Listening Post: The Dangers of Reporting the 'War on Terror'
We look at Obama's role in the continued imprisonment of a Yemeni journalist and the issues behind it.

Remembering Marie Colvin

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Marie Colvin: Farewell to a Great Journalist and a Dear Friend
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – CON COUGHLIN: Marie Colvin, who has been killed in the Syrian city of Homs, was without doubt one of the finest foreign correspondents of her generation, and also one of the most fearless. In the 25 years or so years that I have known Marie she was invariably to be found on the front line of the world's most dangerous conflicts, laughing off the very real risks she faced as though it was just another day in the office. Beirut, Gaza, Iraq, the Balkans, Sri Lanka – wherever there was trouble, you could guarantee that Marie would be in the thick of it. » | Con Coughlin | Wednesday, February 22, 2012



Read the short article here | Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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Libyans Mourn Slain Al Jazeera Cameraman
An Al Jazeera cameraman has been shot dead while working in eastern Libya. The network has condemned the attack as a cowardly crime.
Ali Hassan al Jabr from Qatar was one of three people travelling in a car when it was ambushed.
Gerald Tan reports

Sarkozy’s ‘Reign of Terror’? Journalist Faces Jail Over Leak of Nicolas Sarkozy's Rebuke for TV Technician
THE TELEGRAPH: A French journalist who leaked footage of Nicolas Sarkozy reprimanding a "rude" television studio worker is facing five years in jail.

Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni. Photo: The Telegraph
Augustin Scalbert, who works for the news website Rue89.fr, was charged with receiving stolen goods.

The allegations concern off-air clips of the French president accusing a technician of not having any manners, and poking fun at another journalist.

As he is waiting to appear on an evening bulletin, he begins to mock those around him. He says "Hello" to a technician fitting a microphone, but the man does not reply and Mr Sarkozy says: "When you're invited, you have the right for people to say hello to you.

"Otherwise we might as well be at a street rally - it's unbelievable!'"

Mr Sarkozy then asks one of the bulletin's journalists, Gilles Leclerc, why he had not been seen on-screen for months suggesting he was being kept "in reserve - in a cupboard".

The footage has already been seen millions of times on video-sharing websites. >>> Peter Allen in Paris | Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Iran May Ease American Reporter's Sentence
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran may reconsider an eight-year jail term for an American journalist during her appeal, the judiciary spokesman said Tuesday in an indication her sentence will be commuted.

The statement was the latest hint Iran could be backing off from the imprisonment of 31-year-old Roxana Saberi on charges of spying for the U.S. On Monday, the judiciary chief ordered a full investigation into the case, a day after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged Tehran's chief prosecutor to ensure Ms. Saberi be allowed a full defense during her appeal.

The case has been a source of tension with the U.S. at a time when President Barack Obama is trying to open a dialogue with Iran to end a decades-long diplomatic standoff. The U.S. has called the accusations against Ms. Saberi, a dual American-Iranian citizen, baseless and demanded her release. >>> Associated Press | Tuesday, April 21, 2009

US Journalist Receives Eight-year Sentence for Spying
Roxana Saberi in happier times. Photo: GoogleImages
TIMESONLINE: AN American journalist has been jailed for eight years after an Iranian court convicted her of spying.

The trial of Roxana Saberi, 31, lasted just five days and took place behind closed doors.

Saberi, a freelance reporter for the BBC and America’s National Public Radio, was arrested in January initially for not carrying the correct press credentials. She was then accused of passing classified information to US intelligence services and taken to Tehran’s Evin jail.

The United States say the charges of espionage are baseless and have demanded her immediate release, while fellow journalists have set up an internet campaign to highlight her plight.

A former Miss North Dakota, Saberi, who has an Iranian father and Japanese mother, moved to Iran six years ago. The 31-year-old is a citizen of both the United States and Iran, but Tehran does not recognise dual nationality status. >>> Robin Henry | Saturday, April 18, 2009

Free Roxana Saberi >>> Asian American Journalists Association

leJDD.fr: Iran: Condamnée à tort?

