INTERNATIONAL PEN

Writers in Prison Committee

International PEN is the leading voice of literature worldwide, bringing together poets, novelists, essayists, historians, critics, translators, editors, journalists and screenwriters. Its members are united in a common concern for the craft and art of writing and a commitment to freedom of expression through the written word. Through its Centres, PEN operates on all five continents with 138 centres in 101 countries.

Founded in London in 1921, PEN connects an international community of writers. It is a forum where writers meet freely to discuss their work. It is also a voice speaking out for writers silenced in their own countries.

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN was set up in 1960 as a result of mounting concern about attempts to silence critical voices around the world through the detention of writers. It works on behalf of all those who are detained or otherwise persecuted for their opinions expressed in writing and for writers who are under attack for their peaceful political activities or for the practice of their profession, provided that they did not use violence or advocate violence or racial hatred.

Member centres of International PEN are active in campaigning for an improvement in the conditions of persecuted writers and journalists. They send letters to the governments concerned and lobby their own governments to campaign for the release of detained writers and for investigations in cases of torture and killings. Through writing to the families and, where possible, directly to prisoners, they provide encouragement and hope.

International PEN has consultative status with the United Nations and with UNESCO.

Information sources

The WiPC gathers its information from a wide variety of sources. It seeks to confirm its information through two independent sources. Where its information is unconfirmed, it will either take not action, or send an appeal worded to reflect the fact that the information is as yet incomplete. Sources include press reports, reports form individuals in the region in question, reports from other human rights groups PEN members themselves, embassy officials, academics, prisoners’ families, lawyers and friends, and exile groups. It also works with international NGOs, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. It is a founder member of IFEX – the International Freedom of Expression Exchange. IFEX is a collaborative, on-line service in which several groups involved in the campaign for free expression pool information. Other members include Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Index on Censorship, the International Federation of Journalists and Reporters sans Frontieres, as well as regional and national groups. For further details see the IFEX website www.IFEX.org

Our work would be impossible without our Sponsors who include: Artikel 19, NOVIB, Swedish International Development Foundation, Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Fritt Ord Foundation, UNESCO Individual donations and membership fees from PEN members

CONTENTS

1. Explanation of terms

2. List of cases by country

Africa – North and Sub-Saharan

The Americas

Asia and the Pacific

Europe

Middle East

3. List of main cases by country

4. List of Centres with Honorary Members

5. Case statistics

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN records of persecuted writers are updated daily. For up-to-date information on a particular country (or countries), contact the Writers in Prison Committee headquarters in London.

Anyone wishing to take action on any individual mentioned in this Caselist should contact the Writers in Prison Committee headquarters for any update there may be on the case and for advice on appeals.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS USED

Important: Please Read

Main Cases

Those cases listed as 'main cases' are those where the Writers in Prison Committee is confident that:

i. the person is a writer or journalist or is persecuted because of their writings;

ii. the person has not used violence towards his or her aims or advocated racial hatred.

In these cases, the Writers in Prison Committee will take all possible action for their release or for compensation. In cases where a prisoner is held without charge or trial for a considerable length of time, the Writers in Prison Committee will consider them to be a main case until and unless information is provided which shows that they have used violence or advocated racial hatred.

Judicial concern

These are cases where the main concern includes convictions based on trial proceedings which were manifestly unfair, where there are serious concerns regarding allegations of torture or where there are other irregularities in the judicial process. In these cases, the Writers in Prison Committee calls for a re-trial following fair trial practice or is calling for an investigation of the alleged malpractice and for those found guilty of committing such acts as torture to be brought to justice.

Investigation case

An investigation case is one where the Writers in Prison Committee:

i. needs more information to ascertain whether a person is a writer or is persecuted for their writings;

ii. is not clear as to whether or not he or she has used violence or advocated racial hatred;

iii. has insufficient information to confirm that the event has taken place;

iv: is seeking confirmation that the person is still detained.

The Writers in Prison Committee publishes details of investigation cases so as to provide a complete account of reports of abuses against individuals practising their right to free expression in all countries. However, it will not usually call for their release. Once sufficient information is available, their cases will be reclassified as a main case or dropped as appropriate.

The last report was dated June 2003.

CASELIST – July to December 2003

International PEN Writers in Prison Committee

Details current up to 31 December 2003

AFRICA including North Africa

ALGERIA

On trial

Omar SAADA: author, published a book entitled La décheance administrative, le drame d’un officer (Administrative decline, the drama of an officer) in August 2002 in which he criticised the behaviour of several governmental officials. Reports cite that sixteen legal proceedings have been undertaken against him by individuals named in his book and three other legal suits have been taken up against him by the General Director of the government’s Civil Protection department. As Omar Saada lives over 2,000 miles from the court where the proceedings are taking place it is impossible for him, for financial reasons, to be present. Furthermore, several officials acting in court appear in his book and can therefore not be deemed to be impartial. During a visit to a refugee camp where Omar Saada lived with his family (following an earthquake in Algeria) the Algerian president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, promised to look into the case and ensure that justice was carried out. Saada has since been able to return to his house with his family in 2003. Awards: NOVIB 2003 awarded to Omar Saada in October 2003. WiPC investigating legal proceedings.

Sentenced/Brief detention

Mohamed BENCHICOU and Sid Ahmed SEMIANE (aka SAS.):managing editor and former columnist respectively with the daily newspaper Le Matin* 1) Sentenced (Semiane) and fined (Benchicou) following a complaint by the Ministry of Defence. Sid Ahmed Semiane - now living in Paris - was sentenced to a six-month prison term in absentia on 4 November 2003 on charges of “libel”. The court also fined the newspaper’s director Mohamed Benchicou, 100,000 dinars (approx. US$1,450) and the newspaper itself 200,000 dinars (approx US$2,900). 2) On 8 September 2003 Mohammed Benchicou had been arrested along with Ali Dilem, cartoonist with the newspaper Liberté and taken to Algiers central police station. Benchicou and Dilem had earlier defied three police summonses on grounds that journalists “do not have to submit their work for police inspections”. They were charged with “insulting the head of state” and conditionally released on 9 September 2003. 3) On 16 November 2003 Benchicou was placed under judicial review for carrying foreign bonds into Algiers, which according to legal experts is not against the law. He had been summoned by a prosecutor on 26 August 2003 after a formal complaint by the Finance Ministry for allegedly violating rules about foreign currency exchange and movement of funds. Previously Benchicou and Semiaine had faced eleven counts of defamation brought by the Ministry of Defence on 26 March 2002.

Sentenced/harrassed

*Farid ALILAT and Rafik HAMOU: managing editor and journalist respectively of the daily newspaper Liberté. 1) sentenced and/or fined on 4 November 2003 for “insulting the head of state”. Alilat was given a four-month suspended prison sentence and fined 100,000 dinars (approx. US$1,450) and Hamou was fined 100,000 dinars. The newspaper itself was fined two million dinars. The sentences stem from a front-page headline on 11 August 2003 which read “All of them are thieves”, which was accompanied by an article reprinted from the daily newspaper El Khabar, which said that top government officials had misappropriated housing belonging to the Foreign Ministry. 2) Alilat was previously arrested on 7 October 2003 and brought before an Algiers court where he was questioned for five hours about about a column entitled “La fessée” (“The spanking”). The column had been published on 21 August 2003 in Liberté. It had been written by Hakim Laalam of the daily Le Soir d’Algerie, which was suspended at the time for having failed to have paid off its debts to the state printers. Liberté had published the column as a gesture of solidarity. Farid Alilat was one of six journalists who was summoned without justification to appear before police detectives on 2 September 2003. 3) Alilat and three other journalists from Liberté were earlier summoned on 27 August and 28 August 2003 and interrogated about articles exposing high-level government corruption, including the entourage of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Sentenced

*Youssef REZZOUG and Fatma Zohra KHALIFI: editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Le Matin and journalist with the news agency Algérie Presse Service respectively, were each sentenced to two-month suspended prison terms by the Algiers Correctional Court on 31 December 2003 after being charged with “illegal assembly and threatening public order”. The journalists were sentenced in connection with an assembly they attended on 8 September 2003 alongside journalists from other newspapers, political campaigners and human rights activists to protest against the detention of Mohammed Benchicou and Ali Dilem, managing editor of the newspaper Le Matin and a cartoonist with the newspaper Liberté respectively, under a committal order. In addition to the suspended sentences, Rezzoug and Khalifi were also each fined 2,000 dinars (approx US$28).

Brief detention

* Fouad BOUGHANEM:editor of the newspaper Le Soir d’Algérie, arrested on 16 September 2003 and taken to central police station. Released after several hours.

*Bedreddine MANAA and Malika BOUSSOUF: chief editor and senior editor respectively of the newspaper Le Soir d’Algérie were briefly arrested when they went to central police station on 16 September 2003 to protest the arrest of the newspaper’s editor Fouad Boughanem on 16 September 2003. They were arrested along with Rabah Abdallah, secretary-general of the Algerian National Union of Journalists. Released the same day.

*Ahmed OUKIL and Slimane BENSAYAH: publisher of the newspaper Errai el Aam and editor of the daily newspaper Le Journal de l’Ouest respectively, were arrested on 8 October 2003 and taken for questioning to the main police station in Algiers. Both journalists believed to have been released the same day.

*Kamel AMARNI: journalist with the newspaper Le Soir d’Algérie, was arrested at his newspaper offices on 9 October 2003 and taken for questioning to the main police station in Algiers. Believed to have been released the same day.

*Ahmed FATTANI: publisher of the daily newspaper L’Expression, was arrested at his newspaper offices on 13 October 2003 and taken for questioning to the main police station in Algiers. Believed to have been released the same day.

Harrassed

Farid ALILAT, Outroudert ABROUS, Mustapha HAMMOUCHE, Said CHEKRI, Mourad BELAIDI and Rafik BENKACI: managing editor, former managing editor, columnist, editor, and journalists respectively with the newspaper Liberté* (along with cartoonist Ali Dilem). 1) summoned without justification to appear before police detectives on 2 September 2003. 2) Alilat and three of the newspaper’s journalists were earlier summoned on 27 August and 28 August 2003 and interrogated about articles exposing high-level government corruption, including the entourage of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Sentenced/Released

*Hassan BOURRAS: correspondent with the daily newspaper El Djazin and member of the Ligue algérienne pour la défense des droits de l'homme (Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights – LADDH), was sentenced to a two year prison sentence on 6 November 2003. He was also banned from practising his profession for five years. The sentence appeared to stem from two articles that had been published in El Djazairi which had reported on the corruption of local officials in the western part of Algeria. He was temporarily freed on 2 December 2003 after the plaintiff failed to appear in court. The prison sentence was not upheld at the journalist’s appeal hearing on 23 December 2003. Bourras had been on a hunger-strike during part of this detention. Bourras was reportedly attacked on 20 January 2003 by two sons of local public figures. Bouras was beaten up and received a light knife-wound to his face. On 14 January he had been sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay a 10,000 dinar (approx. $130) fine after the local chapter of the Organisation nationale des moudjahidin (National Mujahedin Organisation - ONM) filed a complaint against the newspaper. The complaint followed the publication of a letter which had denounced the past of the organisation’s secretary. The letter had been signed by a member of the National Mujahedin Organisation and had been addressed to the Mujahedin Ministry.

Case closed

The following cases were closed due to lack of further information.

Mohamed SMAIN: President of the Relizane branch of the Ligue algérienne pour la défense des droits de l’homme (Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights - LADDH), was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment on 24 February 2002 on charges of defamation. Smain believed to be at liberty.

Omar BELHOUCHET: editor of the daily newspaper El Watan, was reported to be standing trial on charges of "attacking official bodies", based on an interview given to a television station in 1995. The Algiers Appeals Court prosecutor has demanded that a one-year prison sentence be handed down with no possibility of parole. The court’s verdict was due on 4 March 2002. Belhouchet also stood trial on 18 March 2002 on charges of defaming the army.

Salima TLEMÇANI (f): journalist with the French-language newspaper El Watan, was charged on 25 February 2002 with “defaming the army”. The judge postponed the opening until 18 March 2002.

BOTSWANA

Attacked

*Kagiso SEKOKONYANE: acting editor of Mmegi Monitor, was reportedly attacked along with Booster Galesekegwe, a photo-journalist, by the paramount chief of the Batawana, Tawana Moremi, on 6 September 2003. Moremi assaulted Galesekegwe and destroyed his camera whilst he was taking photographs of a famous DJ at a restaurant in Gabarone. The photo-journalist reported this to Kagiso Sekokonyane who, on arrival at the restaurant, was also attacked by Moremi. Police managed to subdue Moremi. To date he has yet to be charged with any offence.

CHAD

Sentenced/provisional release

Nadjikimo BÉNOUDJITA and Mbainaye BÉTOUBAM: publication director and deputy editor respectively of the weekly Notre Temps, were both handed six-month prison sentences on 6 February 2003 on charges brought against them by Hadjé Billy Douga. The two were also fined 2M CFA francs (approx. US$3,300) damages and were banned from working as journalists for eight months. Notre Temps has also been ordered to shut down for three months. The charges stem from a Notre Temps article that alleged that Hadjé Billy Douga, a government official and President Déby’s mother-in-law, had arranged the torture of the men who had supposedly stolen some of her jewellery. One of the men is said to have died from his injuries. The journalists claimed that their source of information was the N'Djamena Appeals Court register. Bétoubam was absent from the trial due to illness. He was arrested at his home immediately afterwards and taken to the N'Djamena prison to join his colleague. The two men were provisionally released on 1 April after an Appeals Court ruling. A further hearing was due to take place on 22 April. PEN is seeking an update on the progress of the trial. Whilst detained, both men wrote articles about prison life. This led to them being harassed by fellow inmates and the prison authorities. *It is assumed that both men are still free pending trial proceedings. WiPC investigating.

CAMEROON

Released

Georges BAONGLA, publication director of the weekly Le Démenti sentenced to five years in prison in January 2002, and released in July that year pending appeal. Case annulled on 4 August 2003. Honorary Member: American and English PEN

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Investigation

*Michel NGOKPELE: publication director of the daily newspaper Le quotidien de Bangui, was sentenced to six months imprisonment with no parole on 3 July 2003 for "defamation by means of the press" and "incitement to ethnic hatred". The sentencing of Ngokpele followed the publication of an article in mid-May 2003 in which the journalist implicated a doctor in the deaths of several patients at a local hospital. Among other things, the article said, "Since the arrival of the new head doctor, there are more deaths at the hospital than previously." The article also reportedly referred to the misappropriation of funds at the hospital and declining medical standards. Ngokpele was arrested on 18 May 2003 and detained at Bangui police station before being transferred to M’Baiki prison. *No further information as of 30 December 2003. WiPC will seek to confirm Ngokpele’s expected release in January 2004.

Brief detention/threatened

*Faustin BAMBOU: publication director of the newspaper Les Collines du Bas-Oubangui was threatened by the authorities after publishing an article on 3 July 2003 which criticised the privileges reportedly granted to Mahamat Youssouf, a Chadian national close to General Bozizé. He was summoned to the police station on 7 and 8 July 2003 and interrogated at length. His case file has since been sent to the state prosecutor.

Brief detention

*Ferdinand SAMBA: publication director of the independent daily newspaper Le Démocrate, was arrested on 11 July 2003 and placed in detention and interrogated at the police station in Bangui’s port. Samba was released on 15 July 2003 having not been charged with any offence. His arrest stemmed from an article which had been published on 8 July 2003 about the armed conflict in the north of the Central African Republic. He was accused of causing panic among local citizens in the region by disseminating “alarming and incorrect information”. He had reported that supporters of former president Ange-Félix Patassé had launched an attack of the city of Kaga Bandoro and that 30 people had died in the fighting.

Case closed

The following case was closed due to lack of further information

Prosper N’DOUBA: publication director of Centrafrique Presse and presidential spokesperson, was kidnapped by supporters of General Bozizé on 25 October 2002, the day the general attempted to carry out a coup d’état.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Investigation

*Bamporiki CHAMIRA: journalist with the daily Kinshasa based newspaper La Tempête des Tropiques has reportedly been illegally detained since 14 February 2003 when he was arrested by officers from the Agence nationale de renseignements (National Intelligence Agency). He was reportedly arrested along with his wife and four other family members including his son. His wife was released 24 hours later. Bamporiki Chamira is being tried by the State Security Court for “participation in a plot aimed at eliminating President Joseph Kablila”. The Kinshasa based non-governmental organisation Journalistes en danger (Journalists in Danger – JED) claims that the charges against the journalist are false. Trial proceedings began on 17 June 2003 but ceased when the court recessed on 24 June 2003. When the journalist appeared in court in Kinshasa on 24 June 2003 several charges were made against the journalist including the charge that he had been either directly or indirectly involved in a plot to kill the head of state. In his defence Charima’s lawyers referred to the Amnesty decree past by President Kabile on 15 April 2003, following the signing of a peace treaty on in South Africa which exempted those on charges of “conspiring against the head of state”. As of 31 December 2003, the State Security Court has not delivered its ruling. This in violation of Article 80 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which stipulates that a verdict must be issued within eight days. WiPC is investigating. (* Bamporiki Chamira’s wife passed away on 12 January 2004. She had reportedly been suffering from depression over several months following the incarceration of her husband and son on “false charges”.)

*Roger-Saloman LULEMBA: a correspondent for the Kinshasa-based weekly newspaper L’Eveil was reportedly arrested on 12 July 2003. He was detained at the headquarters of the Congolese National Police (PNC) in Tshikapa overnight before being transferred to Kanzala prison. Lulemba claimed to have been assaulted by police officers at the time of his arrest who reportedly complained that “journalists are constantly criticising the police”. WiPC is seeking further information about this case.

Death threats

*André Ipakala Abeiye MOBIKO: editor of the Kinshasa-based daily newspaper La Référence Plus Claims to have received a death threat by telephone on 22 September 2003 from a politician. A report of the call was published in the 23 September 2003 of La Référence Plus. The caller who claimed to be the politician Augustin Kikukama, reportedly told the editor that he was angry with the newspaper for publishing a story on the M-17 [political movement] by a lawyer who heads a dissident M17 faction. In an earlier letter which had been addressed to “the directors of Kinshasa’s audio-visual and print media” and received by La Référence Plus, Kikukama had stated that “any statement originating from Mr Luanghy [the lawyer] and his group in the name of our movement, and echoed in your media, will be interpreted by us as a mark of solidarity with the forger. We will be obligated to pursue legal action against any media that does not suspect the law”.

In hiding: Investigation

Michel Mukebayi NKOSO and Kasongo MUKISHI, editor and journalist, respectively, with the Kinshasa-based weekly Kin News. 1) arrested by police officers on 25 February 2003 at the newspaper offices and taken to Kin-Mazière Special Services detention centre. The arrest followed a defamation l action taken against them by President Kabila's twin sister, Jaynet Kabila, following an article written by Nkoso and Mukishi that appeared in the 22 to 28 February edition of Kin News. The first hearing was due to be held at the Kinshasa Court on 18 March 2003. PEN is seeking an update on the trial. The article was entitled "[Former finance and budget minister] Matungulu's and Joseph's million dollars go to Sony Kafuta". 2) On 5 June 2003 Michael Mukebayi Nkoso and Sage-Fidèle Gayala Ngangu, editor-in-chief of Kinshasa based newspaper Congo News were reportedly attending a meeting at Congo News when they were disturbed by Denis Kalume, the son of the Minister General. Following an argument, Kalume reportedly returned with five soldiers from the Congolese Armed Forces (FAC). The two journalists were then stripped, forced into a jeep and beaten for about ten minutes before being dropped off outside the newspaper’s offices. The soldiers accused the journalists of showing “a lack of respect for the son of a general”. Later on the same day, Ngangu was picked up by the same soldiers, taken to the house of Minister General Denis Kalume Numbi and beaten again. Following the beating the journalist’s press card was photocopied and he was warned that his personal information could be used against him if he disclosed information about the incident. *No further information as of 30 December 2003.

