Irish journalist faces 50 sex charges

The accused must sign on three times a week at Ballymun Garda Station in Dublin

A 50-year-old journalist has appeared in court in the Republic of Ireland charged with 50 sex offences involving teenage girls.

The man, who cannot be identified at this stage of the proceedings, was arrested just after 09:00 GMT and taken to Ballymun Garda Station in Dublin.

After caution, he made no reply to the charges.

He faces seven charges of engaging in a sexual act with an underage child on dates in 2011.

The man also faces three charges of sexual assault against the same person on dates in 2007 at a number of locations, including a hotel car park in Dublin, and in Donegal.

He faces 40 charges relating to child exploitation, including inducing or coercing a child to engage in the production of child pornography and inducing or coercing her to engage in a sexual, indecent or obscene act.

These offences are alleged to have occurred between 2008 and 2011.

The man was remanded on bail on his own bond of 500 euros (£412) and an independent surety of 2,000 euros (£1,648).

As part of his bail conditions, he must sign on three times a week at Ballymun Garda Station. He has also surrendered his passport.

He is due in court again on 29 April.

The court heard the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed he be tried on indictment, which means he will be sent forward to a higher court for trial.

He has not yet indicated how he will plead to the charges.

A defence solicitor told the judge that the DPP agreed the case should have reporting restrictions because of the nature of the charges.

This means the man cannot be identified at this stage.

Mr Hennessy told the judge the man would be applying for legal aid at the next court sitting.

IFJ condemns China's refusal to issue visas to Taiwanese reporters

2014/02/10 

Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joined the affiliated Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) Monday in condemning China's refusal to issue visas to two Taiwanese journalists who wanted to travel to China this week.

The Taiwan-based reporters with Taiwan's Apple Daily and U.S.-based Radio Free Asia were excluded from a delegation of journalists who will cover the visit of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council head Wang Yu-chi to China from Feb. 11-14.

The IFJ joined with the ATJ in calling on the governments of Taiwan and China to sign an "Agreement to Ensure News Freedom" and to immediately refrain from using the issuance of visas or permits as instruments of censorship.

IFJ Asia Pacific director Jacqui Park said the Chinese government's refusal to issue these visas was indicative of an ongoing trend.

"The Chinese government is clearly using their ability to retract or refuse visas to journalists as an instrument of censorship," Park said.

"Recently we have witnessed high profile cases in which foreign journalists such as The New York Times' Austin Ramzy and The South China Morning Post's Paul Mooney were forced to leave the country after having visa renewals declined.

"This is the first case we have come across where Taiwanese journalists have been targeted," he said.

Wang is set to meet China's Taiwan Affairs Office head Zhang Zhijun in Nanjing -- the first ever official meeting between Cabinet-level chiefs of the two governments -- on Feb. 11.

The ATJ called on Taiwan's government to officially rebuke Beijing for its action and demand that China revoke its ban and allow all Taiwanese journalists to cover the visit without discrimination.

"China's decision to trample on press freedoms by refusing to issue the visas is particularly serious, given one of the items on the agenda is a possible agreement on news media cooperation that could ultimately permit news media from each side to permanently station reporters in the other territory," the ATJ said.

The ATJ also urged the two governments to pledge to protect the rights of reporters of either side operating in each other's territory to freely gather news and guarantee that reporters from either side will not be detained or monitored for carrying out news gathering tasks.

In addition, it requested that Taipei and Beijing enter into an agreement that would prohibit both governments from censoring or blocking any news website and to refrain from censorship of publication of books, magazines or audio-visual recordings across the Taiwan Strait.

(By S.C. Chang)

US urges Egypt to free Al Jazeera staff

US government condemns detention of journalists in Egypt, saying they should be protected and permitted to do their job.

