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for an interview given to an Indian newspaper. Nasrin fled to Europe on
10 August 1994 and has since lived abroad. Her trial started in Dhaka on
10 December 1994 in absentia, and has remained pending hearing for
several years. Her latest novels continue to be banned by the Bangladeshi
authorities on the strength of their allegedly ‘anti-Islamic’ content. More
than ten years since she fled Bangladesh, Nasrin still cannot return
without fear for her security, and for the past three years she has lived in
Kolkata, West Bengal, and has applied for Indian citizenship. Her current
visa reportedly expires in March 2008. Honorary member of:
Canadian, USA, American, French, Swedish, Swiss German, English,
Austrian and Turkish PEN.
Sentenced: free on bail
*S.K AKHTAR, Irfaan KHAN, Vitusha OBEROI and M.K TAYAL:
Publisher, cartoonist and editors respectively of the Midday newspaper.
Sentenced to four months in prison on 21 September 2007 on charges of
‘contempt of court’. The sentence comes after the newspaper for which
all four men work published a series of investigative reports and a
cartoon criticising the rulings of a former Supreme Court judge which
benefited his sons. The sentence was appealed and a final decision will be
made in January 2008. WiPC seeking an update.
Case closed
Abdul ROUF: Editor of the Srinagar News. Abdul Rouf was reportedly
arrested with his wife Zeenat on 21 November 2006 for allegedly sheltering
armed separatists. On 9 December 2006, a judge ordered the
release on bail of Zeenat Rouf but police have refused to release her. It is
believed that the authorities are holding them under a weapons law. The
couple’s family denies the accusations. The authorities are refusing to
give any information about the reasons for their detention. Case closed
for lack of further information.
INDONESIA
Investigation
*Risang Bima WIJAYA: Former general manager of the daily Radar
Yogya. Arrested without a warrant on 9 December 2007, apparently in
connection with a previous conviction. He was convicted of defamation
on 22 December 2004 and sentenced to nine months in prison, reduced to
six months on appeal. He had been in hiding since his appeals to the
Yogyarta High Court and the Supreme Court were rejected. He was
sentenced for an article published in May 2002 in which he alleged that
an executive director of another Yogyakarta daily had sexually harassed a
female employeee. His report was said to be based on a police report and
a press conference by the victim. WiPC seeking further details and
checking whether still detained.
Facing charges
*Bersihar LUBIS: Journalist for the daily Koran Tempo. A case against
him opened on 19 September 2007 for allegedly insulting the Attorney
General’s Office (AGO). He is being tried under articles 207 and 316 of
the Criminal Code with crimes against the authorities for an article
published on 17 March 2007 entitled ‘The Story of a Dumb Interrogator’
critical of book banning decisions made by the AGO. If convicted he
faces a maximum penalty of one year and a half in prison for the first
charge and one year and four months for the second. He remains free. His
trial was due to end on 12 December 2007, WiPC seeking an update.
Case closed
Risang Bima WIJAYA: Former general manager and editor-in-chief of
Radar Yoga newspaper. Sentenced to six months in prison on 11 May
2007 for violating Article 310 of the Indonesian Criminal Code by
libelling the executive director of another newspaper. The Supreme Court
upheld the verdict against Wijaya handed down by the District Court of
Sleman on 22 December 2004, but reduced the prison term by three
months. Wijaya is seeking a retrial and now works for the Jawa Pos
newspaper. He remains free but the authorities are reportedly seeking his
arrest. Case closed for lack of further information.
MALAYSIA
Facing charges
Steven GAN: Editor-in-Chief of the web-based daily malaysiakini.com.
Reportedly facing libel charges in a case brought by a high-ranking
minister against him, his news site and two other news sites in April
2007. Gan’s website Malaysiakini.com reportedly published a series of
articles between 6 and 14 April 2007, that alleged corruption on the part
of the government minister. WiPC is seeking an update.
Brief detention
*Raja Petra KAMARUDIN: Writer for the Malaysia Today news
website. Reportedly detained at the Dang Wangi Stadium police station
on the morning of 25 July 2007 in response to a police complaint filed by
the ruling political party. Kamarudin was released the same day. It is not
clear if charges have been brought against him.
*Nathaniel TAN: Internet writer. Reportedly arrested at his office on 13
July 2007 following some of his comments posted on his web log that
pointed to a corrupt internal security system in the country. Tan was
released on 17 July 2007. He is reportedly still facing charges of
‘possessing official secrets’ under Section 8 of the Official Secrets Act
and if found guilty, Tan could face up to seven years’ imprisonment.
Case closed
Irene FERNANDEZ (f): Director of Tenaganita, a women’s rights organization.
Arrested on 18 March 1996 and charged with “false reporting”
under Section 8a of the 1984 Printing Presses and Publications Act for a
report she issued in July 1995 entitled “Abuse, Torture and Dehumanised
Treatment of Migrant Workers at Detention Camps”. On 16 October
2003 Fernandez was convicted of ‘maliciously publishing false news’
and sentenced to 12 months in prison by Kuala Lumpa magistrate’s
court. Her trial is the longest trial in Malaysian legal history, and she
remains free on bail pending appeal. Case closed, thought unlikely to be
detained.
MALDIVES
Free on medical leave
Abdullah SAEED (aka Fahala)
D.o.b.: 1964 Profession: Reporter with the opposition Minivan Daily
newspaper. Date of arrest: 27 March 2006 Sentence: Life imprisonment.
Details of arrest: Arrested and sentenced on 26 March 2006 to
two months in jail for ‘disobedience to order’ for refusing to submit to a
urine test in the first of three drugs charges against him which are widely
believed to be unfounded and politically motivated. The charges stem
from Saeed’s arrest in October 2005, when he was summoned to the