Brief detention/assaulted

*Delly BONSANGE and Kala KALUCHA: journalists respectively with the Kinshasa based newspapers Alert Plus and Standard Info, were arrested by police officers in Kinshasa on 8 July 2003. They claim to have been manhandled by police officers before being put into a police van and driven to another police building on the outside Kinshasa. Bonsage was reportedly arrested because his name was similar to that of Lauriane Bonsange (f), the editor of the weekly Kinshasa-based newspaper Alarme who was being searched for at that time by the police (details of the case of Lauriane Bonsange appear below). Kala Kalucha was arrested for having publicly protested against the arrest of Delly Bonsange. Both journalists were released the same day.

Brief detention

*Guy Kasongo KILEMBWE: editor-in-chief with the newspaper Pot-Pourri, was arrested on 29 August 2003. His arrest followed the publication of an article in Pot-Pourri on 22 August 2003 which criticized a member of parliament’s reported embezzlement of funds. After being arrested, Kilembwe was taken to a police station where Pium Mwabilu confronted him and reportedly told him “You humiliated me in your newspaper, and now I am going to make you suffer.” Kilembwe was held in police custody for 48 hours before being transferred to the Penitentiary and Reeducation Centre in Kinshasa on 31 August. The editor was released on 4 Sepember 2003 after he paid US$100 and promised to appear before the public prosecutor twice a week.

*Cyrille Kileba POK-A-MES: editor of the twice weekly Kinshasa-based newspaper The Post, was arrested on 19 December 2003 and detained for several hours before being released on the same day. The journalist was interrogated about an article published in the 11 November edition of The Post which referred to a murder case a former military prosecutor of the since-closed Court of Military Order. Mungako is charged with the murder of a Taxation Office director in Kinshasa in September 2003. The article referred to a Congolese fashion model who is was linked with Mungako and who reportedly fled Kinshasa in the days following the murder. Before being released, the journalist was ordered to appear before Judge Tumbuka on 29 December 2003. No further information as of 30 December 2003.

Attacked/threatened

* Désiré-Israél KAZADI: journalist with the daily newspaper Le Phare, was assaulted by policeman on 27 August 2003 whilst he was covering attempts by a group of supporters of the opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress (Union pour la démocratie et le progress social - UDPS) to procure and bury the body of a party activist who had died in police custody on 18 August 2003. When the morgue failed to release the body, the crowd became agitated and police officers violently began to disperse the crowd. Although Kazadi identified himself as a journalist and showed his press card he was assaulted by three police officers who beat him with sticks, causing injuries to his back and shoulders. After the police officers had stopped beating him, one of his assailants stopped him as he walked away and told him that someday he would pay the price for his choice of profession.

Attacked

*Tsheke BUKASA: journalist with the daily newspaper Le Phare, was beaten up by police officers and thrown out of Kinshasa general hospital on 23 August 2003. Bukasa had gone to the hospital seeking information on the death of the political opposition figure José Mukenge.

Facing charges

Lauriane BONSANGE (f) and Kala KABALA: editor and journalist respectively with the weekly Kinshasa-based newspaper Alarme were being searched for by the police in July 2003. Bonsange was accused of having published an article in which she revealed that the inspector general of the national police supported Etienne Tshisekedi, the leader of the Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social (Union for Democracy and Social Progress – UDPS). Police officer ordered that everything possible should be done to arrest Bonsange along with Kabala who had written the article. No further details as of December 2003.

Sentenced/sentence annulled

*Donatien Nyembo KIMUNI: correspondent for the weekly newspaper La Tribune, was sentenced in absentia to five years imprisonment at a court hearing in Likasi on 11 July 2003. The sentencing of the journalist stemmed from the publication of an article entitled “Congo Mineral: workers are paid poorly and exploited” which was published in the 5 June 2003 edition of La Tribune. In the article Kimuni had referred to the poor working conditions of the employees of Congo Mineral and explained how several workers had reportedly died from poisoning. The was reportedly annulled on 7 September 2003 following an out of court agreement which resulted in the plaintiff’s accusations against the journalist being withdrawn.

Honorary Member: English PEN

Case Closed

The following cases were closed due to lack of further information.

Jean-Louis KALUMBA: publisher of Lubumbashi-based newspaper Mwamgaza, was charged on 23 September 2002 with making "harmful accusations" against the bishop of Sakania-Kipushi diocese.

Eugène NGIMBI MABEDO: publisher of the weekly L'Intermédiaire, was arrested on 7 August 2002 and charged with "defamation against the Court of Military Order (COM) and the COM's public prosecutor, Colonel Charles Alamba" following a carefully researched article on the arrest of two human rights activists. Believed to have been released.

DJIBOUTI

Released

Daher Ahmed FARAH: editor of the newspaper Le Renouveau and leader of the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD). Farah was detained on 20 April 2003 following the filing of a complaint against Le Renouveau by General Zakaria Cheik Ibrahim, the deputy head of the army. The complaint was against an article published on 17 April 2003 that criticised the general for lacking ‘neutrality’ and which stated that the army ‘must not take sides’. On 3 June 2003 the editor was granted a provisional release by the investigating judge. However the prosecutor appealed against the release and obtained an order for Farah to be re-arrested. He was duly re-arrested on 5 June only to be released on 23 June when the presiding judge at his hearing ruled that no crime had been committed and that the defendant was therefore not guilty. Farah was imprisoned yet again on 9 July 2003 after being sentenced to three months in prison for libel at an appeal court. The appeal court also gave Farah an additional three months’ suspended sentence, ordered him to pay 13 million Djibouti francs (c. US$70,000) in damages, fines of 200,000 Djibouti francs (c. US$1,100) and banned his newspaper from appearing for three months. Believed to have been freed on expiry of his sentence in October 2003. Honorary Member: English PEN

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Brief detention

*Rodrigo ANGUE NGUEMA: correspondent for news agency Agence France Presse (AFP), was arrested on 3 November 2003 after filing an article for AFP on rumours that were circulating regarding an attempted military coup in Equatorial Guinea. After being questioned about his sources for the story, he was released on 11 November.

ERITREA

Main cases

Yusuf MOHAMED ALI (editor-in-chief, Tsigenay), Mattewos HABTEAB (editor-in-chief Meqaleh), and Dawit HABTEMICHAEL (reporter Meqaleh), Medhanie HAILE (editor-in-chief Keste Debena), Emanuel ASRAT (Zemen), Temesken GHEBREYESUS (Keste Debena), Dawit ISAAC (Setit), Fesshaye YOHANNES “Joshua” (publisher Setit and poet), Said ABDELKADER (writer and editor Admas and owner of the press that printed most of the independent newspapers) and Wedi ADE, (Zemen):

Date of arrest: in the days following 23 September 2001. Sentence: not yet sentenced

Details of arrest and charges: According to news reports, presidential adviser Yemane Gebremeskel stated that the journalists may have been arrested for avoiding national service. However, it has also been reported that Yusuf Mohamed Ali is too old for national service and is therefore legally exempt. This is the second time that Said Abdulkader has been reported missing, presumed arrested. Other journalists have had their houses searched. The detentions came in the wake of the closing down of all eight independent newspapers by the authorities on 18 September 2001 (these include the weeklies Meqaleh, Setit, Tsigenay, Zemen, Wintana, and Admas). Since then, only the state newspaper, Hadas Eritrea, has been published. The authorities have either denied that a clampdown has taken place, claiming instead that the journalists have merely been sent to carry out their national service; or that the closures and mass arrests were necessary for the sake of national unity, or were effected because of the failure of the newspapers to comply with laws covering media licences. However, a more likely explanation is that the crackdown was an attempt to stamp out criticism of the Eritrean government’s treatment of students and political dissenters, and its prosecution of the war against Ethiopia. On 31 October 2001 it was reported that the first seven above named journalists had been held incommunicado at a police station in the capital Asmara since their arrest. They had not apparently been charged or taken to court. Eritrean law states that this must take place within 48 hours of an arrest. On 3 December 2001, a separate report confirmed that all but two of the above were in detention. There was no news of Adowit Isaac or Fitzum Wedi Ade. The latter was arrested on 20 September and has not been seen since. All those detained have had their bank accounts frozen and assets confiscated. Their relatives have not been allowed to visit them. On 5 April 2002, Yusuf Mohamed Ali, Mattewos Habteab, Dawit Habtemichael, Medhanie Haile, Temesgen Gebreyesus, Emanuel Asrat, Dawit Isaac, Fessehaye Yohannes and Said Abdulkader started a hunger strike to protest against their detention. All ten were said to be refusing food until they were released or tried fairly. When they began their hunger strike the prison authorities allegedly denied them water. Health Concerns: Dawit Isaac, a Swedish citizen of Eritrean origin, has been hospitalised under strict security. There are allegations that his need for medical aid is a direct result of his treatment in prison. He was last heard of in April 2002 in Halibet Hospital in Asmara undergoing surgery. In April 2003, Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki told Radio France Internationale that the journalists listed as arrested or missing had been bribed by forces opposed to the government to cause division. He stated, "You cannot say a spy is a journalist…In the middle of the war we had to check them. We had to say enough is enough." *It was reported in August 2003 that Selayinghes Beyene, previously believed to have been “disappeared” or held by the authorities, had never in fact been arrested. Honorary Members: American PEN

Mahmud AHMED SHERIFFO, Haile WOLDETESNAE, Petros SOLOMON, Saleh Idris KEKIA, General Ogbe ABRAHA, Astier FESHATSION, Berhane GHEBRE EGHZABIHER, Hamid HIMID, Estifanos SEYOUM, Germano NATI and Beraki GHEBRE SELASSIE: former Minister of Local Government, former Minister of Trade and Industry, former Minister of Fisheries, former Minister of Transportation and Communication, and former Chief of Staff of the Defence Force and Minister of Trade and Industry respectively (the final six were also former members of government), have been detained since 18 or 19 September 2001 after the publication in May 2001 of an open letter critical of the government addressed to members of the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice party. All eleven were members of the so-called G-15, a group of fifteen PFDJ senior officials who signed the letter. They were arrested in Asmara on 18 and 19 September 2001 and accused of crimes against national security and sovereignty. A twelfth G15 member was also arrested but was released when he recanted. The three remaining members were abroad at the time of the arrests and have not returned to Eritrea. In February 2002, in the first parliamentary session since 2000, President Issayas Afewerki declared that the G-15 members had "committed treason by abandoning the very values and principles the Eritrean people fought for". The National Assembly therefore "strongly condemned them for the crimes they committed against the people and their country”. After such statements it seems highly improbable that the eleven currently held will receive a fair trial. The eleven are held incommunicado and it is not known whether they have been formally charged.
*All are still being detained as of 31 December 2003.

Investigation cases

Ezra FESSEHAYE: journalist with the government-owned newspaper Hadas Eritrea, was arrested by security forces in July 2002 and has not been heard of since. Fessehaye, who analysed international news for Hadas Eritrea, was also the founder of a computer design company, Juventus. He was apparently arrested on the grounds that his company had been forging passes allowing Eritrean citizens to travel around the country. Freedom of movement in Eritrea is restricted to those holding government-issued passes and a number of students were apprehended in July with false passes. However, it is believed that the forgery charges are being used as a pretext to detain Fessehaye.

*No further information as of 31 December 2003.

*Saleh AL-JEZAERI: a newspaper and television journalist, has been reported to have been arrested in February 2002, apparently for advocating more Arabic-language items in the Eritrean media, and for criticising the government’s for not giving Arabic official status alongside Tigrinya and English. WiPC investigating.

Disappeared/possibly imprisoned or conscripted

Paolos ZAID (Eritrean Profile), Akhader AHMEDIN (Tsigenay), Omer "ABU AKLA" (Tsigenay), Meles NIGUSSE (Tsigenay), Yebio GHEBREMEDHIN (Mekalih), Muluberhan HABTEGEBRIEL (Setit), Amanuel GHEBREMASKEL (Mana), GHEBREMEDHIN (Millennium), Daniel HABTE (Eri-Tempo): all journalists with Eritrean publications (as indicated), are missing presumed imprisoned or forcibly conscripted into the army and sent to the front line in the conflict with Ethiopia (a cease-fire declared in December 2000 is still in force). Zaid was arrested at his home in late April 2001. His current whereabouts are unknown, as is the reason for his arrest. Haile was captured by security agents early on in 2000. He is reported to have been tortured before being transferred to Zara hard labour detention centre. He has never been charged with any offence. Eritrean Justice Minister Foazia Hashim wrote to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on 15 June 2001 claiming that five of the fifteen initially reported as missing were employed with non-governmental organisations or local publications and that "the remaining journalists are performing their obligations in the National Service Program."

*All are still missing presumed imprisoned or forcibly conscripted as of 31 December 2003.

Honorary Members: Ghanaian PEN

ETHIOPIA

On 10 November 2003, the Ethiopian government forced the closure of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association (EFJA). Almost all of those listed below are members of the EFJA which, in many cases, was also the sole source of information on legal proceedings against journalists.

Disappeared: investigation

Asheber BEKELE: journalist with the Amharic weekly Genanaw, was reportedly arrested at his house 24 April 2001 along with other individuals suspected by the police of having taken part in riots. His whereabouts are unknown although it is suspected that he is being held at Addis Ababa police headquarters. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Main case

Tewodros KASSA

Profession: former editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper Ethop, Sentenced: two years’ imprisonment Date of sentence: 10 July 2002 Expiry of sentence: 9 July 2004

Details of trial: sentenced on 10 July 2002 on charges of disseminating false information. Kassa was found guilty of “fabricating information that could incite people to political violence” and that he had defamed a “Mr Duki" by “disseminating false information through the newspaper". The charges related to three Ethop articles published in 2001. He began his sentence immediately. Tewodros Kassa was first imprisoned in June 2000, again for allegedly fabricating information that could incite people to political violence, a charge for which he served a one-year term.

Honorary Member: English PEN.

*Awol KEDIR, Arif Abdul KADIR, and Yusuf GETACHEW: managing editor, publisher, and editor-in-chief respectively of the weekly Al-Nejashi, were handed down one-month prison sentences for “defamation” on 20 August 2003 by a Sharia Court. They were also ordered to pay fines of between 600 to 1000 birr (approx. US$70-117). The three were arrested on 18 August and appeared in court the next day to face charges stemming from a 6 June 2003 Al-Nejashi article entitled, "The marriage of Oustaz Kassim has become a topic of debate." The piece highlighted an alleged contretemps at the wedding between the bride’s parents and the groom. The journalists were apparently not afforded the chance to defend themselves during the two-day trial. The fact that their case was heard in a Sharia Court was also highly irregular in that Press Proclamation 34/85 states that such cases should be heard by the Federal High Court. Thus the detention of the three journalists would appear to have violated Ethiopian law. It is presumed that they have now served their sentences and been released. WiPC investigating.

Melese SHINE: editor-in-chief of the weekly Ethiop, has been charged with publishing and disseminating an article defaming the head of government, and the publication of an interview with an alleged member of an illegal group. The charges relate to two 1993 Ethiop articles entitled, “Who is Meles Zenawi," and, "Overthrow of power through the gun will continue." Shine had previously been released on 7 January 2001 on bail of 10,000 birr on charges of “endangering national security by disseminating false information nationally”. Also was held in custody from 20 March to 25 June 2002 when he was released on bail. Re-arrested on 29 April 2003 and charged with defaming Melkamu Gettu, the administrator of the Ras Desta Hospital, whom an Ethiop article had accused of embezzlement. Shine remains in custody awaiting further hearings having reportedly been refused bail.

Trial pending

Shimelis ASFAW: formerly editor-in-chief of Ethio-Time, was charged with disseminating fabricated information about the government and its officials that could affect public opinion. The charge was based on a July 2001 article in Ethio-Time entitled, "General Haile Tilahoun removed; Assaminew Badane detained by police at airport, his whereabouts unknown." Released on bail of 2,000 birr (approx. US$240). Case adjourned until 29 May 2002. Appeared at the 5^th Criminal Bench of the High Court at the end of May 2003. Case adjourned until 4 July 2003. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Arega Wolde Kirkos AYELE, editor for the newspaper Tobbia, was summonsed in November 2001 and advised that that press charges had been filed against him at the Federal High Court. Ayele was charged in March 2002 at the Federal High Court with defaming the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation. The charges related to the publication in Tobbia in July 1999 of an article entitled "The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation has been neglected"; and an August 1999 article entitled "Employees of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation are protesting". He was released on bail of 1,000 birr (approx. US$120) and his case was adjourned until June 2003 and again until October 2003. Ayele was also charged with defamation of the Health and Nutrition Institute by publishing a September 2000 article entitled "Research by a Human Being". On this charge Ayele was released on bail of 2,000 birr (approx. US$240) by the Federal High Court. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Tigist BEHAILU (f): editor-in-chief of the newspaper Tinkish, was charged on 4 March 2002 with defaming Ato Mengistu Mihretu and his wife in a March 2001 article. Released on bail of 3,000 birr (approx. US$360). Her case has been adjourned until October 2002. *WiPC seeking further details.

Wesenseged (or Wondwossen) GEBREKIDAN : editor-in-chief of the newspaper Ethiop, was summoned on 19 November 2001 to the Central Investigation Office (Makelawi) and advised that charges had been filed against him at the Federal High Court under the country’s press laws.

1) On 8 March 2002, Gebrekidan was charged with “disseminating fabricated information that could affect public opinion”, The charge stems from an article entitled "Prosecutor and Police Under Tension" in which it is alleged that Gebrekidan falsely reported that there were three types of police force, and that he stated that "the organisation of the prosecutor (Ministry of Justice) is ethnically-based". He was released on bail of 2,000 birr (approx US$240) and his case was adjourned until 4 May 2002. 2) A further press law charge was filed on 14 May 2003 in connection with his alleged defamation of former ambassador Habtemariam Seyoum. Gebrekidan had dismissed Seyoum’s claims regarding his own diplomatic efforts during the war with Eritrea. Gebrekidan was arrested and released on bail of 2,000 birr.

*3) On 9 October 2003, Gebrekidan was summoned to appear at the Central Investigation Department. He was accused of "disseminating fabricated information" in the 9 April 2003 Ethiop article entitled, “National Military Service Proclamation promptly approved.” Apparently, the article referred to the "National Military Service Proclamation" instead of the "National Reserve Army". The journalist made a statement and was released on Birr 5,000 (c. US$600). It is unclear whether the case will be taken to the Federal High Court.

Befekadu MOREDA: publisher and editor-in-chief of the weekly Tomar, appeared before the Third Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court on 8 April 2003 charged with defamation of Gizaw Tekle Mariam, a cement factory manager. Moreda had published an article on 1 April 2002 entitled, "How come the Cement Factory has no owner?" Moreda was released on bail of 2,000 birr (approx. US$240) and his case was adjourned until 30 May 2003.

*No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Mengistu Wolde SELASSIE: editor-on-chief of the newspaper Dagim

Wonchif, was reported in June 2003 to have been charged in connection with three Dagim Wonchif articles. He was released pending trial at the 3^rd and 4^th

Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Attacked

*Araya Tesfa MARIAM: a journalist for the Amharic-language weekly Ethiop, was assaulted by unidentified individuals near his home in Addis Ababa on 1 October 2003. As a result Mariam received severe injuries to his skull, hands and legs. The motive behind the attack is unclear though it is believed that it may have been carried out as a reprisal for his work as a journalist.