The US White House has condemned the detention of Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt and called for their release. On Tuesday, it was 38 days since Egyptian authorities detained Mohammed Fahmy, Baher Mohammed and Peter Greste at their hotel in Cairo. Their Al Jazeera Arabic colleague Abdullah Al Shami is still in Egyptian custody. Mohammed Badr, Al Jazeera Arabic cameraman, has been acquitted of all charges and was released overnight. The three Al Jazeera English journalists have been held without charge in prison in Cairo. They are accused of spreading false news and having links to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt classified as a terrorist organisation. The government in Cairo said their cases have been referred to the criminal court. However Al Jazeera has not been notified of any formal charges. The White House said that it is deeply concerned about the recent crackdown by the Egyptian government on journalists and academics. "These figures, regardless of affiliation, should be protected and permitted to do their jobs freely in Egypt," White House spokesman Jay Carney told Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane at a White House briefing. "We have strongly urged the government to drop these charges and release those journalists and academics who have been detained," he said. International support CNN's Christiane Amanpour has thrown her weight behind the online #FreeAJStaff campaign by covering the issue in her TV programme. The renowned foreign correspondent and interviewer held up the #FreeAJStaff sign live on air. Christiane Amanpour covered the #FreeAJstaff campaign that has gone viral [CNN/YouTube] Earlier on Tuesday, scores of supporters of the Al Jazeera journalists demonstrated in Kenya, the base of Greste. "Being a journalist is not a crime," the crowd of around a 100 shouted outside the Egyptian embassy in Nairobi, in a peaceful protest watched over by armed police. "Journalism does not equal terrorism, you have committed no crime,"  said Robyn Kriel, a reporter for South Africa's eNCA television, and head of East Africa's foreign journalists association. Rights group and the United Nations have also expressed concern over the crackdown on the media by Egypt's military-backed rulers. Tom Rhodes of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said he feared for media rights in Egypt. "CPJ is concerned that if such a crackdown is done on an international media house... what is the situation for local journalists?" Diplomat summoned Egypt's interim government summoned the Qatari Charge d'Affaires on Tuesday and issued a formal letter of complaint to Qatar over its failure to turn over wanted persons who fled Egypt following the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July. "The Qatari representative was summoned again to the Foreign Ministry headquarters to convey a message of protest and to reaffirm the need to carry out Egypt's requests, and to stress the importance of responding to the prosecutor general, Arab Interpol and international Interpol's requests to deliver the wanted persons, and to intervene to stop these infringements on Egypt," Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty told Reuters. The interim government also rejected the EU condemnation of the arrest of the al Jazeera staff. Al Jazeera Media Network will hold a press conference on Thursday, 6 February, in Toronto calling on the Egyptian authorities to immediately release the five journalists.

Obama urges Egypt to free Jazeera journalists

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Al-Jazeera journalist Mohammed Adow speaks to foreign journalists outside the Egyptian embassy, Nairobi on February 4, 2014 to show support to Peter Greste, an Australian journalist who was arrested and detained in Cairo while on assignment for Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network. AFP PHOTO/SIMON MAINA

Anti-polio drive: Notice taken of unvaccinated children

Commissioner directs department officers to involve union council secretaries to look for the children. PHOTO: AFP

FAISALABAD: 

Divisional Commissioner Sardar Akram Javaid took notice of the fact that 3,659 children had not been vaccinated during the recent anti-polio drive in Faisalabad district.

He ordered the Health Department, specifically the executive district officer to look for the children and administer them polio drops. Javaid was told that “the Health Department had constituted 2,762 teams to give anti-polio drops to children up to the age of five, but despite a three-day anti polio drive from January 20 to 22 and January 23 and 24 as sweeping days, the Health Department teams failed to administer polio vaccine drops to 3,659 children” in a meeting on Saturday. The commissioner also directed the department officers to involve union council secretaries to look for the children. He said the teams should not rest till all the children up to the age of five years had been vaccinated. The commissioner also directed the Health EDO to chalk out a comprehensive plan for the next round of the anti-polio drive so as to ensure 100 per cent vaccination.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2014.

‘Resisting official business’: ‘Disagreement’ lands non-profit CEO in lock-up

By Shamsul Islam

He was made to give an undertaking of better behaviour in future, police said. PHOTO: FILE

FAISALABAD: 

The chief executive officer (CEO) of a non-profit blood bank was “illegally detained” by police after an exchange of words with the district coordination officer (DCO) in Faisalabad on Friday.

Ali Zeb Foundation (AZF) CEO Shahid Zaidi told The Express Tribune that Civil Lines police “humiliated, abused and detained” him following his refusal to shift the organisation’sthalassaemia centre to General Hospital in Ghulam Muhammadabad from the Red Crescent Hospital.

He said DCO Noorul Amin Mengal had called him to his office on Friday and “ordered him to immediately vacate the centre.”

Zaidi said he told the DCO that hundreds of children being treated at the centre would suffer if it was shifted immediately.

“I requested the DCO to reconsider… he took my advice as an insult and lost his temper.” Zaidi said Mengal “immediately asked his staff to vacate the thalassaemia centre and called the police.”

He said the police released him after his colleagues contacted the Minister of State for Water and Power Chaudhary Abid Sher Ali, and District Bar Association (DBA) President Chaudhry Tanveerur Rehman.

Zaidi alleged that police had humiliated him and told him that he was being “taught a lesson for not obeying the DCO’s orders.”

