Lawmakers in Belarus have passed legislation allowing the state to close any Internet news site that receives two warnings about content in a single year.

Information Minister Liliya Ananich (eds: a woman), who presented the bill to the loyal parliament on December 17, said it will come into force on January 1.

The law does not require the official registration of online media outlets, but says the Information Ministry will monitor them «to ensure that materials used by the websites correspond to Belarusian legislation.»

Website owners will be held responsible for their content.

The law also limits the foreign share of ownership of any news site to 20 percent, down from 30 percent under current law.

Western governments and opponents of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka accuse him of violating the freedom of the media during 20 years in power.

Authorities in several ex-Soviet republics have increased their control over broadcast and print media but have had a harder time suppressing dissent on the Internet.

http://www.rferl.org/content/new-media-law-on-blearus-targets-internet/26748888.html

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says attacks on journalists are becoming “more and more barbaric” and the number of abductions is “growing rapidly.”

In its annual report released on December 16, the Paris-based group says 66 reporters have been killed in connection to their work over the past year, down 7 percent on 2013 thanks largely to fewer deaths in countries «at peace.»

But it also says the beheading of James Foley and Steven Sotloff by the Islamic State extremist group in Syria highlights the danger journalists face in covering conflicts.

RSF says the report highlights “an evolution in the nature of violence against journalists and the way certain kinds, including carefully staged threats and beheadings, are being used for very clear purposes.»

«Rarely have reporters been murdered with such a barbaric sense of propaganda, shocking the entire world,» it adds.

The report found that the deadliest country for journalists was Syria, where 15 were killed, followed by the Palestinian territories (7), Ukraine (6), Iraq (4), and Libya (4).

Three journalists were killed in Afghanistan, two in Pakistan (2), and one in Russia.

Kidnappings

Meanwhile, kidnappings rose 37 percent to 119 in the past year.

Thirty-three of them were abducted in Ukraine, where pro-government forces have been battling pro-Russian separatists since April, 29 in Libya, and 27 in Syria.

About 40 journalists are still being held hostage worldwide.

According to the report, 90 percent of those abducted were local journalists.

For instance, all of the eight journalists currently held hostage in Iraq are Iraqis.

Worldwide, a total of 178 professional journalists were in prison as of December 8, the same number, as last year.

China is the country where most journalists were jailed in the past year (29), followed by Eritrea (28), Iran (19), Egypt (16), and Syria (13).

Ten journalists were imprisoned in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, and four in Russia.

The report describes Azerbaijan as «Europe’s biggest prison for media personnel» and highlights the case of Khadija Ismayilova, an investigative journalist and contributor to RFE/RL who is in pretrial detention.

«Now she is being held on the absurd charge of ‘pushing’ a former colleague to attempt suicide, a charge that carries a possible sentence of three to seven years in jail,» it says.

Due to conflicts and «diverse forms of intimidation,» RWB says, twice as many journalists fled into exile this year, as in 2013.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

http://www.rferl.org/content/rsf-journalists-killed-in-barbaric-year/26746230.html

Police in the Russian city of Novosibirsk have detained two men suspected of attacking a local journalist.

The chief editor of online news site Tayga.info, Yevgeny Mezdrikov, said earlier that two men entered his offices on December 8 and punched him in the face several times with no explanation.

Vladimir Gorodetsky, the Siberian region’s governor, told journalists on December 15 that two suspects had been detained on December 12.

The Novosibirsk Journalists Union had urged regional law enforcement officials to investigate, expressing concerns over frequent attacks against journalists in the region.

Advocacy groups say attack on journalists whose work challenges or displeases the authorities in Russia face daily risks and their attackers are rarely punished.

Tayga.info is a private, independent media outlet that has been covering news and events in the region since 2004.

Based on reporting by Tayga.info, TASS, and Interfax

http://www.rferl.org/content/two-suspects-detained-attack-novosibirsk-journalist/26744509.html

Award-winning Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who hosts a daily program for RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, has been held in pretrial detention in Baku since December 5 after being accused of encouraging a man to commit suicide — a charge that has been broadly condemned as a flagrant attempt to silence her critical voice.

She is widely perceived to have often been the target of harassment and intimidation by the Azerbaijani government and pro-government forces for months because of her groundbreaking investigations into corruption at the highest levels of power, including President Ilham Aliyev and his family.

Ismayilova was able to send this brief note from jail to RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service.