Cases closed

No action has been known to be taken in the courts since September 2002 or earlier in the trials of Kidushabte BELACHEW (editor-in-chief of Mebrek), Garedew DEMISE (editor-in-chief of Arbegnaw), Berhanu MAMO (editor-in-chief of Abyssinia), Prof. MESFIN WOLDEMARIAM and Dr BERHANU NEGA (academics and human rights activists), Tsega MOGES (editor-in-chief of Zare New), Abinet TAMRAT (publisher and editor-in-chief of Madona) and Gizaw TAYE WORDOFA (editor-in-chief of Lamrot), Tamirat ZUMA (publisher and editor-in-chief of the defunct Atkurot).

GABON

Possible Killing/Investigation

*Marco Boukoukou BOUSSAGA, editor-in-chief of the privately owned bimonthly newspaper L’Autre Journal, died on 15 December 2003 from a sudden haemorrhage from the nose and ears after returning from a dinner with local officials. He reportedly had had no prior medical problems. His death came soon after the police had seized the entire print run of L’Autre Journal’s second issue at Libreville airport on 12 December (private newspapers being printed in Cameroon). The first issue of the newspaper had featured a front-page article alleging that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had delayed reaching an agreement with Gabonese authorities because of the mismanagement of IMF funds. The second issue also had a front-page article commenting on Gabon’s negotiations with the IMF. The newspaper was officially suspended on 18 December 2003 for an indefinite period. The National Council on Communications claimed that articles that had been published in the newspaper might “disturb public order”. An editorial in the newspaper had criticised the government’s repression of the private press in Gabon and an article published in L’Autre Journal accused the government of mismanaging revenues from the country’s oil industry. A number of other private newspapers have been suspended since the beginning of 2003 and journalists have been briefly detained and questioned.

Brief detention

*Four journalists for Sub-Version: four journalists with the bi-monthly newspaper Sub-Verstion were detained for several hours and questioned by the police on 17 September 2003 when they arrived at Libreville airport to collect the print run of the newspaper. The print run of the newspaper was seized by the police and the publication director was ordered to cease publication by the National Council on Communications. The order to cease publication stemmed from an article which had appeared in the paper’s second addition on 20 August 2003 which suggested that the first lady was meddling in politics.

Threatened/Harassed

* Noel Ngwa NGUEMA: editor-in-chief and founder of the private bi-monthly newspaper Misamu, is being constantly threatened and intimidated according to a report issued on 24 September 2003. The newspaper was suspended on 13 May 2003 for an indefinite period by the National Council on Communications (CNC.) A further indefinite extension to the newspaper’s suspension was made by the CNC on 19 September 2003 and on the same day another bi-monthly newspaper La Sagaie was also banned. Both newspapers had published articles that had been critical of the Gabonese government.

GAMBIA

Brief detention/death threats

*Abdoulie SEY, publisher and editor of the twice-weekly The Independent, was arrested in Banjul on 19 September 2003 and held incommunicado until his release on 23 September. He was reportedly picked up without warning by men driving a car with no number plates and it was feared he had been “disappeared”. When appealed to by the journalist’s colleagues, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) denied that were holding him. However, on his release Sey revealed that he had been detained by NIA officers who had questioned him about an Independent article that was deeply critical of President Yahya Jammeh. The officers apparently warned him that his actions would be “monitored” in future and that he would be killed if he continued to publish such articles. The conditions of his detention were such that Sey reportedly fell ill soon after his release.

Attacked

*Buya JAMMEH: journalist with the twice-weekly The Independent, was reportedly assaulted on 9 August 2003 by two police officers near the newspaper’s offices in Banjul. The officers who apparently knew Jammeh to be a reporter with The Independent, stopped him and, without giving a reason, asked to search his bag. When Jammeh refused he was overpowered and beaten around the face. His notebook and other materials were also confiscated. Independent editor, Alagi Yorro Jallow, claimed that Jammeh had been targeted on account of an article concerning a government official who had been convicted of theft.

Harassment

*Staff at The Independent: a bi-weekly Banjul-based newspaper, have been the subject of constant harassment by the authorities since 1999, the latest example of which was an attack on the newspaper’s offices on 18 October 2003. A group of unidentified individuals, reportedly armed with tear gas and petrol, attacked the newspaper’s security guard before setting light to The Independent’s offices, causing severe damage. To date, no arrests have been made and there is no evidence that the police are investigating the attack.

GUINEA

Investigation

Boubacar Yacine DIALLO: journalist and founder of L'Enquêteur, was arrested on 19 December 2002 in connection with an article alleging that the army inspector-general had resigned. *No further information as of 30 June 2003.

Brief detention

*Sanou Kerfalla CISSÉ, Talibé DIALLO and Jean Marie MORGAN: managing editor and deputy editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper Le diplomate and freelance journalist respectively, were summoned by the police special branch (DST), and interrogated for several hours on 26 December 2003 and again on 30 December 2003. They were specifically questioned about two articles entitled “Matam – The dice are loaded” and “Kaloum – Elections devalued”, which were published in the 23 December edition of Le diplomate. The articles reported on alleged irregularities surrounding the elections and were accompanied by illustrations of young children stuffing ballot boxes and women who had voted more than once.

Harrassed

*Ibrahim DIALLO: managing editor of the bi-monthly newspaper Le Populaire, was summoned by the police special branch (DST) on 27 and 29 December 2003. Diallo was harassed about an article entitled, “Wade preparing Conté’s exile”, which was published in the 25 December 2003 edition of the newspaper. The article alleged that Senegal’s President, Abdoulaye Wade, had offered his Guinean counterpart, President Lasana Conte, exile in Dakar. The police officers who interrogated Diallo accused him of jeopardising the country’s internal security.

GUINEA-BISSAU

Brief detention/charges pending

Joao DE BARROS: publication director of the private daily Correio de Bissau, was arrested on 17 June 2002 and taken to Bissau's central prison where he announced the next day that he was beginning a hunger strike. He is charged with having accused the head of state, President Yala, of allowing widespread corruption. The journalist was released on 19 June. He is obliged to register at the local court every ten days. *No further news as of 31 December 2003.

IVORY COAST

Threatened

*Baba COULIBALY: correspondent with the independent daily newspaper L’Inter and the Reuters and Pana news agencies, was reportedly threatened by an opposition spokesman from the Mouvement patriotique de Cote d’Ivoire (Cote d’Ivoire Patriotic Movement – MPCI). Coulibaly claimed on 20 December 2003 that the opposition spokesman Sidiki Konaté had called him and threatened him, saying that he was “becoming a nuisance” and advising him to “think carefully” about what he says. The threats appear to stem from the publication of an interview by Coulibaly with rebel chief Bamba Kassoum, in the 20 December edition of L’Inter entitled “The rebellion has not achieved its objectives”.

KENYA

Brief detention/facing charges

*David MAKALI, Tom MSHINDI and Kwamchetsi MAKOKHA: Sunday edition editor, managing director and associate editor respectively of the East Africa Standard, were all detained briefly by police on 29 September 2003. David Makali now faces a maximum prison sentence of three years on charges of theft of a videotape. The three men were summonsed to appear at a Nairobi police station on 29 September to reveal the sources for an East African Standard article by Makali published the day beforehand. The piece had included leaked excerpts from an alleged confession to police by the suspected murderer of Crispin Odhiambo Mbai of the Constitutional Review Conference. The article also stated that some of the murder suspects had accused a member of President Kibaki's governing coalition as the man who organised the murder. Mshindi and Makokha were released after six hours but Makali was kept in police custody overnight. All three refused to reveal the sources for the article. Makali and a policeman were subsequently charged with stealing a videotape that was the property of the police and which contained footage of the alleged confessions. The first hearing was held on 1 October. Makali pleaded not guilty. The journalist’s article refers only to a police report and makes no mention of a videotape. Makali was released on bail. A further hearing was held on 8 December 2003. The police, having discovered by then that they had the videotape in their possession, changed the charge to that of stealing a duplicate of the tape. Makali has stated that no such duplicate ever existed. Three witnesses testified in a hearing on 6 January 2004 and the case was adjourned until 13 February 2004.

Case closed

Christopher Mwoki KYANDI: editor of the gossip magazine The Truth, was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment on 24 July 2002 on charges of “publishing false news”. Presumed to have been released on serving sentence.

LIBERIA

Fled/concern for safety

Charles JACKSON, Abass DULLEH, Victor HARRIS, Joseph JUBOR, David KORVAH, LeRoy S. NYAN, and Hisenburg Q. TOGBA: all former staff at the newspaper New Democrat, are still awaiting a decision on their refugee status in Ghana nearly three years after entering the pre-screening process. The New Democrat employees fled Liberia on 4 and 5 September 2000 after being repeatedly threatened by the security services and government officials who accused them of publishing information on the internet that was detrimental to the country’s image. In November 2001 a United Nations High Commission for Refugees official informed the group that the Ghana Refugee Board, which was supposedly dealing with their application, had been dissolved after only meeting once in 2001. There are now fears that the group may be at risk from Liberian government operatives working inside Ghana. On 15 January 2002, one of the group received a tip-off from a contact in Liberia that the authorities there were creating a network to maintain surveillance on journalists who had fled the country. The contact advised the former New Democrat staff to stay away from public places and the refugee camp for their own safety. The group fear they may be kidnapped and taken back to Liberia. In May 2002, various key members of the Liberian secret services were allegedly seen at the refugee camp in Ghana. The group received refugee status in early 2003 and are seeking resettlement in a third country. In February 2003, Jackson reported that several high ranking members of the Liberian intelligence services had been seen in Ghana, a development he categorised as “worrisome” in that it impinged on the safety of the New Democrat staff in exile. *Four of the seven journalists launched a monthly newspaper called Exile News in September 2003. All seven are still seeking asylum to a third country, considering that the situation in Liberia is still to dangerous for them even after the fall of President Charles Taylor, on account of the fact that Taylor’s supporters are apparently still in positions of power in the country.

MALAWI

Brief detention

*Frank NAMANGALE: reporter for the Daily Times, was arrested in Blantyre on 16 September 2003, on charges of "publishing false information likely to cause fear and alarm to the public". He was released on bail the same day. The arrest stemmed from a 12 September article in which Namangale claimed that two of President Bakili Muluzi's relatives had been arrested in connection with an armed robbery. On 28 October it was reported that the Director of Public Prosecutions had instructed the police to drop all charges against Namangale.

Attacked

*George NTONYA: a senior reporter with The Nation, was attacked by a police officer whilst covering a confrontation between police and a motorist near Blantyre on 18 October 2003. The officer apparently grabbed Ntonya by the neck and dragged him about. Five other journalists were also apparently assaulted by police officers in the incident.

MOROCCO

Main Case

Ali LMRABET

Profession: editor of the weekly newspapers Demain Magazine and Douman Sentence: three years (reduced from four years on appeal) and a fine of 20,000 dirham ($2,300). Details of trial: The 21 May 2003 judgement found Lmrabet guilty of “insulting the person of the king”, of committing an “offence against the monarchy” and “an offence against territorial integrity”. Both newspapers were banned. The case against Lmrabet stemmed from articles and cartoons which were published in regard to the annual allowance that the Moroccan Parliament grants the royal family. Lmrabet’s trial opened on 13 May 2003. On 17 June 2003, a Court of Appeal reduced his sentence from four years’ to three years’ imprisonment. The original fine of 20,000 dirhams ($2,300) remained unchanged. He underwent a hunger strike from 5 May to 23 June 2003 in protest against police harassment, acts of intimidation against those who may have otherwise been prepared to print the two weekly papers and against infringements to his right of freedom of movement. Ali Lmrabet began a second hungerstrike on 30 November 2003. Lmrabet’s sisters were prevented from seeing their brother when they visited him on 2 December 2003. Prison staff informed the relatives that Ali Lmrabet had locked himself into his cell and that he did not wish to see them. His sisters requested that their brother be asked to sign a statement confirming that he did not wish to see them and also requested a meeting with the Head Warden to obtain information about him. They received neither a written confirmation from their brother that he did not wish to see them nor a meeting with the Head Warden. Health Concerns: following his first hunger strike Lmrabet is extremely weak and is reportedly suffering from vision and kidney problems. He has reportedly not been receiving adequate medical treatment. Awards: 2003 Fondation de France prize awarded by Reporters with Borders. Honorary Member: English PEN, PEN USA West, Turkish PEN (*Released on 7 January 2004 following a royal pardon)

Sentenced

*Mustapha ALAOUI: managing director of the newspaper Al Ousboue, was handed down a one year suspended prison sentence on 11 July 2003. He had been arrested on 5 June 2003 following the publication of a letter in Al Ousboue from an unknown organisation which claimed responsibility for three of the five bomb attacks in Casablanca. The prosecutor claimed that the publication of the letter was a “flagrant violation of criminal law provisions, especially those in the law on the struggle against terrorism”. Mustapha Alaoui was released on 12 July 2003. (*Alaoui was given a royal pardon on 7 January 2004)

*Mohammed EL HOURD and Abdelmajid Ben TAHER: publisher and editor respectively of the weekly newspaper Al Alsharq were sentenced on 4 August 2003 to prison sentences of between one and three years for “incitement to violence”. Mohammed el Hourd was sentenced to a three year prison term and Abdelmajid Ben Tahe were sentenced to one year in prison. The court also banned the two newspapers for three months. (*El Hourd and Taher were released on 7 January 2004 following a royal pardon)

*Mustapha KECHNINI, Abdelaziz JALLOULI and Miloud BOUTRIKI: editor and journalists respectively of the weekly newspaper Al Hayat al Maghribia were sentenced to prison terms of two years (Kechnini) and 18 months (Jallouli and Boutriki) by a court in Oujda on 3 November 2003. They were accused of showing "disrespect to the king", "undermining the monarchy" and "inciting people to subversion." The three journalists were accused in connection with an interview in the 20 May 2003 issue of the paper with Mohammed al-Abadi, a member of the Islamist group Al adl wal ihssan (Justice and Charity). Abadi, who was jailed at the same time for two years, did not advocate hatred or violence. The paper was also ordered to close for two months and all four men were each fined 10,000 dirhams (950 euros). Mustapha Kechnini was previously sentenced to a prison term of one year in prison on 4 August 2003 in connection with the publishing of a statement by an islamist Zakkaria Boughrara in Al Hayat al Maghribi in which Boughara had praised the actions of the Jihad movement in Morocco. The editor had been released pending appeal on 10 July 2003. (*Kechnini, Jallouli and Boutriki were released on 8 January 2004 following a royal pardon).

MOZAMBIQUE

Attacked

*Fernando MANUEL: journalist with the newspaper Savana, was assaulted in Maputo on 15 October 2003 in connection with an obituary he had written about a local woman. Although the obituary was complimentary, the assailant, a relative of the woman, took exception to it and savagely assaulted the journalist. Manuel had to undergo surgery to have shards of glass removed from his head.

Case closed

Marcelo MOSSE: chief reporter for the now defunct daily Metical, was prosecuted on criminal defamation charges by the president’s son, Nympine Chissano, on 16 January 2002. On 11 March 2002 the case was postponed for the fifth time. No further news as of 31 December 2003. Case closed.

NAMIBIA

Brief detention/threatened

*Paulus SACKARIAS: journalist with the daily Republikein, was reportedly arrested, threatened and attacked, along with a newspaper driver, by Namibian Special Field Force (SFF) members on 8 November 2003. The two were travelling to Onaame to attend a memorial service for a police officer when they were stopped by the SFF members. They were initially charged with unlawful entry into a restricted border area. This changed to driving

without a Road Authority Clearance Certificate (only actually needed when crossing a border) and impersonating journalists from a state-owned newspaper (New Era), albeit that the press card with which Sackarias identified himself to the SFF group quite clearly stated that he was a Republikein journalist. The SFF members allegedly threatened to shoot the two men. Sackarias and his driver were arrested and taken to an SFF base but were released after four hours.

NIGER

Suspended Sentence

*Ibrahim SOULEY: publication director of the weekly newspaper L’Enquêteur, was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison sentence on 13 October 2003. He was also banned from entering the capital of Niamey for three months. Souley was charged with “inciting ethnic hatred and regionalism” following the publication of an article in L’Enquêteur which alleged that businessmen from eastern Niger had complained that the government was awarding too many contracts to a businessman from the west. Souley was accused of criticising the misappropriation of funds in the handling of government contracts. Souley was arrested on 13 September and was detained by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for more than three weeks prior to being sentenced on 13 October 2003. Souley was held for two days without visiting rights before being transferred to Niamey Prison on 16 September 2003. Assumed released on 13 October 2003.

Brief detention

*Soumnana MAIGA: Founder and journalist of the weekly newspaper L’Enquêteur, was arrested on 13 September 2003 and questioned for several hours about his work at the newspaper. He was released the same day. His brief detention stemmed from the publication of an article in L’Enquêteur which alleged that businessmen from eastern Niger had complained that the government was awarding too many contracts to a businessman from the west. (see Souley above)

Sentenced/facing charges

* Mamane ABOU, managing editor of the weekly newspaper Le République,

was handed down a four-month suspended prison sentence on 23 December 2003 at an appeal hearing. He also received a fine of two million CFA francs (approx. US$3,780) for defaming former finance minister Ali Badjo Gamatié and current Prime Minister Hama Amadou. This ruling replaced a previous six-month prison sentence which had been handed down to Abou in absentia on 7 November 2003. He had also received a fine of 300,000 CFA francs (approxmately US$525) and had been ordered to pay 100 million CFA francs (approximately US$17,500 in damages and interest for “defamation”. The sentences stem from an accusation that Mamane Abou had published confidential Finance Ministry documents indicating that the finance minister had misappropriated funds. The court had not followed normal procedures in the initial court hearing. In addition to sentencing the journalist in absentia, his lawyers had not been informed of the decision against their client. Although he received a suspended sentence on 23 December he is in detention pending a second charge brought against him by the Prime Minister for “conspiring with an employee of the Public Treasury to steal, and for the receipt of (stolen) confidential documents” (On 6 January 2004, Abou was released on bail by the court of the criminal appeal in Niamey which overturned the provisional detention order of 23 December for the second criminal charge. He now faces court proceedings in regard to the second charge of stealing confidential documents)

Brief detention/ill-treatment

*Robert SEBUFIRIRA, McDowell KALISA, Furaha MUGISHA, Emmanuel MUNYANEZA and Charles KABONERO: publication director, deputy editor and journalists respectively of the weekly independent newspaper Umuseso, were arrested on 19 November 2003. Sebufiria was arrested in the morning near the Rwanda-Uganda border as he was bringing 4,000 copies of the newspaper from the printers (the newspaper is printed in Uganda for financial reasons). Police seized the copies and took Sebufirira to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Rwanda’s capital Kigali. The deputy editor of Umuseso, McDowell Kalisa, and journalists Mugisha, Munyaneza, and Kabonero were also detained (along with their driver) at the CID when they went there to inquire about Sebufirir’s situation. All five journalists were separated and interrogated about an article that appeared in the seized edition of the newspaper, which questioned why certain senior army officers were being demobilized. The article had also questioned why taxpayer’s money had been used to send the director of the national security services on a U.K. training course if he was being demobilized. The journalists were accused of “inciting divisionism” – a claim they denied. They were reportedly beaten by the police whilst in detention and although they were given water they received hardly any food. They were all released on 21 November 2003 with no charge.

Fled

*Ismael MBONIGABA: former editor of the newspaper Umuseso, is now in exile after having been arrested and having received threats. He was arrested on 22 January 2003 on grounds of "inciting people to be divisive and practice discrimination" and was detained in Kigali's central prison until 27 February when he was brought to trial. He was released the same day when the Procurator General, Gilbert Sebihogo, ruled that his arrest and detention had been “irregular”. However, his passport was not returned to him and he has was not allowed to leave Kigali. The charge related to a 13 January Umuseso article in which it was claimed that former prime minister Faustin Twagiramungu would run in the next presidential election against current president Paul Kagame. In May 2002, Mbonigaba was also arrested and had his passport seized after he was critical of a speech by President Kagame.

