Latest news with #mediaBan
Russia Today
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Top German court contradicts government on ‘far-right' magazine ban
Germany's highest administrative court has declared a government ban on Compact magazine to be illegal. The nation's interior ministry imposed the restriction last year, claiming it was a 'right-wing extremist' publication involved in 'anti-constitutional' activities. In its ruling published on Tuesday, the Federal Administrative Court stated that the evidence presented by the interior ministry was insufficient and the 'anti-immigration statements' published by the magazine could be interpreted as 'exaggerated, but ultimately permissible, criticism of migration policy.' The ban imposed on Compact and its publisher is therefore 'unlawful,' the court concluded. The magazine's founder and editor-in-chief, Jurgen Elsasser, praised the decision with a post saying 'Victory!' on X and publishing an apparently AI-generated video of himself hitting a giant dragon in the head with a sword. 'Compact is the sharp sword of the Middle-Earth! Hobbits are not powerless!' he wrote in a nod to J.R.R. Tolkien. German Interior Minister Alexander Dorbrindt acknowledged the court decision and said that his department would 'carefully assess the ruling.' The ministry also admitted in a statement that the decision is 'final' and cannot be appealed. It nonetheless maintained that such bans against media outlets do not 'constitute impermissible prior censorship' and can be applied in the future. In its ruling, the court did state that the status of media outlet by itself does not grant any entity an exemption from such a ban if it is recognized as justified, and that freedom of press and opinion would not be applicable in such cases. 'Even if the statements expressing the association's fundamental beliefs are neither criminal nor illegal in themselves, they can be used as evidence for a ban,' the court's statement said, adding that an organization can be prohibited if it plans to carry out 'unconstitutional ideas' in a 'combative and aggressive manner.' The German government designated Compact an extremist outlet in 2021. The publication was launched in 2010 and had a circulation of 40,000. A number of news outlets linked its 2024 ban to its ties to Alternative for Germany (AfD), the second most popular political party in Germany. The ban also came just days after Compact's interview with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, prompting Moscow to link the two events.
Al Jazeera
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel Bans international media from Gaza to 'hide' realities
ISRAEL BANS INTL MEDIA FROM GAZA TO 'HIDE' REALITIES Quotable Video Duration 01 minutes 17 seconds 01:17 Video Duration 01 minutes 06 seconds 01:06 Video Duration 01 minutes 28 seconds 01:28 Video Duration 01 minutes 48 seconds 01:48 Video Duration 00 minutes 50 seconds 00:50 Video Duration 00 minutes 24 seconds 00:24 Video Duration 00 minutes 54 seconds 00:54
BBC News
04-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Joseph Kabila: DR Congo bans reporting on the ex-president
The Congolese government has banned the media from reporting on the activities of former President Joseph Kabila and interviewing members of his comes after Kabila returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo last month amid heightened tensions between himself and the government, led by his successor, President Félix authorities are pushing to prosecute Mr Kabila amid accusations of treason and alleged links to the M23 rebels which have been fighting the army - something he has previously denied. Breaches of the ban could result in suspension, said the head of DR Congo's media regulator, Christian Bosembe. Responding to the announcement by the regulator, known as the the Supreme Council of Audiovisual and Communication (CSAC), an M23 spokesperson said the media outlets in parts of the country under its control would not abide by the has been no immediate response from Kabila, however, the secretary of his party, Ferdinand Kambere, rejected the ban, describing it as "arbitrary" on X. Kabila was last week seen in the eastern DR Congo city of Goma, which is under M23 has been highly critical of the government after the senate voted to lift his immunity over his alleged support of the M23 Congo's neighbour, Rwanda has been accused of backing the rebel group, but Kigali denies this. Kabila, who has not yet been charged with any crime, launched a scathing attack on the Congolese government last month, describing it as a "dictatorship".A government spokesperson at the time rejected Kabila's criticism, saying he had "nothing to offer".Reacting to the announcement by the CSAC, activist and president of the African Association for the Defence of Human Rights, Jean-Claude Katende, said the ban constituted an "abuse of power", according to local media. Since returning to DR Congo after two years of self-imposed exile, Kabila's party has been posting his activities online, which include visiting civil society groups and local religious representatives in Goma. Additional reporting from BBC Monitoring. More BBC stories about DR Congo: What's the fighting in DR Congo all about?The evidence that shows Rwanda is backing rebels in DR CongoIs Trump mulling a minerals deal with conflict-hit DR Congo? Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
New York Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Palestinian Authority Lifting Ban on Al Jazeera in West Bank
The Palestinian Authority said late Monday that it would lift a ban on the broadcaster Al Jazeera in the West Bank that it put into effect after accusing the outlet of 'inciting sedition' and 'interfering in internal Palestinian affairs.' The ban, which the Palestinian Authority's attorney general, Akram Khatib, instituted on Jan. 1, had been indefinite. Palestinian officials said that it would last until Al Jazeera, which is funded by Qatar, 'corrected its legal status,' though they did not detail the accusations against the broadcaster. Mr. Khatib told The New York Times on Monday that the authority had decided to lift the ban and that a court would issue an order to that effect on Tuesday. He declined to provide details about what, if anything, had changed since the ban began. The authority, which administers some areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including major Palestinian cities, has long been at odds with the media company. The authority is dominated by the secularist Fatah party, whose officials have sometimes accused the channel of supporting Hamas, a rival group that ejected Fatah from Gaza in 2007. The ban on Al Jazeera came as the authority was conducting a rare operation in the northern West Bank city of Jenin to crack down on militants, some of whom are affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Some Palestinians activists and human rights groups have accused the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, of an authoritarian stifling of dissent and intimidation of critics. Responding to the ban at the time, Al Jazeera said in a statement that Palestinian officials were 'attempting to hide the truth of events in the occupied territories.' The ban on Al Jazeera followed similar actions by the Israeli authorities. Last May, Israel ordered it to shut down in the country. Several months later, the Israeli military stormed the broadcaster's offices in Ramallah, in the West Bank. Tensions between Israel and the influential broadcaster rose during the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. While other major media outlets have been blocked from entering the enclave by Israel and Egypt, Al Jazeera has had numerous reporters on the ground. They have provided a steady stream of stories about the violence and harrowing conditions for civilians in Gaza. The broadcaster has accused Israel of trying to conceal the brutality of the war. Israel says that the outlet supports Hamas and that some of its journalists are themselves militants, an allegation the broadcaster has strongly rejected. Walid al-Omari, Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Ramallah, said the broadcaster's offices there would not be immediately reopened because they had also been shut by Israeli military order. Its journalists, however, will now be able to continue working in the West Bank without concern of prosecution from the Palestinian Authority, he noted.