The letter has been edited for style and grammar.

My dear friends!

Here in pretrial detention, my thoughts are with you. My only regret is that here I am restricted from helping you.

You are doing an important job helping oppressed people. Happy New Year to you and all like-minded people.

A photo of Khadija Ismayilova’s letter from Kurakhani prison (click to enlarge)

I am full of hope on the eve of this New Year that truth and justice will win.

Arrests and restrictions are part of our mission in telling the truth. My arrest proves one more time that it is important to make change happen: We need to build a new reality where truth will be a norm of life and telling the truth will not require courage.

You all know why I am here in prison. Uncovering corruption is the real reason. And the only way to prove oppressive regimes wrong is to continue uncovering corruption, to continue defending the rights of oppressed people. Yes, there is a price to pay. But it is worth it!

As Nazim Hikmet, the Turkish poet, wrote: «Those who carry the teardrops of their siblings as a heavy burden upon their neck shouldn’t follow our path.»

Stay strong!

Keep doing a good job!

More investigations, more efforts for justice and human rights — this is my wish for 2015.

Peace,
Khadija

http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijan-khadija-letter-hope/26742183.html

On International Human Rights Day, ARTICLE 19 and our Central Asian partners — International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech (Adil Soz), National Association of Independent Mass Media of Tajikistan (NANSMIT) and Media Policy Institute (MPI) — remind the governments of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan of their obligation to protect the right to freedom of association. This is enshrined in Article 22 of the ICCPR, to which all three states are party. We therefore call on these governments to abandon amendments to their legislation, whether already proposed or currently being drafted, which attempt to restrict how non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operate. Читать далее Central Asia: Draft amendments to the legislation regulating the activities of NGOs should guarantee freedom of association →

In this legal analysis, ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression, reviews the Law on Print and Other Mass Media of the Republic of Tajikistan (the Media Law), adopted in 2013. The Media Law is reviewed for its compliance with international standards on freedom of expression. Читать далее Tajikistan: Media Law →

Students who wish to pursue a graduate degree in journalism can apply for a scholarship.

The Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Journalism, Media and Globalisation welcomes applications from graduate students around the world. Students spend their first year studying at Aarhus University in Denmark. They spend their second year studying at a different European partner university: University of Amsterdam, City University London, University of Hamburg or Swansea University.

Students also have an opportunity to study at a non-European university during the second semester of their first year. The non-European partner universities are University of California at Berkeley, University of Technology Sydney and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile.

The Mundus Journalism Consortium is able to offer a limited number of student scholarships. The scholarships are divided in two categories. Category A scholarships are worth EUR48,000 (US$60,206) and are available to students from non-European Union countries. Category B scholarships are worth EUR23,000 (US$28,849) and are available to students who do not fulfill the requirements to apply for Category A.

Proficiency in English is required to apply to the program.

The deadline to apply is Jan. 10, 2015.

For more information, click here: http://mundusjournalism.com/admissions

Journalists, bloggers and anyone else interested in improving their digital security are invited to a free, live chat. 

As journalists, we use an ever-increasing number of digital devices, accounts, channels and tools. These make us more effective at our work, but also more vulnerable to attacks from those who want to compromise our information, steal our identities or even silence us. It’s time for journalists to get serious about protecting our digital security, but where do we start?

Bring your questions for digital security experts Javier Garza, a Knight International Journalism Fellow in Mexico, and Fellowships Director Jorge Luis Sierra, as they chat with IJNet’s Jennifer Dorroh about how to make your newsroom and your digital life more secure.

http://ijnet.org/en/opportunities/ijnet-live-why-and-how-protect-your-digital-security-worldwide

Print, broadcast and online journalists who want a deeper understanding of evolution can apply for this program in Durham, North Carolina.

The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) is accepting applications for its journalist-in-residence program for a period of two or three weeks to up to three months. Funded by the National Science Foundation, NESCent is jointly operated by Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University.

Fellows will have an opportunity to interact with world experts in a wide range of evolutionary topics including human evolution, evolutionary medicine, paleontology, biodiversity, conservation, astrobiology and climate change. Journalists can participate in a variety of scientific meetings and seminars.

Journalists-in-residence will receive support for travel to and from NESCent, a housing allowance, a meal per diem and office space at NESCent.

The deadline is Dec. 1.

For more information, click here: http://www.nescent.org/science/Journalist-in-residence.php