NIGERIA

On trial

Dr. Onukaba ADINOYI-OJO and Tunde IPINMISHO: managing director of the Daily Times and editor of the Sunday Times respectively, reportedly facing have been taken to court by Alhaji Abubakar Audu, the Governor of Kogi State, North Central Nigeria. It was reported in April 2002 that Audu is seeking N500million (about $5million) in damages from the Sunday Times (the Daily Times’ sister publication). The charges come after the newspaper published an article on the governor’s real estate acquisitions abroad. In July 2002, an appeal court in Abuja granted an interim injunction suspending the arrest warrant issued against Adinoyi-Ojo and Ipinmisho. However, Adinoyi-Ojo is now also being sued for libel for N15 billion (US$150m) by Omegabank on the grounds that a Daily Times story on 15 July 2002 caused a run on the bank and defamed its directors. On 12 March 2003, the Court of Appeal stated that it would give a ruling at a later date on the appeal made by the Daily Times against the arrest warrants issued against Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo and Tunde Ipinmisho. *No further news as of 31 December 2003.

Facing trial

Naabirada AKPO: journalist with a newspaper in Rivers State, was arrested whilst covering a march protesting against the results of the 12 April 2003 elections for the federal legislature. Akpo was charged with four others of unlawful assembly and actions likely to cause a disturbance of the peace, and released on bail. *No further news as of 31 December 2003.

*Kayode FASUA and Tunde AJAYI: editors of the newspapers Contact and Class respectively, were reportedly arrested in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti state, on 26 November 2003. The detentions were made in connection with an article that appeared in the newspaper Ekiti Razor, copies of which Fasua and Ajayi were on the point of distributing. The article allegedly "disparaged the reputation" of state governor Ayo Fayose and contained "inciting information that could jeopardise peace and order in the state". The two apparently face undisclosed charges alongside two Ministry of Justice officials arrested at the same time. Both Fasua and Ajayi are free pending trial.

*Lawson HEYFORD: reporter with The Source magazine, was reportedly arrested by police in Port Harcourt on 22 August 2003 and held for four days. He was interrogated about an article he had written concerning inter-tribal disputes in which several people were killed. The journalist named a number of people he believed were responsible for the killings. The local police commissioner, Sylvester Araba, has reportedly stated that Heyford faces criminal charges in connection with the article.

Brief detention/charges pending

*Ben ADAJI: Taraba state correspondent for The News magazine, was arrested on 21 July 2003 apparently in connection with an article in which he exposed alleged corruption and violation of the rights of prisoners by Taraba State Police Commissioner, Nwachukwu Egbochukwu. He was sent to Jalingo prison on 22 July but released two days later. Adaji was also briefly detained on 29 May 2003 on charges of libel that are still pending.

*Osa DIRECTOR, Chucks ONWUDINJO and Janet MBA-AFOLABI (f): editor-in-chief and executive directors respectively of the news magazine Insider Weekly, were reportedly arrested in Lagos on 24 November 2003 in connection with an article in that day’s issue of the magazine. The three were charged with "sedition" and "criminal defamation" before being released on bail of N200,000 (c. US$1,515) two days later. Insider Weekly had carried a report in which it was claimed that Vice President Abubakar Atiku and General Aliyu Muhammed Gusau (ret.), National Security Advisor to President Obasanjo, were involved in corrupt oil dealings. The three are due to appear in court again on 12 January 2004.

Brief detention/attacked

*Albert AKPOR: crime correspondent for the Vanguard newspaper, was reportedly detained for seven hours at the Lagos Police Command at the beginning of October 2003. He was questioned in connection with an article he had published concerning the attempted kidnapping of the daughter of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, John Haruna. Haruna himself is believed to have ordered Akpor’s arrest. The journalist claims he was assaulted by the armed policemen who arrested him. He was eventually released after making a statement about how he learnt of the kidnap attempt.

Attacked

*Funmi KOMOLAFE (f) and Rotimi AJAYI: journalists with the newspaper The Vanguard, were reportedly attacked by police in Abuja on 1 July 2003. The two reporters were covering demonstrations against fuel price rises when they were turned on by the police. An Associated Press photojournalist with them was apparently beaten unconscious in the same incident.

Threatened

*Charles ONYEKAMUO: Anambra State correspondent for the newspaper THISDAY, reported in early November 2003 that he had received death threats from officials of the Anambra state government. In a statement to police, Onyekamuo alleged that Bene Nwachukwu (Special Assistant to the governor), Fred Chukwuelobe (Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media and Publicity) and an unnamed senator had threatened to “deal with him” following a THISDAY article he had written entitled, “Anambra Guber Election Results Forged.”

*Staff at TELL: released a statement on 31 July 2003 claiming that threats had been made against editors and directors of TELL magazine. The alleged threats had been made by means of anonymous phone calls. The offices of TELL as well as the homes of its editors and directors had also apparently been under surveillance by unidentified individuals.

Harassment

*Haruna ACHENEJE: Akwa Ibom correspondent for The Punch, was ordered by the Akwa Ibom state house of assembly on 15 August 2003 to leave the state within seven days. The decision came in the wake of an 11 August article in The Punch in which Acheneje alleged that assembly members had been complaining that their allowances had not been paid. The assembly summoned Acheneje to be questioned about the article. When he refused, the assembly voted to have him expelled from the state. On 21 August, three men, apparently armed with pistols, entered the offices of The Punch looking for Acheneje but were told by newspaper staff that he was not there. On 23 August, the journalist received two suspect packages at his home which he took to police for fear that they might be parcel bombs.

*Bassey INYANG: Cross River state correspondent with the Daily Independent, was given seven days to leave the state by the Cross River State House of Assembly as of 30 October 2003. The state authorities apparently considered that a 24 October Daily Independent article written by Inyang, in which he claimed that a bribery scandal had hit the assembly, was not true.

*Ofonime UMANAH: Cross River state correspondent for The Punch, reported in early October 2003 that the state authorities had had him followed by security agents and that his house and office were under surveillance. Umanah claimed that articles he has written for The Punch, particularly regarding the former Liberian President Charles Taylor (now exiled to the state), are embarrassing for the Cross River authorities.

Fled/in hiding

*Oluwole ADEBOYE: reporter with the Lagos-based afternoon P.M. News, reportedly fled his home in Agege on 11 December 2003 and has gone into hiding. Adeboye’s flight comes in the wake of a P.M. News article about an alleged robbery committed by a police officer, Bamidele Adeola. Adeola was arrested as a result of the article. He has since been released but is under investigation. After the publication of the article, Adeboye reported being followed by unidentified individuals and receiving several death threats by telephone for having exposed Adeola.

Case closed

Uche MADUEMESI: publisher of the Republican Newspaper, was arrested in Enugu on or around 17 December 2002 in connection with a story that suggested that the former local police commissioner had been poisoned. On 24 December it was reported that Maduemesi was still being held by police. Maduemesi’s office has also been searched. *Presumed to have been released.

SENEGAL

Case closed

The following cases was closed due to lack of further information.

Mamadou Oumar NDIAYE and Pape NDIAYE: publication director and reporter respectively with the Dakar-based weekly Le Témoin, were each sentenced to four months’ imprisonment without parole and fined a total of three million CFA francs (approx. US$4,110) in April 2002 for “defamation” and “insult”. The verdict stemmed from a complaint lodged by Victor Cabrita, the director of the Sainte Marie de Hann Catholic school, following a September 2001 article in Le Témoin that alleged financial malpractice at the school. The two journalists appealed the judgement

SIERRA LEONE

On trial

*Paul KAMARA: founding editor of the newspaper For Di People, was arrested on 10 October 2003 along with three printing press employees, in connection with a 3 October article in which it was claimed that Sierra Leonean president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah was unfit to hold office because he had allegedly been found guilty of fraud by a commission of enquiry in 1968. The three were charged with “seditious libel” on 11 October and bail was set at Le 50 million (approx. US$21,400) each. Unable to pay such a large amount, the four were held in custody at Pademba Road Prison in Freetown. They finally raised bail on 11 November and were released pending further hearings. On 24 November 2003, heavily armed police reportedly raided the offices of For Di People whilst Kamara was appearing in court. The police confiscated almost all the office equipment including computers, desks and Kamara’s car. Kamara had previously been arrested in November 2002 and subsequently served six months in Pademba Road Prison on 18 counts of criminal libel for the defamation of a judge. In October 2003 he was ordered to pay US$25,000 in damages plus legal costs in the same case. He has been unable to pay this sum and claims that there were gross irregularities in the court proceedings.

SOMALIA

Brief detention

*Adam Nur MOHAMED and Dahir ABDULKADER: editor of Galkaio-based Yameyska Weekly Press and member of Somali-Speaking Writers PEN Centre, and director of the newspaper Bulsho Weekly respectively, were arrested in Gilkaio on or around 24 August 2003. The two were held in a detention centre for 28 hours before being released. The motive for their arrest is unclear though Adam Nur Mohamed declared that it formed part of the strategy employed by the local government in Puntland to harass journalists.

SOUTH AFRICA

Released

Mzwakhe MBULI: poet, songwriter and musician. Date of Arrest: October 1997. Sentence: 18 years. Details of charges and trial: Detained on 28 October 1997 near Pretoria for allegedly participating in a bank robbery. There were serious concerns about the conduct of the investigation, led by Fabby Fabricious, into Mbuli’s alleged role in the bank raid and his subsequent trial. *Mbuli was released on parole on 28 November 2003 after a series of appeals.

SUDAN

Detained

*Ustaz Mahjoub Mohamed SALIH and Murtada AL-GHALI: chief editor and journalist respectively with the daily Al-Ayam, received a summons from the Prosecutor’s Office on 18 November 2003. This followed the summonsing on 11 November of former Al-Ayam employee Hayder Almukashi and current Al-Ayam reporter Tag Alsir Mekki by the state prosecutor for alleged subversion. No reason was given for the summons against Salih and Al-Ghali, and it appears that the actions are part of a campaign by the Sudanese authorities to harass independent journalists, and Al-Ayam journalists in particular. Al-Ayam was suspended indefinitely on 16 November 2003. The suspension was revoked on 22 November and then reinstated on 3 December. The daily was accused of "threatening the security and stability" of the country. Salih was arrested and imprisoned on 14 January 2004 on account of his inability to pay Al-Ayam’s tax arrears of 90 million Sudanese pounds (c. US$350,000). Before his arrest, Salih had been involved in seemingly fruitful negotiations with the finance ministry with a view to paying off the arrears in instalments. One of the reasons the editor has been unable to pay the debt is due to the Sudanese government’s tactic of repeatedly shutting down the newspaper. Al-Ayam remains suspended indefinitely.

Brief detention/trial pending

Sid Ahmed KHALIFA: editor-in-chief of Al-Watan, was arrested on 9 November 2002 when he complied with a summons ordering him to report to state security forces. The summons stemmed from Khalifa’s criticism of the government for impounding an issue of his newspaper because it carried a report of clashes between students and police. Khalifa’s son, Adil Sid Ahmed Khalifa, the deputy editor of the newspaper, was arrested on 11 November 2002 at Al-Watan’s offices. Both were held at an unknown location. Sid Ahmed Khalifa was also arrested on 13 February 2002 and held for twenty-four hours. He was charged under article 66 of the Criminal Code (“publication of false news”) and released on bail pending trial. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Brief detention

*Yousef Al Bashier MOUSA: the Nyala correspondent for the newspaper Al Shafa, was arrested on 29 July 2003, a day after he had published an article in Al Shafa that claimed that a number of students had been killed in a car crash during military manoeuvres in the province of Darfour. The newspaper later discovered that the article was inaccurate and published a correction. Local officials declared that Mousa would be released but did not specify when. He was eventually freed on 21 August 2003. Mousa (35), who has no left leg, had previously been detained by the National Security Agency from 3 May and 6 May 2003, during which time he was reportedly tortured and threatened repeatedly. He was re-arrested on 7 May when the Governor of Nyala decreed that Mousa’s detention be extended for another six months, as provided for by article 26 of the 1998 Emergency Act. He was transferred to Nyala prison on 10 May and released towards the end of the month.

*Gasim TAH and Mouhanad HUSSAIN: journalists with Al Sahafa and Akhbar Alyom respectively, were arrested at Niala on 15 November 2003 and released the same day. The two had been investigating the razing to the ground of two villages in South Darfour by an Arabic militia.

Attempted murder/threats/fled

*Nhail BOL: managing editor of Khartoum Monitor, fled Sudan in October 2003 after suffering a prolonged campaign of intimidation, threats and detentions, as well as a probable attempt on his life. On 13 July, a day after the Khartoum Monitor suffered one of many suspensions by the Sudanese authorities, a truck crashed into Bol’s car in an apparent attempt to kill him.

Bol recognised the vehicle as one that belonged to the Chamber of Crimes against the State. The driver, a policeman, was arrested but released an hour later. Prior to the incident, Bol reported having received death threats by telephone. In May 2003, the journalist was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment commutable to a fine of 1M Sudanese pounds (c. US$400) on spurious charges of “inciting hatred against the state and inciting religious discord”. The Khartoum Monitor was suspended indefinitely on 15 September 2003, two days after being allowed to resume publication.

TANZANIA/ZANZIBAR

Harassment

*Richard MGAMBA and Huvert SAUPER: reporter for the newspaper East African and journalist (French national) respectively, were expelled from the Lake Victoria island of Kome on 10 October 2003 along with a French and an American television journalist. The four had been researching fisheries in the area. After appealing to the regional authorities, the journalists were allowed back onto the island about a week later.

Ali NABWA: Zanzibar-based editor of the newspaper Dira, was stripped of his Tanzanian citizenship on 19 March 2003 and told to reapply for it should he wish to do so. Nabwa believes that the move by the government is a reprisal for his newspaper’s attempts to hold it to account. *On 16 September 2003, Nabwa was banned by the authorities from working on Zanzibar on the grounds that he did not have a work permit.

TOGO

Released

Dimas DZIKODO, Philipe EVEGNO and Jean de Dieu KPAKPABIA: editor-in-chief and publication director of the weekly newspaper L’Evenement and journalist with the weekly newspaper Nouvel Echo respectively, were arrested on 14 and 15 June 2003. According to reports, Dzikodo was arrested on 14 June at a cybercafe in Lomé whilst reportedly scanning photographs of persons who had been allegedly injured by police officers and militiamen of the ruling party, Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (RPT) during the presidential elections of 1 June 2003. Kpakpabia was arrested on 14 June at the same cybercafe whilst he was reportedly planning to send similar photographs to a website based outside Togo. Evegno was arrested the following day on the pretext that he had asked Dzikodo to carry out the work at the cybercafe. The three journalists were charged with “publishing false information and disturbing public order” and transferred to Lomé Central prison on 24 June. All three journalists have allegedly been beaten and there is concern that they may be subjected to ill-treatment and/or torture whilst in detention. Evégno and Kpakpabia were aquitted of “attempting to publish false information and to disturb public order” on 22 July 2003 and were released from prison. Dzikodo was released from prison on 24 July 2003 after his lawyers paid the 500,000 CFA franc (US$864) fine which he had received for "attempting to publish false information".

Case Closed

The following cases was closed due to lack of further information.

Basile AGBOH: director of the weekly Le Scorpion, and one of the newspaper’s reporters, were arrested on 5 June 2002 by police in Lomé under the charge of printing “false material”. The reporter was released the following day but Agboh was transferred to a prison in the capital. He was eventually provisionally released on 16 August 2002. Agboh's arrest followed the publication of a story in which it was claimed that Prime Minister Gabriel Kodjo had admitted receiving death threats from President Gnassingbé Eyadéma’s son, lieutenant-colonel Ernest Gnassingbé.

Julien AYI: publishing editor of the weekly Nouvel Echo, was sentenced on 13 September 2002 to four months’ imprisonment and a fine of

100,000 CFA francs (c. US$150) for the “defamation” of the President of Togo. The charge related to an article published in the Nouvel Echo in August which speculated on the considerable personal wealth of President Gnassingbé Eyadéma. Opposition leader, Claude Améganvi, who was involved in the writing of the article, was given the same sentence. Nouvel Echo’s editor-in-chief Alphonse Névamé Klu was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment in absentia and went into hiding to avoid arrest. *

TUNISIA

Investigation case

Mohamed MOUADDA: retired professor of Arabic literature and former leader of the opposition Mouvement des Démocrates Socialistes (MDS), was returned to prison to serve the remainder of his eleven-year sentence on 19 June 2001. Mouadda had been arrested on 11 October 1995 after having made public a letter addressed to President Ben Ali in which he condemned the deterioration of the human rights situation in Tunisia. He was sentenced in February 1996 to eleven years’ imprisonment on charges including threatening the security of the state and intelligence with a foreign power. He was conditionally released in December 1996 but in April 1997 Mouadda was placed under house arrest for three months for protesting at the human rights abuses he had suffered. In December that year he was arrested again and charged with “conspiring to overthrow the government” and “conspiring with foreign agents” after having travelled to Europe where he met the leadership of the unauthorised Tunisian Islamist group al-Nahda. After his release he was again placed under house arrest for several weeks. In September 1999 he announced his symbolic candidacy in the presidential elections following which he was put under house arrest. In March 2001, the former professor had signed a joint manifesto with Rached Ghannouchi, exiled leader of al-Nahda, in which they rejected the possible candidacy of President Ben Ali for the forthcoming presidential elections in 2004. *No further information as of 30 December 2003.

Judicial Concern

* Abdallah ZOUARI: journalist with al-Fajir, an unofficial Islamist publication, was sentenced to a nine-month prison sentence for “failing to obey an administrative decision” on 29 August 2003. Abdallah Zouari has previously spent 11 years in jail. The journalist was one of 265 defendants convicted by military courts in July and August 1992 on charges of plotting to overthrow the government and belonging to the unauthorized association the Ennahda Islamic Movement. Although members of Ennahda were accused by the authorities of attempting to overthrow the government, the leadership of Ennahda has publicly repeatedly condemned the use of violence. Following his release on 6 June 2002, Zouari was subjected to a banishment order and ordered to live in Zarsis, a town in the south of Tunisia, far from his family in Tunis. On 6 June 2002 he was re-arrested for refusing to move from his home in Tunis to Zarsis and spent several further months in prison before being released on 6 November 2002.The most recent arrest of Abdallah Zouari took place on 17 August 2003 in the Ben Guerdane market (500 km south of Tunis). According to his lawyers the banishment order allows Zouari freedom of movement throughout the governorate of Médnine, including the place where he was arrested. Zouari reportedly began a hunger strike on 17 August 2003. On 18 July 2003, Abdallah Zouari was sentenced to four months in prison for “defamation” after complaining about being barred from using a cybercafe in Zarzis. His lawyers are appealing against this conviction.

Judicial concern

Hamadi JEBALI: editor of weekly al-Fajr (Dawn) and member of the al-Nahda party. He was sentenced on 31 January 1991 to one year in prison by a military court in Tunis for defamation after publishing an article calling for the abolition of Tunisian military courts. Jebali reportedly remained in detention beyond the expiry of his sentence and was then sentenced to sixteen years in prison on 18 August 1992. He and fellow journalist Abdellah Zouari (above) were tried along with 265 members of the Islamic al-Nahdha group and accused of attempting to “overthrow the government with violence”. Amnesty International, who sent observers to these trials, reported that international standards of fairness were repeatedly breached. In the particular case of Hamadi Jebali it is alleged that he was in prison at the time when he is said to have participated in the “attempted overthrow” of the government. He claims to have been tortured while in detention and to have been submitted to continued harassment and hardship in prison. In November 1999, a large scale amnesty of hundreds of political prisoners was declared, but Jebali was not among those released. Jebali started another hunger strike on 15 April 2001 in protest at his sentence. This reportedly resulted in him being moved by the authorities to the Bordj Ennadour prison as a punishment. It has been reported that Jebali began a hunger strike on 13 January 2003. On 12 February 2003 the journalist was transferred to Habib Bougafta hospital in Bizerte. *No further information as of 30 December 2003.

