovernmental organization working to spread liberal values and culture among Egyptian youths, posted on Twitter....
November 1, 2017
An opposition politician and critic (click here) of Cameroon president Paul Biya has been jailed by a military court in a trial human rights group, Amnesty international, described as “unfair and deeply flawed.”
Aboubakary Siddiki is to serve 25 years behind bars after the military court in Yaounde found him guilty of charges including hostility against the homeland, revolution and contempt of the President.
Siddiki who is president of ‘Mouvement patriotique du salut camerounais’ – the main opposition party in northern Cameroon was arrested in August 2014 along with one Abdoulaye Harrisou – a well known notary....
Where is the American Baptist Convention to hire lawyers and advocate for other pastors abroad?
Two assistant pastors arrested by the Burma (Myanmar) (click here) army last December were sentenced to prison on Friday (Oct. 27) on false charges of unlawful association, defaming the military and spying, sources said.
Pastor Dom Dawng Nawng Latt, 65, received a prison term of four years and three months, and fellow pastor La Jaw Gam Hseng, 35, received two years and three months, according to sources present in court in Lashio town, in Shan state.
The two ethnic Kachin pastors, members of the Kachin Baptist Convention, were charged under the Unlawful Association Act for alleged connections with an ethnic armed group, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), and allegedly spying for it. Nawng Latt was prosecuted under a defamation statute. They deny the charges, which colleagues say are baseless.
Nawn Latt received the additional two years under the defamation charge as the military accused him of criticizing the army while speaking to media.
Pastor Zau Ra, secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention in Mong Maung town, Shan state, told Morning Star News the two pastors were likely arrested and charged for speaking to media and helping local journalists cover army attacks on a Catholic church building, schools and houses in Shan state in November 2016....