He said AZF provided blood to government and private hospitals in addition to providing treatment to children suffering from thalassaemia, haemophilia and blood cancer.

DCO Noorul Amin Mengal told The Express Tribune that police had arrested Zaidi for resisting official business.

“I called the police because he [Shahid Zaidi] was rude… I could’ve “sorted him out” but I am an admirer of his organisation’s work,” he said.

The DCO said,“He came to my office today [Saturday] to apologise but I refused to meet him.”

“Ali Zeb Foundation is an NGO, not a government department… the former DCO allowed it to operate from a room at Red Crescent Hospital but it encroached on other areas… it also took over the nursing hospital at Red Crescent Hospital,” he said.

Mengal said Red Crescent Hospital was primarily a maternity hospital and the AZF administration was “creating problems… on the pretext of blood donation.”

“We are setting up a state-of-the-art building for AZF at General Hospital, Ghulam Muhammadabad, at an estimated cost of Rs40 million… but the AZF administration is not cooperating with the local administration,” the DCO said.

Civil Lines Station House Officer (SHO) Afzal Cheema said Zaidi was arrested on the DCO’s orders.

“He was released after police received orders from the DCO’s office… no case was registered against him,” he said.

“We were asked by the DCO to obtain an undertaking of good behavior from him.”

The AZF CEO told The Express Tribune “More than 3,500 children registered with the Ali Zeb Foundation are provided blood every fortnight by the organisation… We keep more than 400 blood bags at all times for emergency situations.”

He said the Ali Zeb Foundation needed to operate from a place that was easily accessible in Faisalabad. “Red Crescent Hospital is close to district headquarters hospital (DHQ, Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, the General Bus Stand, the Railway Station, Main GTS Chowk and downtown areas,” he said.

He said former District Coordination Officer Naseem Sadiq had provided space to Ali Zeb Foundation at Red Crescent Hospital three years ago.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2014.

Sexual abuse: Teen gang raped

By Our Corresponden

Four men kidnapped girl in Faisalabad.

FAISALABAD: A teen was reported to have been gang raped in the Jaranwala area on Monday. Police said they were looking for the suspect who had fled after the incident. An FIR was registered on the complaint of the girl’s mother.

Police quoted a relative of the girl as saying that she had left the house to visit a friend in the neighbourhood. While crossing a field, he said, the four men kidnapped her and took her inside a dera in Chak 238-GB, where they raped her.

When a passer-by saw them and started shouting for help, he said, the men fled. The girl was taken to a hospital and her family were informed.

The Jaranwala station house officer said that the police were waiting for the girl’s medico-legal examination.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2014.

Accountability: Drive against gas theft fizzles out in Faisalabad

By Our Correspondents

Officials blame political pressure as main reason.PHOTO: FILE

GUJRANWALA / FAISALABAD: 

The anti gas theft campaign launched in the district in August 2013 has failed to achieve its objectives, The Express Tribune has learnt.

According to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) officials, the campaign failed due to indifference of government officers. They said there was also political pressure to face.

An Anti Theft Squad officer, talking to The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity, said that special teams formed for the campaign had sealed various properties and arrested several people, including some quite influential people. He said several politicians were found to have been involved in gas theft.

However, he said, there had been pressure from some government high-ups from the district that had forced the Anti Gas Theft Squad to release some of the men and stop the campaign. The raiding teams were told not to act against influential people and their acquaintances. He said the campaign had become limited to small pilferers.

Most of them, too, he said, “got shelter” after the government announced local government elections.

He said during the last five months, the raiding teams had unearthed 1,021 gas thefts and arrested 900 pilferers. He said chronic defaulters and big thieves were unaffected.

Talking to The Express Tribune, City District Government spokesman Muhammad Amin admitted that the campaign had been stopped in the district. However, he said, the reason was that the government wanted to avoid public anger. He said the drive would be resumed after local government elections.

Scrutiny panel

In Gujranwala, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd has announced plans to recover Rs430 million from 10 major gas pilferers in the district.

For the purpose, Regional Manager Qaiser Masood Khan formed an investigation panel comprising Deputy Chief Billing and Recovery Officer Muhammad Imran Ahmed Qureshi, Senior Billing Officer Mian Muhammad Nazar, Deputy Chief Sales Officer Syed Muhammad Khan and Law Officers Chaudhry Imran Shehzad and Ziaul Haq Khan.

According to SNGPL officials, over 92 illegal and tampered connections have been found in the last few months. They said connections of two housing societies had been disconnected. Officials also confiscated 18 meters from there.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2014.