Facing charges/threatened

Sihem BEN SEDRINE (f): editor of the on-line magazine Kalima, secretary-general of the Observatory for the Defence of Freedom of the Press, Publishing and Creation, and spokesperson for the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia. Details of arrest and charges: Arrested on 26 June 2001 at Tunis airport on returning from a trip to Europe. After a short hearing before an examining magistrate she was taken to Manouba women’s prison. Nine days earlier, Ben Sedrine (47) had appeared on a programme, Le Grand Maghreb, put out by the London-based Arab television station Al Mustakillah. During the programme she had discussed the subject of corruption in Tunisia. As a result she is being charged with “defamation” and broadcasting "false news with the aim of disturbing public order".. Trial: A further hearing before an examining judge took place on 5 July 2001. The courtroom was only large enough to admit twenty people and since around 170 lawyers wished to attend, the defence team walked out in protest when the judge refused to have the case moved to a larger court. Ben Sedrine exercised her right to remain silent. Provisional release: Sihem Ben Sedrine was released on provisional bail on 11 August 2001 pending trial. The editor is currently at liberty. Awards: Winner: Amnesty International Media Award 2001, and the international award Genova, una fuori dal coro 2002 and the Reporters without Borders 2003 Fondation de France Prize.

Suspended sentence

*Om Zied (Real name: Neziha Rejiba)(f): editor-in-chief of the online magazine Kalima and human rights activist, was given an eight-month suspended jail sentence and fined 1,200 dinars (approx. US$1000) on 18 November 2003 for “illegal possession of foreign currency and transferring it to an unauthorised person”.On 25 Septmember 2003 Om Zeid was summoned by the authorities in charge of customs investigations for exchange offences and was accused of giving a young Tunisian 170 euros (approx. US$210). However, reports claim that she committed no offence as the law allows a traveller one week to exchange currency after a journey abroad. Om Zeid’s lawyers demonstrated at her trial that the accusations against her were unfounded and that the charges were politically motivated. The online magazine Kalima has been banned in Tunisia since it began in October 2000 although it is still hosted abroad. Om Zied has reportedly suffered relentless persecution over the last two years because of her writings on the internet and her opinions on satellite stations. The date for the journalist’s appeal is 31 December 2003.

Released: conditional

Zouhair YAHYAOUI (pen name “Ettounsi”): internet journalist arrested on 4 June 2002 and sentenced to two years in prison on accusation of publishing false information, charges clearly related to his web-site’s, Tunezine, articles critical of, among other things, the Tunisian judiciary. Suffered severe ill-health in detention, and underwent hunger-strikes in protest. In October 2003, claimed to have been beaten by prison officers. Conditionally released on 18 November 2003, after having served half his sentence. Honorary Member: English PEN, American PEN, Scottish PEN, PEN USA West, PEN Canada, French PEN.

Case closed

The following case was closed due to lack of information

Hédi YAHMED: journalist with the weekly magazine Réalités, was charged at the Tribunal de premiere instance with “publication of false information” on 14 December 2002. The charge relates to an article Yahmed (28) had written in the 12 December issue of Réalités regarding prison conditions in Tunisia. The magazine’s director, Taïeb Zahar, was questioned separately but was not believed to be facing charges.

UGANDA

On trial

Vincent MATOVU: managing editor of the weekly Mazima, was arrested on 6 January 2003 in connection with two Mazima articles published in October and November 2002 on the civil war in the north of the country. The editor has been charged with sedition on the grounds that he reported that Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) forces killed thousands of government soldiers and captured the districts of Pader and Kapchorwa. Matovu has denied the charge brought against him. It was reported on 17 January that the journalist was still being held in custody in Luzira prison. His trial was due to open on 21 January. *Bail was apparently set at 500,000 Shillings (c. US$250). WiPC seeking information as to whether Matovu has since been able to raise this amount.

Frank NYAKAIRU, Charles ONYANGO-OBBO, Joseph WERE and Wanyama WANGAH: journalist and editors of The Monitor respectively. Nyakairu was detained by the Ugandan army on 11 October 2002 and released on bail on 17 October. The arrest came a day after the Kampala offices of The Monitor, a newspaper for whom Nyakairu writes, were raided by between thirty and forty police officers. On 15 October, three Monitor editors, Onyango-Obbo, Were and Wangah were charged with "publishing articles that are contrary to national security and that give comfort to the enemy" and "publishing false information". On 12 November, Onyango-Obbo, Nyakairu and Wangah appeared at Buganda Road Court but the case was immediately adjourned until 11 December to give the prosecution more time to make enquiries. The action taken by the Ugandan authorities stems from an article that appeared in the 10 October edition of The Monitor. The piece claimed that a Ugandan army helicopter had been shot down by fighters from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). An official denial of the report from the Ugandan Army was also printed in the same edition. However, the Ugandan authorities have accused The Monitor and the radio station Radio Monitor of supporting terrorism by their allegedly biased reportage of the LRA, a guerrilla force currently fighting a civil war against the Ugandan army. In May 2002 an anti-terrorism law sanctioned the use of the death penalty for those found guilty of publishing news "likely to promote terrorism". *A further hearing was held in May 2003 during which witnesses for the prosecution and the defence made pronouncements. Chief of Military Intelligence Col. Noble Mayombo claimed that the article in question was false and that its purpose was to “demoralise government soldiers”. The trial continues.

Brief detention/attacked

*Raymond MIKAH: journalist with the newspaper New Vision, was reportedly arrested by police along with two other New Vision journalists whilst covering a strike by workers in Bugolobi on 23 October 2003. The three were handcuffed by police. Mikah broke away in a bid to stop his colleague’s camera being confiscated. He was caught by security men who beat and kicked him and the other two journalists. The police allegedly did not intervene. The three were eventually released after being taken to a local police station.

ZAMBIA

Facing charges

Chali NONDO: chief reporter with The Monitor, was detained briefly on 5 February 2003 at Woodlands police station on charges of "publishing false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public". He was re-arrested on 10 February 2003 and released on police bond. The charges stem from an article in the 4-6 February edition of The Monitor in which Nondo alleged that President Levy Mwanawasa had authorised police to employ a witchdoctor in their bid to track down a fugitive former finance minister wanted for "theft of public funds". The former minister had reportedly been using charms to evade arrest. Nondo faces a maximum three-year sentence if found guilty. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Arthur SIMUCHOBA and Chali NONDO: editor and chief reporter respectively with The Monitor, face charges of “contempt of court”. On 16 September 2002, the trial opened against the two men. At a further hearing on 20 September, the Supreme Court adjourned the case. The court must now decide whether to allow prosecution to go ahead in connection with a 16-19 August 2002 edition of The Monitor which claimed that judges were receiving an increase in salary "to soften the judiciary ahead of the Presidential petition hearing”. President Levy Mwanawasa’s December 2001 election victory is being challenged in the courts by three opposition parties. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Arthur SIMUCHOBA, Calvin KALEYI and Chali NONDO: editor, entertainment and sports editor, and chief reporter respectively at The Monitor, were arrested by armed police in Lusaka on 21 January 2003. The detentions were connected with an article in the newspaper’s 18 to 21 October 2002 edition in which Harry Mwanawasa, President Levy Mwanawasa's brother, was accused of having two suspected diamond smugglers released in return for a bribe. The three journalists were questioned, released the same day, and told to report at a police station the next day. Police questioned senior reporter Douglas Hampande about the same matter on 22 January. News and business editor Mervin Syafunko, has gone into hiding. Harry Mwanawasa has apparently launched a civil case against the journalists and it is reported that they are likely to face criminal libel proceedings as well. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

*Wilfred ZULU and Masautso PHIRI: reporter and editor respectively with the weekly newspaper Today, could face charges of contempt of court stemming from an 11-17 June 2003 Today article entitled, "Is Chief Justice Sakala compromised on Nevers Mumba?" A complaint against the two journalists was lodged at Lusaka High Court on 3 July 2003 by Vice-President Nevers Mumba. The article claimed that President Mwanawasa had consulted Chief Justice Salaka before appointing Mumba as the country’s vice-president. Mumba claims that the piece could prejudice a court case in which an opposition member of parliament is challenging the legality of his appointment. The court was due to rule on the case on 1 August 2003. WiPC investigating ruling.

Brief detention

*Alfarson SINALUNGU: freelance journalist, was arrested by four prison officers at a hospital in Kabwe on 17 September 2003. The officers confronted him over an interview he had allegedly conducted at the hospital with convicted coup plotter, Captain Jack Chiti. The interview was published in the independent newspaper Post. The prison wardens accused Sinalungu of being the author and therefore of having committed the offence of trespass in carrying out the interview in the hospital. They took the journalist to Kabwe central police station where he was questioned before being released without charge.

Charges dropped

Emmanuel CHILEKWA, Shaderick BANDA, Kinsley LWENDO and Jean CHIRWA: editor, deputy editor, reporter and trainee journalist respectively with the weekly The People, were arrested on 5 June 2002 following an article that claimed that the Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa had Parkinson’s disease. *Chilekwa has since recognised that the sources for this story were incorrect and has apologised to Mwanawasa, who consequently dropped all charges against the four men.

ZIMBABWE

Sentenced/free on appeal

Tawanda MAJONI: reporter with the Daily Mirror, was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and a fine of 500 Zimbabwean dollars (US$9) on 18 September 2002. Majoni, a former policeman, was arrested on the afternoon of 12 September as a result of a 9 September Daily Mirror article he had written in which he claimed that Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri suffered health problems and was unfit for duty. He was released after spending nearly twenty-four hours in police cells where he claims he was threatened with a beating if he did not co-operate. He was also questioned about his sources for his story. Majoni was told he would be charged under section 80 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, for allegedly writing falsehoods. Police later informed him that he would be charged instead under the Public Order and Security Act. Later still, this charge changed to one of criminal defamation. He was eventually charged with having gathered information for the article before he had officially left the police force, thus contravening the Police Act. Majoni has appealed against the sentence and is free whilst the appeal process takes place. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Brief detention/facing charges

*Sam Sipepa NKOMO, Brian MUTSAU, Rachel KUPARA (f) and Stuart MATTINSON: chief executive and directors respectively of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), were arrested on 22 September 2003 and charged under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) with publishing newspapers (the Daily News and the Daily News on Sunday) without a licence. The four were summoned to the Central Police Station in Harare. When they reported there they were told that they were under arrest. All four were released on condition that they reported the next day for further questioning. Police also demanded that a list of all newspaper staff be drawn up and handed over. On 27 October 2003, the four were arrested again and officially charged with publishing without a licence. Another Daily News director, Washington Sansole, was arrested on 26 November. It is believed that he faces the same charge. Sam Sipepa Nkomo’s niece, Tulepi Nkomo, was arrested on the same day, apparently because police could not find her uncle. She was released after paying a fine. Four of ANZ’s directors have already left Zimbabwe, presumably to avoid arrest. The charge specifically relates to an 8-page edition of the newspaper published on 25 October after the Daily News had apparently been given legal clearance by the Administrative Court the day before to publish again after ruling that the government-appointed Media and Information Commission (MIC) should not have denied the newspaper a registration licence. Police also arrested and briefly detained 18 Daily News journalists and staff on 25 October as they worked on the Sunday edition of the newspaper. As of 31 December 2003 the police were still occupying the offices of the Daily News in order to prevent it being published despite a High Court order demanding that they vacate the premises.

*Journalists and former journalists with the Daily News: 45 of whom were summonsed to appear at a police station in the capital, Harare, on 25 September 2003. All the journalists had written for the Daily News or the Daily News on Sunday between 1 January and 11 September 2003 and were included on a list demanded by police from newspaper executives. They had all attempted to register as journalists under the terms of the draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) but their applications had not been passed on to the Media and Information Commission (MIC) because the Daily News owners, Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, were challenging the constitutionality of AIPPA in the courts. Perversely, those journalists who had not tried to register were not summonsed. Nine journalists were charged on 25 September with violation of Section 83 of AIPPA for their failure to register as journalists. The nine are: Luke Tamborinyoka, Pedzisai Ruhanya, Fanuel Jongwe, Precious Shumba, Chengetai Zvauya, Conelias Mabasa, Conway Tutani, Gladwin Muparutsa, Darlington Makoni. Another journalist, Francis Mdlongwa, was similarly charged the following day. They were all released after signing “warned and cautioned” statements. The summons followed the defeat of ANZ’s action in the High Court on 11 September and the subsequent closure of the Daily News the following day. Police also confiscated all the newspaper’s computers. These were returned on 20 September following a High Court ruling but re-confiscated two days later. On 19 September, the MIC rejected an ANZ attempt to register the newspaper. On 1 October, the following six Daily News journalists were charged under Section 83 of AIPPA: Philemon Bulawayo, Margaret Chinowaita (f), Kelvin Jakachira, Sydney Saize, George Muzimba and Lawrence Chikuvira. A police spokesperson has stated that all 45 journalists will eventually be charged under Section 83 once they have been traced by the security services. On 16 October 2003 it was reported that another four Daily News journalists, namely Chris Gande, Oscar Nkala, Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu and Grey Chitika, had been charged for allegedly practicing without being registered.

*Martin MUKARO: a Zimbabwean citizen, was arrested on 5 September 2003 for having faxed information about pre-election violence in Zimbabwe to a friend in the United Kingdom. Mukaro, who used a public service in Harare to send his fax, was charged under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and released on bail. His first hearing was set for 8 October 2003. In his fax he allegedly stated that the ruling ZANU-PF party had used violence as a means to winning the mayoral elections in Kwekwe.

Facing charges

Samuel NKOMO and Moreblessing MPOFU: chief executive officer of the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), publishers of The Daily News, and the newspaper's commercial director, were charged under Section 16 of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) on 30 June 2003. The charge stems from advertisements carried in The Daily News that allegedly "denigrated President Robert Mugabe". The advertisements were paid for by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in May in the run up to mass protests that took place in June. Nkomo and Mpofu were both obliged to sign “warned and cautioned” statements before being released. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Nqobile NYATHI (f): an editor of The Daily News, was summoned to the Harare Central police station for questioning on 15 January 2003. The summons stemmed from a cartoon/advertisement that appeared in the weekly Financial Gazette in 2002 when she was editor-in-chief of the newspaper. Nyathi was subsequently charged with contravening Section 15 (1a) and Section 16 (2a) of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). The cartoon, paid for by the National Constitutional Assembly and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), showed President Mugabe being given a mock trial. Francis Mdlongwa, who was also at Financial Gazette at the time of the publication of the advert was charged under the same provisions of POSA on 11 June 2003. Mdlongwa claims he did not see the advert before it was published because it was dealt with by another department of the newspaper. Nyathi was arrested again on 26 June 2003 and charged under the same sections of POSA, this time for a cartoon that appeared in The Daily News. The cartoon, placed by the MDC, was of President Mugabe being pursued by a crowd of people. The caption read, "Do you recognise him: Thief! Thief! Thief!" The wording underneath the cartoon went on to catalogue Mugabe’s alleged crimes. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Bill SAIDI: an editor of The Daily News, was charged on 24 June 2003 under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) in connection with a Daily News article published in December 2002. The report alleged that President Mugabe had attended a South African ruling-party congress when in fact he was in Harare. Saidi faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison if convicted. Saidi has claimed that he was not responsible for the inclusion of the press agency article in the newspaper. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Brief detention/facing possible charges

Stanley KAROMBO: a freelance journalist, was arrested on 19 March 2003 on charges that he had practiced as a journalist without accreditation, as set out in Section 83 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). He was released on 24 March on bail. Karombo claimed that the police beat him and searched his home on the day of his arrest. Legal action against the journalist has been suspended whilst a challenge to AIPPA is being heard in the Supreme Court. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

William NYAMANGARA and Mhlabene BHEBHE: managing director and company executive respectively of Sovereign Publishers, were detained at Harare central police station on 11 March 2003. They were questioned about their alleged publication of what were termed “subversive materials”. The two were released after recording statements. The police indicated that the matter was under investigation and that the two would be summonsed again. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Kidnapped/tortured

*Bright CHIBVURI: editor with the newspaper The Worker, was reportedly kidnapped on 30 November 2003 by alleged Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) members and state security agents in Kadoma. Chibvura had gone to the town to cover a parliamentary by-election. The ZANU-PF members accused Chibvuri of working for an anti-government newspaper (The Worker is wholly owned by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions), attacked him physically and stole a number of his possessions, including his passport and ID card. Police officers apparently witnessed this and did nothing. He was then taken to two locations, in the latter of which he was allegedly assaulted and subjected to torture. He was released the next day and told by a ZANU-PF official to leave Kadoma. On reporting to the police, Chibvuri was told that his possessions had been confiscated by Central Intelligence Operatives (CIO). The journalist was then questioned by CIO officers about his journalistic work and political affiliations.

Attacked

*Cyril ZENDA: a senior journalist with the newspaper Financial Gazette, was reportedly attacked on 3 October 2003 at Harare’s main bus terminal. A vigilante group called Chipango spotted him because he was wearing a Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) t-shirt with the legend “Free my Voice: Free the Airwaves”. In the attack, the t-shirt was ripped off and burnt. Zenda also lost some money and his mobile phone.

Attacked/in hiding

*Flata KAVINGA: journalist with The Midlands Observer, was reportedly attacked on 9 August 2003 by six suspected government (ZANU-PF) supporters armed with blunt instruments outside the Mbizo Inn, a nightclub in the city of Kwekwe. Kavinga, who was left for the dead, sustained multiple injuries to his head and body and spent two days in hospital as a result. His attackers apparently took assaulted him because of his work for a publication they deemed “anti-government”. He has since gone into hiding.

Brief detention

*Blessing ZULU and Newton SPICER: reporter with the Zimbabwe Independent and freelance journalist respectively, were reportedly arrested on 22 October 2003 whilst covering a demonstration organised by the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA). The two journalists were apparently denied legal representation whilst they were held at Harare Central police station. Trainee journalist Takunda Mawodza, of the government-owned Herald, was also reportedly detained briefly at the same demonstration.

Cases closed

No action has been known to be taken in the courts since July 2002 or earlier in the trials of Chris GANDE (reporter with the Daily News), Stephen NDLOVU: (editor of The Chronicle), Pius WAKATAMA (columnist with the Daily News), and Iden WETHERELL (editor of the Zimbabwe Independent – “obscene photograph” trial - however, Wetherell faces new charges as detailed above).

AMERICAS

ARGENTINA

On trial

Sergio CARRERAS: reporter with the newspaper La Voz del Interior, is facing civil and criminal charges of defamation brought by Olga Riutort, former provincial government secretary-general and wife of the governor of Córdoba, José Manuel de la Sota. Hearings opened on 13 March 2003. The charges stem from a July 2002 La Voz del Interior article written by Carreras in which Riutort was accused of having made a covert trip to Chile in a private plane in November 2001 to collect 50 million pesos' (approx. US$16.8M) worth of bonds which are issued in Córdoba but printed in Chile. Carreras faces a one-year prison sentence if convicted, and damages of 500,000 pesos (approx. US$170,000). *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Death threats

Clara BRITOS (f): owner and director of the daily La Tapa, has been the subject of a concerted campaign of threats and harassment since mid-2002. *On 13 July 2003, an attempt was apparently made to burn down Britos’ wooden house while she and her family were asleep inside. On 5 October 2003, Britos was forced into a car by a man who put what the journalist assumed to be a gun into her back. She was driven off in the car, which contained two other men, and warned, “En Guernica manda Rodríguez y se hace lo que el Señor Oscar Rodríguez dice…¿cuándo lo van a entender, hija de puta?” (“In Guernica, Rodríguez [the ex-mayor of Pte. Perón, in the province of Buenos Aires] gives the orders and everyone does whatever Mr Oscar Rodríguez says…when are going to understand that, bitch?”) She was released shortly afterwards with the words, “Bájate, pero la próxima vez no volvés a casa.” (“Get out, but next time you won’t be returning home.”)