Roxana Saberi, une Irano-américaine qui travaillait pour la BBC à Téhéran, a été condamnée à huit ans de prison ferme pour espionnage. Un verdict annoncé samedi que dénonce Hillary Clinton, qui se bat depuis un mois pour faire libérer la journaliste. L'affaire menace les efforts de l'Iran et des Etats-Unis qui tentent ces derniers mois de renouer leurs relations diplomatiques.

Les appels d'Hillary Clinton, la secrétaire d'Etat, n'auront rien changé: la journaliste irano-américaine Roxana Saberi a été condamnée à huit ans de prison à Téhéran pour espionnage au profit des Etats-Unis, a-t-on appris samedi auprès de son avocat, Me Abdolsamad Khorramshahi. Ce dernier a annoncé que sa cliente fera appel. Cette jeune femme de 31 ans, qui travaillait depuis six ans pour la BBC et la radio publique américaine NPR, avait été arrêtée en janvier dernier et aussitôt incarcérée sur le site d'Evin, la prison réservée aux détenus politiques.

Son procès s'est déroulé en une seule journée, lundi dernier, à huis clos devant le tribunal révolutionnaire de Téhéran. Une durée inhabituellement brève. Le verdict, qui devait tomber dans quelques semaines selon le porte-parole du ministère iranien de la Justice, a également été rendu bien plus vite que prévu. >>> Par G.V. (avec Reuters), LeJDD.fr Samedi 18 Avril 2009

Afghanistan: 20-Year Sentence for Journalist Upheld
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Politicized Case Shows Grave Threat to Freedom of Expression

Afghan policemen escort Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh after he leaves court in Kabul. © 2008 Reuters
(New York) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai should issue a pardon for Parwez Kambakhsh, a student and part-time journalist, whose 20-year prison sentence for blasphemy has been upheld by the Supreme Court, Human Rights Watch said today. The Supreme Court decision was the final stage in a highly politicized case that has repeatedly flouted Afghan and international law and highlighted the lack of professionalism among the Afghan judiciary.

The court upheld the sentence on February 11, 2009, without informing Kambakhsh or his lawyer, or allowing the lawyer to submit arguments in Kambakhsh's defense. On March 7, the lawyer, Azfal Nooristani, discovered that the decision had been made.

"The Supreme Court represented the last hope that Parwez Kambakhsh would receive a fair hearing, but once again justice was denied," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Kambakhsh has committed no crime. Now it is up to President Karzai to act on principle and free him." >>> | Tuesday, March 10, 2009

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH:
Afghanistan: Overturn Death Sentence of Jailed Journalist – Blasphemy Case Illustrates Failings of Legal System >>> | Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Afghan Journalism Student Sentenced to 20 years for Insulting Islam
TIMESONLINE: An Afghan journalism student sentenced to death for allegedly ’insulting Islam’ had his conviction upheld but his sentence reduced to 20 years in prison by an Afghan central appeal court today.

The prosecution alleged that Sayed Perwez Kambashkh, 24, downloaded from the internet and distributed an article by an Iranian writer questioning some of the tenets of Islam relating women’s rights. He has always denied the charges.

He is alleged to have added three paragraphs to the offending article himself, one of which read: “This is the real face of Islam... the prophet Mohammad wrote verses of the Holy Quran just for his own benefit.”

At his appeal court trial today five professors of Balkh University, where the defendant was a student, claimed that Kambakhsh disrupted classes by asking “anti-Islam and insulting questions.”

Kambakhsh was originally sentenced to death by a local court in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif following his arrest in October 2007.

Following today’s hearing defence lawyer, Mohammad Afzal Shormach Nuristani, said his client would appeal to Afghanistan’s Supreme Court. Mr Nuristani has faced repeated death threats, as has his client.

The case has drawn widespread criticism from human rights organisations and Western governments. Kambakhsh claimed he made a confession after being tortured by officials from the Afghan security services. He claims his accusers were motivated by personal enimities to bring the charges against him.

The proceedings of the original trial were criticised by the European Union amongst others, after it emerged that the trial was held in closed session with only three judges, a court clerk and prosecutor present. Kambakhsh was given only three minutes to defend himself before being sentenced to death.

International observers and human rights groups also attacked today’s appeal proceedings, held in open court. >>> Tom Coghlan in Kabul | October 21, 2008

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