*Ulises CABALLERO: editor of the Buenos Aires-based newspaper Artículo 14 and member of the Radio Rebelde programme team on radio station La Porteña, received a threatening call at 4.00 am on 9 August 2003. The caller left a message on Caballero’s answer machine which warned, “You’re dead…we’re going to smash your head to bits.” No reason was given for the threat, although it may be connected with Caballero’s reporting of

alleged corruption in the building of a hospital, or criticisms of local politicians. The journalist has handed a copy of the message to the judicial authorities.

*Gustavo CORVALÁN: journalist with the newspaper El Liberal, was threatened on 14 October 2003 whilst covering a protest at the Health and Social Action Ministry in the province of Santiago del Estero. Corvalán was approached by Nicomedes Marcos, an alleged member of the police’s D2 Information Department, and told, "You want to know who I'm working for, you son of a bitch. You'd better be careful, you and your family." A few days earlier, El Liberal had published an article in which it claimed that Marcos was a police agent mascarading as a journalist at press conferences.

*Marcelo SISSO: journalist with the newspaper El Sol de Mendoza, has reportedly received a number of threats in connection with articles he has written alleging mismanagement by the directors of the El Triángulo Housing Cooperative. On 30 July 2003, Sisso was warned by telephone to stop reporting on the subject "or you know what will happen to you." He received three similar calls the next day.

*José VALES: author and Buenos Aires correspondent for the Mexican daily El Universal, has reportedly been receiving death threats since August 2003 in connection with his investigations into Argentinian officers accused of human rights abuses under the former military regimes. Vales published a book in 2003 about ex-naval officer Ricardo Cavallo, who is detained in Mexico on charges of torture and genocide. Whilst investigating Cavallo, Vales also came across the identity of another suspected human rights abuser who had previously only been known by a pseudonym. When his findings were published in El Universal in August 2003, Vales started to receive threatening phone calls. His mother also began receiving similar calls.

BOLIVIA

Threatened

*Walter CHÁVEZ: editor of the Bolivian edition of the French monthly Le Monde Diplomatique and the bi-monthly El Juguete Rabioso, reported on 15 October 2003 that he had been harassed by government intelligence agents. Chávez claimed the agents had threatened him by telephone concerning an issue of Le Monde Diplomatique that included comments regarding the resignation of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. As a result of the threats, Chávez decided not to distribute the issue.

Attacked

*Johnny SALAZAR SOCPAZA: journalist with the daily La Razón, along with two of the newspaper’s photographers and a driver, was attacked by an alcohol-fueled crowd on 15 September 2003. The assault took place in Alto, near La Paz, when their car was intercepted by a group of people manning a roadblock. One of the journalists managed to escape and call police to the scene.

BRAZIL

Main case

*Alvanir FERREIRA AVELINO: journalist with the daily newspaper Dois Estados, was sentenced to ten months and fifteen days in prison for “expressing an opinion”. Under the terms of the judgment, which was handed down in 2001 but not carried out until August 2003, Ferreira Avelino has to spend one day a week in prison over the course of his sentence. The journalist was arrested at his home in Campos in the state of Rio de Janeiro on 29 August 2003 and taken to the Carlos Tinoco da Fonseca prison to begin his sentence. The law under which Ferreira was found guilty was passed during the military dictatorships that governed Brazil for two decades before the resumption of civilian government in 1985. The repressive press law, passed in 1967, has yet to be repealed. The sentence stems from a series of libel cases brought against the journalist in 1999 by Alexandre Mesquita, whom Ferreira claimed had abused his position as a judge. Despite the fact that there exists a two-year time limit on press offences, the court still refused to waive the charges against the journalist.

Killed – one killer sentenced

*Domingos Sávio BRANDÃO LIMA JÚNIOR: the owner of and colmunist for the daily Folha do Estado, was shot dead by two men in the city of Cuiabá on 30 September 2002, reportedly in connection with his newspaper’s coverage of drug trafficking and corruption. On 11 December 2003, former Military Police corporal, Araújo Agostinho, was handed down an 18-year sentence for the killing.

CANADA

Harassment/brief detention/on trial

*Stephen WILLIAMS: author, is being charged with possession of a brief belonging to the Crown (the State) in connection with a book he published in 1996 about a triple killing. In all he faces 97 criminal charges and a civil lawsuit. Williams was arrested by armed police on a dawn raid on his farm on 4 May 2003 and detained overnight. In a further raid, on 18 July 2003, all Williams’ computer equipment and diskettes were confiscated by police, who also took a computer and diskettes containing the text of an unrelated book being written by his wife and fellow author, Marsha Boulton. Williams’ book, Invisible Darkness, details a series of killings committed by a married couple. In the book, Williams criticises the handling of the case by the police, Crown Attorneys and the Office of the Attorney General of Ontario. It is believed that the raids on the author’s house are an attempt to discover the sources who gave him the material on which he was able to base such criticisms. The police have yet to return any of computer equipment confiscated even though it is normal practice to make copies of any hard disks and diskettes and return the originals to their owners. In 1998, Williams faced charges relating to access to Crown material in the writing of Invisible Darkness but he was either acquitted or charges were dropped.

CHILE

Facing charges

*Alberto LUENGO and Jazmin JALILIE: director and reporter respectively with the daily La Nación, were named on 6 October 2003 in Santiago as co-defendants on a charge of “defamation”. The charge stems from a La Nación article that claimed that the break-up of River Plate striker Marcelo Salas’ marriage was due to a legal battle with his brother-in-law.

Harassment

*Ximena MARRÉ (f) and Mario OVALLE: journalist and editor with El Mercurio, were both summoned to appear before Supreme Court Magistrate Domingo Kokisch at his office on 3 September 2003 to clarify an El Mercurio article about a case of stolen classified financial information. When Marré refused to reveal her sources for the article, Kokisch reportedly became aggressive, eventually throwing the two out of his office and attempting to punch Ovalle. Kokisch has since apologised for the incident. It was revealed a few days later that Kokisch had apparently assaulted and threatened Luis Narvaéz, a journalist with La Nación Domingo, on 7 January 2003. Narvaéz had asked the judge about proceedings the Supreme Court was taking in a government corruption case.

COLOMBIA

Sentenced

*Lisandro DUQUE: a columnist with the weekly El Espectador and film director, was sentenced to three days’ imprisonment and fined around 1,620,000 pesos (c. US$575) in December 2003 for failing to comply fully with a judicial order to print a retraction of a story. In a 13 April 2003 piece for El Espectador, Duque had accused company director Claudia Triana de Vargas of involvement in questionable practices. He was subsequently ordered to publish a correction. In Duque’s 7 September 2003 column he retracted the accusations and explained that his reason for doing so was that he did not did not have sufficient evidence to back up his claims. Triana pressed her case against Duque on the grounds that this did not constitute a full retraction.

Kidnapped

*Jineth BEDOYA (f) and Jhon WILSON VIZCAÍNO: special correspondents for the newspaper El Tiempo, were reportedly kidnapped and held for five days in August 2003 whilst on a reporting assignment in the eastern department of Guaviare. The two reporters were allegedly captured by the 44^th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla organisation. The reasons for the kidnapping, which took place in a particularly precarious area in terms of the civil war, are unclear.

Detained/facing charges

*Ricardo PEREA VARGAS: a journalist with the environmental issues magazine Regeneracción (sic), was arrested with four other individuals by members of the National Police's intelligence unit (SIJIN) on 30 November 2003 at a checkpoint near the municipality of Los Patios. Perea was returning from covering the leftist Bolivarian Congress of the People, held in Venezuela. All five were charged with "rebellion" and "possessing materials alluding to illegal armed groups". Police had apparently confiscated materials referring to the Bolivarian Liberation Forces and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Perea and his companions are being held by SIJIN by order of the Los Patios Public Prosecutor's Office.

Death threats

*Adriana CUÉLLAR (f): journalist with the human rights organisation Corporación Colectivo de Abogados ‘José Alvear Restrepo’ (José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective), claims to have received three death threats on her answerphone on 24 November 2003. The next day, her house was broken into, some items were stolen and her personal documents were leafed through. Cuéllar and a lawyer from the collective were filmed and photographed near the organisation’s offices by unidentified individuals. It is believed that the threats are connected with her work for the lawyers’ collective.

*Carlos FERNÁNDEZ BONILLA: columnist with the Cali-based newspaper Diario de Occidente, reportedly received a threat by telephone in July 2003. The threat stemmed from a column written by Bonilla in which he gave an overview of public companies in Cali.

*Yaneth MONTOYA MARTíNEZ (f): journalist with the newspaper Vanguardia Liberal, has reportedly received death threats from army-backed paramilitaries in the war-ravaged city of Barrancabermeja. On 22 October 2003, an anonymous caller told an official at the Magdalena Medio regional office of the Defensoria del Pueblo (Human Rights Ombudsman) that Montoya’s name was on a death list drawn up by United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC). The AUC apparently believe Montoya to be a guerrilla informant. Two days later, an anonymous phonecall was made to the journalist’s home during which the caller reportedly said, “Digale a esa sapa que se cuide, que no de papaya porque como sea la iban a matar” (''Tell that informant to take care of herself and not to make a fuss because otherwise they are going to kill her.”). The threats are believed to be linked to an article Montoya wrote about living conditions in one part of Barrancabermeja.

On trial

*Roberto POSADA (‘D'Artagnan’): columnist with the newspaper El Tiempo, is being tried for “libel” and “insult” in connection with a 3 March 2002 column in which he bridled at the fact that businessman Pedro Juan Moreno Villa was contemplating running for the vice-presidency. Posada argued that Moreno’s alleged links with paramilitary groups made him an unfit candidate. Moreno claims that he has had no involvement with paramilitaries. He wrote a letter to Posada in response to this column. This was published on 7 March 2002 with Posada’s reply, which was to call the businessman "dangerous" and "a menace". In June 2002, Posada published a retraction of his earlier pronouncements but this has not been accepted by the Public Prosecutor who is bringing the case. Hearings were opened against Posada in August 2003.

Death threat

*Pedro Javier GALVIS: journalist with the weekly La Noticia, received a death threat on 15 October 2003 in Barrancabermeja. Two men on a motorcycle rode up alongside Galvis, who was wearing a jacket with La Noticia’s logo on it. The men reportedly told Galvis that he had a week to leave the city. Galvis had been working on the newspaper for less than three weeks and it is believed that the threat came as part of the campaign that armed groups are waging against newcomers to Barrancabermeja. Galvis left the city immediately. It is not known which group was behind the threats.

Harassed

*Beatriz Elena MANTILLA (f): Barrancabermeja correspondent for the daily Vanguardia Liberal, received a phone call on 27 November 2003 during which a local battalion commander, Colonel Ricardo Bernal, apparently told her, "As of today, I declare you a 'persona non grata' in the battalion and I myself am going to make sure that the state security forces know what kind of person you are." The call came in the wake of a Vanguardia Liberal article penned by Mantilla regarding attempts to cover up the accidental death of a soldier. Bernal apparently railed at the amount of coverage given to the story.

COSTA RICA

Killed - Investigation

*Ivannia MORA RODRÍGUEZ (f), a freelance journalist, was shot at close range in the capital, San José, on 23 December 2003 and died shortly afterwards. Mora (33) was in a car which was approached by two men on a motorcycle who shot her and fled. The two assailants made no attempt to rob the journalist. The motive for the killing is still not known. One man was arrested on 25 December in connection with the crime. Mora had apparently received threats but it is unclear whether they were connected with her work as a journalist. Mora was a freelance journalist specialising on economic issues and was involved in the relaunch of a magazine published by a credit card company.

CUBA

Main cases

April 2003 Crackdown Trials The following 34 writers, journalists and librarians were sentenced during one-day trials held on 3/4 April 2003 under laws governing the protection of the Cuban state. They were arrested as part of a crackdown on alleged dissidents that began on 18 March 2003 and in which around 80 people were detained. The one-day court hearings were held behind closed doors and it is reported that there was insufficient time for the accused to put together a cogent defence. The accusations focused on the alleged conspiratorial dealings between the defendants and James Cason, the chief of the US Special Interests Section in Havana. In recent months Cason has considerably stepped up his contacts with Cubans who have voiced opposition to Fidel Castro. Charges As far as can be established, the majority were tried under Article 91 of the Penal Code and Law 88. Article 91 deals with charges of acting against “the independence of the territorial integrity of the state”, the maximum penalty for which is death. Law 88 is a catch-all piece of legislation that has been used in the past as a means for sending writers and journalists to prison. It allows for prison sentences of up to twenty years for those found guilty of committing “acts that, in line with imperialist interests, are aimed at subverting the internal order of the Nation and destroying its political, economic, and social system." Appeals It is reported that all those sentenced lodged appeals with the Tribunal Supremo Popular (Supreme Popular Tribunal) in April 2003. Background An official statement on the Cuban government website (www.cubagov.cu) explicitly condemns the alleged actions of James Cason and, by definition, those with whom he has allegedly conspired. The fact that the statement goes on to mention the so-called Five Heroes – Cuban nationals who infiltrated Miami-based anti-Castro organisations – suggests that the arrests may also have been made as a reprisal, and possibly as a bargaining chip to obtain their release. The Five Heroes have been detained in the US for the last four years. [The name in brackets after the length of sentence denotes the prison in which each writer or journalist is being held.]

Pedro ARGÜELLES MORÁN: director of Cooperativa Avileña de Periodistas Independientes (Avileña Independent Journalists Cooperative – CAPI) – 20 years (Transferred in May 2003 from Santa Clara Provincial Prison, Villa Clara to Combinado del Este, Havana)

Víctor Rolando ARROYO: journalist (Unión de Periodistas y Escritores de Cuba Independiente) Independent Cuban Union of Journalists and Writers – UPECI) & CubaNet) & librarian (Reyes Magos Library) – 26 years (Chafarina, Guantánamo). On 26 May 2003, Arroyo’s wife reported that he had been moved from his special hardship cell to a bedless punishment cell for refusing to stand to attention in front of a prison guard. *Arroyo reported having been taken from his cell by three prison guards on 31 December 2003 and beaten about the face and body. Honorary member: Finnish PEN

Mijaíl BÁRZAGA LUGO: journalist (Agencia Noticiosa de Cuba) – 15 years (Santa Clara Provincial Prison, Villa Clara).

Carmelo DÍAZ FERNÁNDEZ: journalist (Agencia de Prensa Sindical Independiente de Cuba (Cuban Independent Union Press Agency) & CubaNet) – 15 years (Guanajay, Havana).

Oscar ESPINOZA CHEPE: economist and journalist (Cubanet) – 20 years

(Transferred in early July 2003 from Chafarina, Guantánamo to Boniato, Santiago de Cuba). Sentenced under Articles 7 & 11 of Law 88 (“activities against the integrity and sovereignty of the State”). 62-years-old. Reported to be suffering from a chronic kidney condition, a thoracic hernia, hypertension, weight loss and a possible liver disorder. Transferred to Guantánamo Provincial Hospital shortly after being sentenced and thence to Ambrosio Grillo Hospital in Santiago de Cuba, but reportedly not receiving adequate medical attention. Eventually returned to Boniato prison. *On 7 August 2003, on becoming ill again, Espinoza was flown to the Finlay Military Hospital in Havana.

Adolfo FERNÁNDEZ SAÍNZ: journalist (Agencia Patria) – 15 years (Holguín)

Reported on 3 June 2003 by Russian news agency Prima News to have started a 13-day hunger strike to demand more frequent visiting rights for his relatives. *Reported to have started another hunger strike on 15 August 2003, this time with Mario Enrique Mayo and Iván Hernández Carillo, to demand decent food and medicine for seriously ill prisoners. Reported to have begun a third hunger strike on 18 October 2003 with Mario Enrique Mayo in protest at the sending of fellow journalist Iván Hernández Carrillo to a punishment cell. Reported to have been knocked unconscious on 6 December 2003 when he protested against violence used against a fellow prisoner. Honorary Member: English PEN

Miguel GALVÁN GUTIÉRREZ: journalist (Havana Press) – 26 years

(Agüica, Matanzas). Sentence confirmed on 3 June 2003 by the Supreme Popular Tribunal. *On or around 3 August 2003, Galván (born 1965), was reportedly threatened by the Agüica prison governor with a transfer to Guantánamo prison, over 500 miles away from his family, if he continued passing news to the outside about prison conditions. The journalist is apparently being held in a darkened cell in solitary confinement and is being denied visits by his girlfriend.

Julio César GÁLVEZ RODRÍGUEZ: freelance journalist – 15 years

(Santa Clara Provincial Prison, Villa Clara). *Reported in a letter dated 21 July 2003 that he had been diagnosed as suffering from severe cervical arthrosis.

Edel José GARCÍA: director of Norte Press – 15 years (Boniato, Santiago de Cuba).

José Luis GARCÍA PANEQUE: journalist (Agencia Libertad) & librarian (Carlos J Finlay Library) – 24 years (Santa Clara Provisional Prison, Villa Clara).

Blás GIRALDO REYES: librarian (20 de Mayo Library, Sancti Spiritus) and member of Proyecto Varela steering committee in Sancti Spíritus (Proyecto Varela is a petition calling for a referendum on legal reform with the goal of greater personal, political and economic freedoms and an amnesty for political prisoners) – 25 years (Agüica, Colón).

Ricardo Severino GONZÁLEZ ALFONSO: president, Manuel Márquez Sterling Journalists Society, director of De Cuba magazine, and librarian (Jorge Mañach Library) – 20 years (Kilo 8, Camagüey). *Reported in November 2003 to have developed a nodule in his throat. González Alfonso declared the start of a hunger strike on 8 December 2003 to back up his demands that he be transferred to a wing of his prison where he can be held with other political prisoners rather than common criminals who he claims have harassed him. On 14 December 2003, as a reprisal for his hunger strike, the prison authorities moved him to a cell where the lights are never switched off. Reportedly underwent an operation on 19 December 2003 to remove two nodules from his throat. Honorary member: Finnish PEN

Léster Luis GONZÁLEZ PENTÓN: journalist (Movimiento Democracia) – 20 years (Kilo 8, Camagüey).

Alejandro GONZÁLEZ RAGA: freelance journalist – 14 years (Canaletas, Ciego de Ávila).

Iván HERNÁNDEZ CARRILLO: journalist (Agencia Patria) and librarian (Juan Gualberto Gómez Library) – 25 years (Holguín). *Reported to have started a 13-day hunger strike on 15 August 2003 with Adolfo Fernández Saínz and Mario Enrique Mayo to demand decent food and medicine for seriously ill prisoners. Reportedly transferred to a punishment cell on 17 October 2003, though the reasons for this are not known.

Normando HERNÁNDEZ GONZÁLEZ: director of Colegio de Periodistas Independientes de Camagüey (Camagüey College of Independent Journalists), journalist (CubaNet) – 25 years (Boniato, Santiago de Cuba).

32-years-old. Reported on 5 June 2003 to be suffering from very high blood pressure. *Reported to have begun a hunger strike in protest at prison conditions on 31 August 2003.

Juan Carlos HERRERA ACOSTA: journalist (Agencia de Prensa Libre Oriental (Eastern Free Press Agency – APLO)) – 20 years (Boniato, Santiago de Cuba). *Reported to have begun a hunger strike in protest at prison conditions on 31 August 2003.

José Ubaldo IZQUIERDO: journalist (Grupo de Trabajo Decoro & CubaNet) – 16 years (Kilo 5½, Pinar del Río). Sentence confirmed on 3 June 2003 by the Supreme Popular Tribunal. *Izquierdo reportedly broke his wrist in two places and required stitches in a head wound after falling down some steps in prison whilst handcuffed.

José Miguel MARTÍNEZ HERNÁNDEZ: librarian (General Juan Bruno Zayas Library), area representative for the unofficial political group Movimiento 24 de Febrero, and involved in Proyecto Varela – 13 years (Kilo 8, Camagüey).

Héctor MASEDA GUTIÉRREZ: journalist (Grupo de Trabajo Decoro & CubaNet) – 20 years (Transferred at the end of April 2003 from Manacas, Villa Clara to La Pendiente, Villa Clara).

Mario Enrique MAYO: lawyer, journalist (chief of Agencia Félix Varela) – 20 years (Mar Verde, Santiago de Cuba). *Reported to have started a 13-day hunger strike on 15 August 2003 with Adolfo Fernández Saínz and Iván Hernández Carillo to demand decent food and medicine for seriously ill prisoners. Mayo has apparently been refused medicine brought to the prison by his wife to treat his high blood pressure and haemorrhoids. Reported to have begun another hunger strike on 18 October 2003 with Adolfo Fernández Saínz in protest at the sending of fellow journalist Iván Hernández Carrillo to a punishment cell. Transferred in mid-November 2003 from Holguín prison to Mar Verde prison in Santiago de Cuba Province, reportedly to remove him from his fellow hunger strikers.

Roberto de MIRANDA: librarian (Padre Félix Varela Library) and vice-president of the unofficial Colegio de Pedagogos de Cuba (Teachers College of Cuba) – 20 years (Agüica, Matanzas). 57-years-old. Reportedly transferred briefly to a hospital for treatment for a heart problem in April 2003. Also reported to suffer from high blood pressure and a kidney complaint.

Jorge OLIVERA CASTILLO: director of Havana Press – 18 years

(Chafarina, Guantánamo). It was reported on 23 May 2003 that, due to illness, Olivera had lost 30 lbs (13 kilos) since beginning his sentence.

Pablo PACHECO ÁVILA: journalist (Agencia Patria) – 20 years (Agüica, Matanzas).

Omar PERNET HERNÁNDEZ: librarian (20 de Mayo Library, Villa Clara) and leader of the unofficial Movimiento Nacional por los Derechos Humanos "Mario Manuel de la Peña" (National Movement for Human Rights) and involved in the Proyecto Varela – 25 years (Guanajay, Havana).

Fabio PRIETO LLORENTE: freelance journalist and member of the Asemblea para la Sociedad Civil (Civil Society Assembly) – 20 years (Guanajay, Havana) *LLorente (41) was reportedly ordered to spend 21 days in solitary confinement in August 2003 for having offended a state security official.

Alfredo PULIDO LÓPEZ: human rights activist and journalist (Agencia El Mayor) – 14 years (Combinado del Este, Havana).

José Gabriel RAMÓN CASTILLO: journalist (Instituto Cultura y Democracia (Culture and Democracy Institute) & CubaNet) – 20 years (Santa Clara Provisional Prison, Villa Clara).

Raúl RIVERO CASTAÑEDA: poet, director of CubaPress, co-founder of Manuel Márquez Sterling Journalists Society, and librarian – 20 years (Canaletas, Ciego de Avila). 57-years-old. Prior to his arrest on 20 March 2003, Rivero had signed, with other intellectuals, an open letter to the Cuban government calling for more openness and freedom in Cuba. For this and other alleged crimes he was charged with “acting against Cuban independence and attempting to divide Cuban territorial unity”, as well as with writing "against the government", organising "subversive meetings" at his home, and collaborating with US diplomat James Cason. It was reported on 22 May 2003 that Rivero was being held in darkness in a cell measuring three square metres. Award: PEN USA West Freedom To Write Award 2003. *Reported in August 2003 to be suffering from circulatory problems and severe weight loss. Honorary Member: Finnish, Canadian, American and English PEN

Omar RODRÍGUEZ SALUDES: director of Nueva Prensa Cubana – 27 years (Nieves Morejón, nr Cabaiguán, Sancti Spíritus) *Reported in December 2003 to have been transferred from Kilo 8 prison in Camagüey to Nieves Morejón. Honorary member: Finnish PEN

Marta Beatriz ROQUE CABELLO (f): author and economist – 20 years (Manto Negro, Havana). Arrested whilst on hunger strike in support of people she considered political prisoners. Suffers from rheumatism. It was reported on 9 June 2003 that she had lost 30 lbs (13 kilos) in weight due to health problems including vomiting and diarrhoea. Has previously served time for her writing. She was released in May 2000 after serving three years of a four-year sentence for her co-authorship of a document which urged the Cuban government to hold democratic elections, liberalise the economy and improve human rights. *Roque was transferred to a hospital on 23 July 2003 suffering from chest pains and nose bleeds brought on by high blood pressure. She was diagnosed as diabetic in August 2003. Reported still to be in hospital in November 2003 suffering from a variety of ailments. Honorary Member: Finnish, Canadian and English PEN

Omar RUIZ HERNÁNDEZ: journalist (Grupo de Trabajo Decoro & CubaNet) – 18 years (Boniato, Santiago de Cuba). *Reported in August 2003 to have been transferred to a solitary confinement cell. In September 2003, hospital doctors stated that Ruiz was not suffering from prostate inflamation, despite the fact that a urologist had previously declared that he was.

Miguel SIGLER AMALLA: librarian (General Pedro Betancourt Library) – 26 months (sic) (Matanzas).

Manuel VÁZQUEZ PORTAL: novelist, poet and journalist (Grupo de Trabajo Decoro & CubaNet) – 18 years (Aguadores, Santiago de Cuba). *Reportedly began a hunger strike on 31 August 2003. Subsequently transferred from Boniato prison to Aguadores prison. Began another hunger strike on 12 November 2003 in support of the hunger striking journalists at Holguín prison – Mario Enrique Mayo Hernández, Adolfo Fernández Saínz and Iván Hernández Carrillo. Reportedly held in a punishment cell. Winner of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2003 International Press Freedom Award

Other Main Cases

Léxter TÉLLEZ CASTRO and Carlos BRIZUELA YERA: director of the Agencia de Prensa Libre Avileña (Avileña Free Press Agency), and the Cooperativa de Periodistas Independientes de Camagüey (Camagüey Cooperative of Independent Journalists) respectively, were attacked by police and arrested on 4 March 2002, along with six human rights activists at a hospital in Ciego de Avila. The eight men had staged a peaceful protest in support of a reporter, Jesús Alvarez Castillo, who had been assaulted by police on his way to a human rights meeting. The protesters were dragged from the hospital by police who then proceeded to beat them. On 11 March, Brizuela was transferred to a detention centre in Holguín in the east of the country. Téllez, meanwhile, was moved to a holding facility in Cienfuegos. It is believed that the two are likely to be charged with "disrespect", "public disorder in a medical institution" and "resistance". Téllez Castro is reported to have begun a hunger strike on 27 June in protest at his detention. The two journalists were apparently also detained between 1 and 3 March. It is believed that the journalists will be charged with disorderly and disrespectful behaviour under Articles 144 and 200-1 of the Cuban Penal Code. The Public prosecutor has requested prison terms of six years for Téllez and five years for Brizuela. Téllez is believed to have staged a hunger strike in protest at his imprisonment in June/July 2002. It was reported in November 2002 that he was losing the vision in his right eye. Téllez Castro (28) and Brizuela Yera remain in detention awaiting trial. Brizuela claimed that he was severely beaten by a prison “re-educator” on 31 January 2003 when he requested the return of a copy of the UN Declaration on Human Rights which had been removed from his cell after a search. He was reportedly hospitalised as a result and had difficulty with his vision. Téllez is also reported to have had six prison visits cancelled by the authorities in reprisal for his reporting of alleged human rights violations in Holguín prison. *It was reported on 3 September 2003 that a trial date had yet to be set. Téllez reported to be suffering extreme headaches.

Jesús ALVAREZ CASTILLO, a Cuba Press journalist, faces a prison sentence of between six to twelve months for his refusal to testify in the trial of the six activists who protested at the hospital on 4 March 2002. Alvarez refuses to sign a document that states that he witnessed the alleged illegal activities of the group. He claims he was only semi-conscious due to the beating he received from police and was therefore unaware of what was happening around him. He also faces a second sentence of between three and eight years for having the reported on the events that resulted in his arrest. *Castillo continues to be held in prison, awaiting trial.

*Juan Carlos GONZÁLEZ LEIVA: lawyer, human rights activist and librarian, faces as yet unspecified charges stemming from his part in the aforementioned hospital protest on 4 March 2002. González, who is blind, has been held in custody in a prison in Holguín since that date. Shortly after his arrest police raided the Ignacio Agramonte Independent Library in Ciego de Avila, of which he is the director. González is reported to have been maltreated whilst in detention and denied medical attention. The opening of his trial was postponed yet again in November 2003.

Investigation:

Carlos Alberto DOMINGUEZ: journalist with the independent news agency Cuba-Verdad, was arrested on 24 February 2002. He is being held in Havana’s Valle Grande prison awaiting trial. On 1 December Domínguez was rushed into hospital. The journalist suffers from hypertension, migraines, insomnia and glaucoma. He is accused of “insult” and “public disorder” under the wide-ranging Law 88. His case is currently passing through its “secret phase” according to Domínguez’ lawyer. *Still detained awaiting trial as of 31 December 2003.

*Günter HOTZE: author, was arrested on 3 August 2003 on arrival at Havana airport. Hotze, a German, is the author of a book on Cuba that is critical of President Fidel Castro. He was apparently returning to Cuba to research a follow-up book when he was arrested. Still in detention as of December 2003. Hotze, who is being held at a prison for non-Cubans in Havana, has reported that police have confiscated his laptop and a large amount of money.

House Arrest

The following were arrested in the March 2003 crackdown on so-called anti-patriots and have been placed under house arrest (see above):

Roberto GARCÍA CABREJAS: journalist (Instituto Cultura y Democracia –(Culture and Democracy Institute).

Adela SOTO ÁLVAREZ (f): freelance journalist.

Brief detention/facing possible charges
*Abel ESCOBAR RAMÍREZ: reporter with the independent news agency Cuba Press, was arrested by National Revolutionary Police on 29 October 2003 near the town of Morón. He was released on 1 November. Escobar’s home was searched whilst he was detained and more than 300 books and magazines were confiscated. It is not clear whether he faces charges.

*Omar Darío PÉREZ HERNÁNDEZ: journalist with the Nueva Prensa Cubana agency, faces possible charges under Law 88 of “alignment with imperialist interests to subvert the internal order of the nation and destroy its political, economic and social system”. Pérez was detained for five hours in the city of Camagüey on 21 July 2003 during which time he was given the warning by a state security official.

Brief detention/threatened

*Claudia MÁRQUEZ LINARES (f): director of the magazine De Cuba and columnist for the US-based San Antonio Express, was arrested in Havana on 29 October 2003 and questioned for two hours before being released. Márquez (26) was apparently told by a police captain that De Cuba’s publication violated Law 88 and “would no longer be allowed”. When Márquez Linares replied that she regarded Law 88 to be invalid, her interrogator reportedly asked her, “Do you love your son?” – an allusion to the fact that if she were imprisoned there would be no one to look after her six-year-old son as her husband, fellow journalist Héctor Maseda, is currently serving a 20-year prison term (see entry above). Márquez has been director of the magazine since the arrest and subsequent sentencing in April 2003 of then director Ricardo González (see entry above). The most recent issue focused on the journalists sentenced in the March 2003 crackdown by the Cuban authorities. Márquez has also taken over the running of the Manuel Márquez Sterling Journalists Society since the detention of its former leaders.

Harassment

*Librada ALVAREZ LEYVA (f): director of the Jorge Mas Canosa Library, was reportedly visited at her home in Camagüey on 1 August 2003 by state security officials who warned her that her conditional release would be revoked if she continued to entertain “counter-revolutionaries” at her home. Alvarez has previously served a prison sentence for alleged political activities.

*María del Carmen CARRO (f): journalist and former director of the now defunct

Cuba Free Press, reported in December 2003 that she had been subject to police harassment ever since the crackdown on the independent press in Cuba in March 2003. The harassment has apparently included a continual police presence outside her house in Guanabacoa; and the placing of an American flag in her garden next to a placard with the word “mercenary” on it. Carro also reported receiving anonymous phone calls in the early hours of the morning.

Ernesto ROQUE CINTERO and Anna Rosa VEITÍA BECQUER (f): independent journalists, were reportedly visited in their home on 14 May 2003 by agents from the political police and informed that they would be charged under Law 88 if they continued working as journalists. Roque and Veitía are husband and wife. *Ernesto Roque was reported to have been threatened with a prison sentence by state security agents on or around 3 July 2003. The officers took Roque to a police station in Habana and gave him an official warning that if he continued working for the news website CubaNet and Radio Martí he would face a long prison term.

Released

Bernardo ARÉVALO PADRÓN: Profession: journalist and director of Linea Sur Press, an independent press agency based in Cienfuegos. Sentence: 6 years. Released: 13 November 2003, having served all but two days of his sentence. Although Padrón became eligible for early release once he had served three years, the Cuban authorities refused to set him free, arguing that he had not been sufficiently re-educated. Awards: 2003 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Honorary member: Catalan, English, Peruvian, Canadian, Italian, American PEN and PEN USA West.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Brief detention/facing possible charges

Marino ZAPETE CORNIEL: journalist with the weekly Primicias and the Miami-based news website Los Nuevos Tiempos Digital, was arrested by state security officials in Santo Domingo on 11 June 2003 and accused of insulting President Hipólito Mejía. The accusations were based on a series of articles penned by Zapete which criticised the president’s handling of a financial crisis. The journalist had also claimed that Mejía was constructing two mansions for himself with public funds. After five hours of interrogation, Zapete was told that the president had ordered his release. The next day, Mejía announced that he would pursue the matter in the courts. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

ECUADOR

Sentenced: free awaiting appeal

*Rodrigo FIERRO BENÍTEZ: columnist for the daily El Comercio, was convicted of “defamation” on 19 September 2003, sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay US$1000 costs. The charge stemmed from a 29 May 2003 column in which Fierro allegedly libelled former president León Febres Cordero by accusing him of being involved in the failure of several banks on Ecuador. Fierro appealed the sentence on 22 September and remains at liberty pending a decision from the Quito Superior Court President Fabián Jaramillo.

Death threats

*Kintto LUCAS, Pablo DÁVALOS and Marlon CARRIÓN: writer, editor of the self-styled ‘alternative newspaper’ Tintají and correspondent for the Inter Press Service (IPS); economist and writer on economics for various newspapers; and journalist with the news agency Pachacámac respectively, were named in an implicit threat sent to the newspaper El Comercio by an organisation calling itself Legión Blanca. The five named individuals – all journalists or academics – are involved in bringing to light the problems faced by the poorest sectors of society. Lucas, Dávalos and Carrión all work for the alternative press. The threat took the form of a message of condolence at the death of four of the individuals, supposedly signed by the fifth. Legión Blanca had requested that the notice be published in the 22 September edition of El Comercio.

EL SALVADOR

Facing charges

*Enrique ALTAMIRANO, Lafitte FERNÁNDEZ and Alvaro CRUZ: managing editors for the daily El Diario de Hoy, face criminal defamation charges brought by Canadian-owned company CINTEC in December 2003. The complaint filed by the company calls for all three to be taken into custody to await trial. The legal action stems from articles in El Diario de Hoy claiming that the waste collection system run by CINTEC in the capital, San Salvador, is dogged by corruption. CINTEC have rubbished the allegations.

GUATEMALA

Death threats

Carmen Judith MORÁN CRUZ (f): Salamá-based journalist with the independent news agency CERIGUA (Centre for Informative Reports on Guatemala), received two anonymous death threats on 29 June 2003 in connection with her work. The caller reportedly told her, “I’m giving you 24 hours to resign from CERIGUA because I’ve run out of patience with what they publish. If you don’t, your children and your family will suffer the consequences.” *The same caller apparently rang Morán Cruz again on 3 July 2003 to tell her she was being watched and that because she had not resigned, a member of her family would be killed. Morán believes that the threats stem from her reports for the CERIGUA news agency regarding the exhumation of mass graves of civilians slaughtered by the army or paramilitaries during the civil war.

*Edwin PERDOMO: Izabál correspondent for the daily Prensa Libre and news reporter for Radio Porteña and Radio Punto, received a phone call in July 2003 in which the caller, who used a fake indigenous accent, warned him that if he continued to report on the misdeeds of the ruling Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (FRG) party, he would meet the same fate as journalist Mynor Alegría, who was murdered in 2001. On 8 August 2003, Perdomo received a threatening phone call during which he was warned that the caller knew what his movements were, where he lived and the car he drove. On 28 and 30 July he was phoned on several occasions and in one call was told, “If you continue talking rubbish about the FRG you’re going to die.” Perdomo has requested police protection but, as of mid-October 2003, had still not received any.

Torture/threats/fled

José Rubén ZAMORA MARROQUÍN: publisher of the daily ElPeriódico, reportedly suffered an assault on his home on 24 June 2003. *On account of persistent threats against him and his family following the attack on his home, Zamora sent his family into exile in July 2003.

Death threat/attacked

*Ángel Martín TAX: Alta Verapaz correspondent for the daily Prensa Libre, was left a vase of flowers outside his front door on 8 July 2003. In Guatemala, this symbolises a funeral and Tax has interpreted it as a threat. The day before he had been attacked by unidentified individuals who stole the journalistic materials he was carrying at the time. Tax reported that he had received death threats on previous occasions on account of his reporting for Prensa Libre.

Death threats

*Luis BARILLAS: Rabinal correspondent with the daily Prensa Libre and radio show host on Radio San Pablo, had a home-made bomb thrown at his house on 4 July 2003. No one was injured. Previously, on 23 June, Barillas had received a phone call in which he was told to “keep quiet”. The next day, he received another call in which he was warned, “You are going to die, it may

take weeks or months but you are going to die." On 5 July, Barillas’ sister received an anonymous death threat. The journalist believes that the threats and bomb attack are linked to his coverage of an election campaign rally held on 14 June by presidential candidate and former dictator Efraín Rios Montt.

Held hostage

*Fredy LÓPEZ and Alberto RAMÍREZ: journalists with the daily Prensa Libre, were taken hostage with two Prensa Libre photographers and a driver on 26 October 2003 in the town of La Libertad where they had gone to cover a presidential election rally. Their captors were several hundred former members of the paramilitary Civil Defense Patrols (PACs). The PAC members were demanding government compensation for services rendered during the civil war that ended in 1996. The five men were released on 28 October when the government agreed to pay a first instalment to the PAC members.

Threatened

*Juan Carlos AQUINO: freelance print and radio journalist, received a phone call on 18 August 2003 during which he was told, “We will beat the living crap out of you.'' The caller also warned him to stop criticising the ruling Frente

Republicano Guatemalteco (FRG) party and, specifically, its leader, the former dictator General Efraín Rios Montt. The threat came in the wake of an article Aquino had published in a national newspaper regarding the exhumation of a previously secret mass grave in Rabinal, Alta Verapaz, the result of a massacre which took place during Rios Montt’s bloody eighteen-month rule in the early 1980s. Aquino also reported having received five threatening telephone calls since 25 July 2003 in connection with radio reports he has filed regarding the FRG’s alleged involvement in mob violence during the so-called ‘Black Thursday’.

*Juan Luis FONT: director of the daily elPeriódico, received a phone call on 11 July 2003 in which he was told that he was being watched and that he should “take care”. In the following days he reported being followed and receiving further similar calls.

Harassment

*Luis Eduardo DE LEÓN: investigative journalist with the daily elPeriódico, had his house broken into on 3 July 2003. The intruders stole his computer and several diskettes on which he had information concerning recent cases of corruption by public officials. Recording equipment was also stolen but other valuable items were left untouched.

HONDURAS

Harassment

*Carlos Mauricio FLORES: editor-in-chief of El Heraldo, was threatened following a 20 October 2003 El Heraldo article about alleged links between drugs trafficking in Honduras and Colombian guerrillas. The day following publication, Ethalson Mejía – who was named in the piece as a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) representative in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa – entered the newspaper’s offices. After haranguing the editor, he attempted to hit him with a chair. He also threatened to take Flores to court over the article, claiming he had been defamed.

MEXICO

Facing Charges

Isabel ARVIDE (f): journalist and author, was arrested and charged with criminal defamation on 19 August 2002 before being released on US$10,000 bail. On 2 June 2002, Arvide had published an article on her own website (isabelarvide.com), and in the newspaper Milenio, accusing newspaper director, Osvaldo Rodríguez Borunda, of involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering. She faces a prison sentence of six months to two years if convicted. Arvide was arrested by police again in Chihuahua on 4 March 2003 on account of a charge of defamation against her. She was freed on bail the same day and ordered to report to Judge Octavio Rodríguez Gaytán once a fortnight. *No reports as of 31 December 2003 of any further hearings in either case.

*Francisco BARRADAS: director of the Zacatecas-based magazine Bi, is facing a charge of libel brought against him by a Zacatecas council trustee, Rafael Medina Briones. Barradas had an arrest warrant issued against him on 2 September 2003. He was also ordered to register once a week with the judicial authorities. On 26 August 2003, the journalist was detained for five hours for questioning about the alleged libel but was released on bail. The case stems from a 27 July 2002 article in the newspaper Imagen, of which Barradas was then the director, in which it was claimed that Medina Briones had attempted to steal water from a cistern on the roof of a neighbour.

Alejandro GUTIÉRREZ and Jesusa CERVANTES (f): journalists with the magazine Proceso, were the subject of criminal charges of “calumny” and “defamation” brought in Chihuahua on 8 April 2003 by businessman Jesús Alonso Zaragoza López, president of Mexican transnational company Grupo Z. The charges stem from a 2 March 2003 article entitled “Scandal of ‘Friends’ – linked to local businessman” published in El Diario de Ciudad Juárez. The piece claimed that Zaragoza was involved in illicit practices which meant that he could no longer travel to the United States. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

*Javier HERNÁNDEZ ALPÍZAR: reporter and columnist, is being charged with defamation by the council president of Xalapa council, Reynaldo Escobar Pérez. The charge stems from an article concerning the siting by Escobar of a rubbish dump in an area of cloud forest. The dump reportedly contravened numerous laws as well as the Mexican Constitution and its opening provoked fierce protests by local people. Escobar announced on television that he would withdraw the charge but when the journalist checked at the Public Affairs Ministry on 12 August 2003, he found that the case against him was still being pursued. Hernández faces a possible jail sentence if found guilty.

Ángel Mario KSHERATTO: columnist for the daily Cuarto Poder, faces charges of criminal defamation brought by the chief of communications of the state Committee for the Construction of Schools (COCOES). In August 2002, Ksheratto had published the results of his investigation into alleged corruption at COCOES in Chiapas. He reported that he has been followed by vehicles without number plates and received a succession of death threats by telephone in December 2002. Legal action is also believed to be pending against Cuarto Poder staff Amet Samayoa Arce, Miguel González Alonso and Roberto Domínguez Cortéz and the newspaper’s director Conrado de la Cruz Jiménez. Ksheratto was arrested on 9 January 2003 in connection with the defamation charges brought against him. He was also informed on the same day that he was under investigation for the alleged theft of a car engine. The journalist was conditionally released on bail pending trial for defamation. It is unclear whether theft charges will also be brought. It is feared that the later charges may have been trumped up in order to harass him. *No further information as of 31 December 2003. Humberto LÓPEZ LENA: director of the newspaper Expresión, was arrested on 4 April 2003 in connection with charges of defamation brought against him by local politician Juan Díaz Pimentel and Anauar Karim Said Murat, brother of Oaxaca state governor, José Murat Casab. The arrest warrant was apparently requested by José Murat, who is alleged to have been persecuting López on account of his work for Expresión and various radio stations. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

*Juan LOZANO TREJO, journalist with El Huarache, is facing charges brought by Zimapán mayor Rosalina Gómez Rosas on 1 July 2003 following the publication of articles alleging irregularities in the running of the Zimapán council. Other journalists working for El Huarache, a regional newspaper for regional people, are also due to be named in the lawsuit. In a related incident in June 2002, Lozano Trejo and a colleague were kidnapped and held for 10 hours after they had undertaken investigations into a case of misappropriation of land. The kidnappers were believed to be affiliated to the former mayor.

*Antonio ORTIGOZA VÁZQUEZ: journalist with IQ Magazine, is facing criminal charges brought by Alfredo Ortega Apendinni, a congressional candidate for the National Action Party (PAN) in Hidalgo state. Ortega announced on 3 July 2003 that he would be bringing charges of “insult to honour” against Ortigoza’s IQ Magazine and a number of other journals that had published articles about alleged friction within Ortega’s family and the politician’s own apparent battle with drug addiction.

Genaro ZUVIRI, Federico LA MONT, Adrián TREJO, Roberto RAMOS VALENCIA and Rafael MEDINA GONZÁLEZ: director of the magazine Zu Noticia, member of the Organización Editorial Mexicana, and journalists with El Economista, Ovaciones and Excelsior respectively, were charged with “defamation” on or around 14 June 2003 along with a number of Zu Noticia journalists based in Ciudad de Huejutla de Reyes. The charges were brought by senator José Antonio del Sagrado Corazón Hagenbeck Cámara on account of a 17 December 2002 Zu Noticia article which claimed that he had caused a scene whilst drunk in a bar of dubious reputation in Huejutla. The incident was then widely reported. Despite naming the aforementioned journalists in his claim for defamation, Hagenbeck paradoxically stated that he was not denouncing anyone in particular. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Harassment

*Tomás MARTÍNEZ JUÁREZ: reporter for the Police Section of the Diario Noticias, had his car set on fire deliberately by unknown individuals in the early hours of 8 September 2003 in Oaxaca. Martínez believes that those responsible are from the Ministerial Police whom he had accused in the 6 September edition of Diario Noticias of collaborating with a gang of car thieves.

PANAMA

Investigation: pending trial

Blas JULIO RODRIGUEZ: former journalist with Diario El Siglo and founder of weekly La Verdad, was arrested on 21 May 2002 and is detained pending trial on charges of extortion. The charges have been lodged by a businessman named Abdul Waked presumably in reprisal for Julio’s published accusations that he is a drugs trafficker and money launderer. The journalist suffers from severe hypertension. On 5 July 2002, a Superior Tribunal declared that Julio’s continued detention awaiting trial was legal. *Reported on 19 November 2003 still to be in detention at La Joya prison and suffering serious health problems.

Sentenced

*Jean Marcel CHERY and Gustavo APARICIO, both journalists with the daily El Panamá América, were handed one-year sentences commutable to fines of US$600 on 7 August 2003. The verdict stemmed from a 2001 article that pointed out that a road built with money meant for social investment served a property owned by then Interior and Justice Minister Winston Spadafora to the exclusion of almost everything else. Spadafora, who is now a Supreme Court judge, considered the article "an affront to [his] honour and dignity”.

*Luis Alberto HOOPER DOMÍNGUEZ, Blas JULIO RODRÍGUEZ and Carlos SINGARES: journalist and former journalists with the daily El Siglo, were found guilty of “defamation” on 19 November 2003 and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. The judgment stemmed from a complaint made by Juan Carlos Tapia, the presenter of the television programme “Lo Mejor del Boxeo” (The Best of Boxing”) about an El Siglo article. Hooper Domínguez, whose whereabouts are unknown, was tried in absentia. Julio Rodríguez is currently detained on extortion charges. El Siglo’s Information Chief, Rafael Rodríguez, was found not guilty of the same charge. It is presumed that the prison terms handed to the three journalists were commuted to fines, as is usual in such cases. WiPC investigating.
*Blas JULIO RODRIGUEZ and Carmen BOYD MARCIACQ (f): former journalist and reporter respectively with the daily Diario El Siglo, were found guilty of “defamation” and sentenced to 25 and 12 months’ imprisonment respectively on 13 May 2003. The prison terms were commuted to fines of 3000 Balboas (US$3000) and 1500 Balboas (US$1500), but both journalists have been banned from taking part in public life for the length of their original terms. The sentences stemmed from articles published in various newspapers in June 2000 in which Procurator General, José Antonio Sossa, was accused of actions that hindered the course of justice and of illegal activities with minors.

Facing charges

*Michelle LESCURE (f): freelance journalist and former editor of the daily El Siglo, had charges of “calumny” and “false witness” filed against her on 2 December 2003 by the US-based company San Cristóbal Developments (SCD). The complaint stems from a formal declaration made by Lescure on 18 November 2003 to the Public Affairs Ministry in which she stated that she had been approached by Tomás Cabal, the SCD public relations, and offered US$5000 to write an article which would damage the reputation of the Comptroller General, Alvin Weeden, as part of an SCD plan to bring him down. In April 2003, Tom McMurrain, who runs SCD, reportedly sent death threats to two journalists, Okke Ornstein and Carmen Boyd Marciacq, who were investigating an alleged swindle operated by the company.

On trial

Jean Marcel CHERY, Juan Manuel DÍAZ, Vladimir RODRÍGUEZ, Marcelino RODRÍGUEZ, Reyner TUÑÓN, Dámaso GARCÍA and Carlos SINGARES: all journalists, were found guilty in 2001 and 2002 of criminal defamation. All their cases are currently going through an appeal process.

*Alcibíades CORTÉZ: journalist with La Prensa, is facing charges of “defamation” brought in August 2003 by Professor Justino Combe of the Manuel María Tejada Roca College in Las Tablas. The journalist published an article in which it was alleged that Combe had sexually abused students at the college. Cortéz had received the information from the legal adviser at the college. The journalist faces a possible prison sentence of between 18 and 24 months if found guilty. Eduardo BARTUANO, a reporter with RCM Television, is Cortéz’ co-accused in the case.

Brief detention/facing charges

Jean Marcel CHERY, Alcibíades CORTÉZ, Julio AIZPRÚA: journalists with La Prensa, were arrested on 14 April 2003, along with a La Prensa photographer, for allegedly trespassing on the grounds surrounding President Mireya Moscoso’s costly beach house. The four were released after spending 26 hours in detention. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

PARAGUAY

Death threats

*Rosendo DUARTE: Salto del Guairá correspondent for Última Hora, reported on 22 October 2003 that there was a plan to kill him which he believed stemmed from his reports on mafia-like groups operating at the Paraguayan border. The plot was apparently overheard by an individual who reported to Duarte that the men involved wanted to murder the journalist in order to “shut his mouth”. It has been reported in the local media that the main suspects are relatives of Vidal Encina, a local criminal killed in an altercation with police.

PERU

Main case

Juan de MATA JARA BERROSPI: Profession: Journalist and poet. At the time of arrest was the director of El Informador, a magazine produced by the Antonio Raymundi de Santa Lucia College in Lima. He also worked for Radio Comas and for the daily El Heraldo Huanuqueno. Had previously been on the staff of El Diario, a newspaper allegedly close to the Sendero Luminoso guerrilla group. El Diario was declared illegal and closed in 1988. Date of Arrest: 10 July 1993. Sentence: 20 years in September 1994. Place of detention: Miguel Castro Castro prison, Lima. Details of trial: convicted of “collaborating” with a terrorist group, in this instance the Shining Path, by a “faceless tribunal”. He was apparently convicted because maps showing where 9 students and professors of La Cantuta University had been killed and buried by the military were found in his possession, and on account of having worked for El Diario. A new law enacted in Peru in 2003 has reduced the sentences of the vast majority of those condemned by the so called “faceless judges” to a maximum of six years. *Since de Mata Jara had already been in prison for ten years, a hearing into his case – opened in the light of this new law – was held in November 2003. Subsequent hearings are reported to have gone favourably and it is expected that de Mata Jara will be released at the end of January 2004. Honorary Member: PEN USA West

Facing trial

Humberto PACHECO GÓMEZ and Humberto PACHECO GUARDADO: director general and director respectively of the fortnightly Ultima Hora de Aguascalientes, face charges of defamation brought in May 2003 by federal judge Antonio López Padilla. The charges stem from an article in which it was alleged that López Padilla had deliberately given an unjust verdict in a trial in order to benefit the governor of Aguascalientes, Felipe González González. The judge’s decision was overturned at a tribunals court and a formal complaint was made against López by a judicial inspector. The judge is seeking prison terms for Pacheco Gómez and Pacheco Guardado (father and son). *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

Harassment/on trial

*Juan Carlos TAFUR RIVERA: journalist and director of the daily Correo, was prevented from leaving Peru on 22 November 2003. He had been planning to participate in an event hosted by the Federation of Latin American Banks in the United States but was stopped at Lima airport and told that a criminal court judge had issued an order barring him from leaving the country. He was not told why the order had been imposed. However, Tafur’s newspaper had been reporting on investigations made into possible links between a judge and a drugs trafficker. The judge subsequently filed for defamation and Tafur presented his defence on 7 October 2003. Fifteen days later an order was issued preventing Tafur from going abroad but neither the journalist nor his lawyers were informed of this. Tafur does not face a prison sentence if found guilty of defamation.

Attacked

*Sharon STEVENSON (f): Peru correspondent for the US-based magazine Newsweek, was reportedly badly assaulted in Lima on 10 December 2003. Stevenson has spent several years investigating the alleged use of biological agents by the Peruvian authorities to destroy coca crops. On the day of the attack she had gone to meet with a man who had said that he could show her definitive proof that biological agents were being used. Later that evening the emergency services discovered her lying unconscious in the street and took her to hospital. It is believed that the journalist had been beaten before being partially strangled with a thin strand of rope that was found at the scene. However, when she regained consciousness in hospital Stevenson could not recall what had happened to her.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Judicial concern

Mumia ABU-JAMAL: Prominent black radio journalist turned writer on death row since 3 July 1982 at the State Correctional Institute in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Found guilty of shooting a police officer dead on 9 December 1981 after apparently interrupting an argument between a police officer and Abu-Jamal's brother. Some witnesses say there was another person seen running from the scene of the murder. Abu-Jamal had no previous criminal record. Says he was shot in scuffle and severely wounded and reported to have been badly beaten by police who arrived after the shooting. Worked for National Black Network, Mutual Black Network, National Public Radio, Associated Press and Radio Information Centre for the Blind. Elected President of the Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Black Journalists in 1980. Was member of Black Panther Party when he was 16. Trial and Judicial details: Abu-Jamal’s youth affiliation to the Black Panthers was used against him in court, allegedly prejudicing the jury against him and instrumental in the death penalty being handed down. He pleaded his innocence and said that the trial was unfair on various grounds, e.g. only one juror was black in a city which is 40% black and one jury member admitted he was biased against Jamal. In August 1995 a stay of execution was granted to enable an appeal for re-trial. On 13 October 1999, the Governor for Pennsylvania signed a death warrant for execution on 2 December 1999. A few days later, on 26 October, Judge William Yohn stayed the execution pending his review of the case.: On 18 December 2001, Abu-Jamal’s request for a new trial was turned down by Federal District Court Judge William Yohn who upheld the murder conviction. Only one such federal habeas corpus appeal is allowed under U.S. law. However, Yohn also overturned the death sentence against Abu-Jamal and ordered that the Pennsylvania state court conduct a new sentencing within 180 days (this could include the re-imposition of the death sentence), or hand down a life sentence without possibility of parole. On 6 February 2002, Abu-Jamal’s legal team lodged a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals that included an affidavit from Evette Williams refuting the prosecution's key eye-witness, Cynthia White, from the original trial. Williams has sworn that White told her, whilst both were in prison, that the police had intimidated her into saying that she witnessed Abu-Jamal shoot Officer Faulkner when in fact she had not seen him. White was the main prosecution witness in the trial but has since disappeared. In a subsequent identification parade, White originally identified Kenneth Freeman as Faulkner's murderer, a fact which has only just come to light. The defence team claim that Freeman was in fact one of two people involved in the killing of Officer Faulkner. Mumia's case remains on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. A professional hitman, Arnold Beverly, has made a public confession that he murdered the policeman alleged to have been killed by Abu-Jamal. *On 23 May 2003 Abu-Jamal’s lawyers presented to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court a list of 112 questions that they want the writer’s prior Chief Counsel, Leonard Weinglass, to answer under oath. The questions concern charges that Weinglass was responsible for the "intentional burying of evidence that proves Appellant Jamal's 'actual innocence' of the crime of which he has been convicted." As of 31 December 2003 Weinglass had yet to be obliged by the court to answer the questions.

PEN position: PEN holds no view on Abu-Jamal’s guilt or innocence, but is calling for his sentence to be commuted and that he not face execution. It also urges that any appeal of his case take into account gross irregularities in past trials.

Honorary Member: Belgian (Flemish-speaking) PEN

VENEZUELA

Facing charges

*José Ángel OCANTO: head of information at the Barquisimeto-based daily El Impulso, faces defamation charges brought against him by Major Arnaldo Certaín, ex-director of Security and Public Order and current director of the Foundation for the Development of Small- and Medium-sized Industry in Lara. The trial against Ocanto was due to open on 1 October 2003 at the Lara State Judicial Circuit but the judge excused himself from hearing the case. This is the second judge to withdraw from the judicial proceedings which began in 2002. Certaín claims that he was defamed by Ocanto in articles published in El Impulso in which he was linked with drugs trafficking during his time as director of the Autonomous Institute of the International Airport of Maiquetía.

*Ibéyise PACHECO (f): director of the newspaper Así es la Noticia and columnist for El Nacional, faces defamation charges brought against her by Colonel Ángel Vellorí in March 2002. Vellorí claims that Pacheco had “lied” about him in one of her El Nacional columns. A written request to locate her and bring her to court to make a statement was issued on 3 July 2003.

*Gustavo RODRÍGUEZ: journalist with the daily El Universal de Caracas, was reported in September 2003 to be facing defamation charges brought by mayoral adviser Luis Alberto Mosquera Ciano. Rodriguez, along with other journalists, published articles regarding a demonstration organised by government opponents calling themselves El Petarazo. During the demonstration, Sucre District Mayor Rangel Avalos made a speech accompanied by Mosquera. Rodriguez pointed out in his report that Mosquera had a police record on account of his part in the hi-jacking of Venezuela AEROPOSTAL aeroplane and for raids on banks and armoured vehicles. Mosquera considered that Rodríguez’ piece damaged his honour and reputation, such as it was, and has thus filed defamation charges against him. Rodríguez countered by stating that the court case was an attempt to stifle his journalistic activities.

Facing possible charges

Tulio CAPRILES HERNÁNDEZ: president of the Maracay-based daily El Siglo, had an arrest warrant issued against him on 4 April 2003. The action stems from the alleged defamation of the governor of the state of Aragua, Didalco Bolívar. El Siglo has published a series of reports on apparent cases of negligence and official corruption in the state. The newspaper’s manager, Mireya de Zurita, claimed that Bolívar had been running a smear campaign against the newspaper since 1999. She also stated that El Siglo’s employees and offices had been attacked on at least ten occasions. *No further information as of 31 December 2003.

José MATERÁN TULANE: editor and director of the dailies La Voz and La Región, had an investigation opened on him by state intelligence agents in April 2003. The investigation, ordered by the Public Affairs Ministry, concerns the 11 March 2003 publication of a public announcement by the opposition party Coordinadora Democrática (Democratic Coordinator). *No further information as of 31 December 2003.