Journalists around the world reacts to Al Jazeera Journalists's sentence!

After an Egypt court sentenced two Al Jazeera journalists to seven years in jail and one to 10 years by a judge on Monday against Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed, the sentence has drawn international outrage and condemnation of what many described as an "unjust verdict".

Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in prison, while Baher Mohamed was sentenced to an additional three years for possession of ammunition. Mohamed was in possession of a spent bullet casing he had found on the ground during a protest.

Other Al Jazeera journalists who were tried in absentia, including Sue Turton and Dominic Kane, were sentenced to 10 years.

Three of the journalists Greste, Fahmy, and Mohamed were arrested in December 2013 in Cairo as they covered the aftermath of the army's removal of Mohamed Morsi from the presidency in July 2013.

Alleged Offence:

The prosecution said Greste, Al Jazeera's East Africa correspondent, and his Egypt bureau colleagues aided the Brotherhood and produced false news reports of the situation in Egypt.

The Brotherhood, which supported Morsi, was listed as a "terrorist" organisation by the interim Egyptian government shortly before the accused were arrested.

The prosecution produced a number of items as evidence including a BBC podcast, a news report made while none of the accused were in Egypt, a pop video by the Australian singer Gotye, and several recordings on non-Egyptian issues.

Alleged charges unsubstantiated - Defence team:

The defence maintained that the journalists were wrongly arrested and that the prosecution had failed to prove any of the charges, as Al Jazeera strenuously rejected the charges against its journalists and maintains their innocence.

Al Anstey, Al Jazeera English managing director, said the verdicts defied "logic, sense, and any semblance of justice".

 In a statement Anstey said ."Today three colleagues and friends were sentenced, and will continue to be kept behind bars for doing a brilliant job of being great journalists. 'Guilty' of covering stories with great skill and integrity. 'Guilty' of defending people’s right to know what is going on in their world," 

"Peter, Mohamed, and Baher and six of our other colleagues were sentenced despite the fact that not a shred of evidence was found to support the extraordinary and false charges against them. At no point during the long drawn out 'trial' did the absurd allegations stand up to scrutiny.

"There is only one sensible outcome now - for the verdict to be overturned, and justice to be recognised by Egypt."

International reactions:

The verdict  international incited outcry and raised fears of growing media restrictions in Egypt.

According to news, Australia expressed shock and US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke of "a chilling and draconian sentence", while the White House urged President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to pardon the journalists involved.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest in a statement said. "We call on the Egyptian government to pardon these individuals or commute their sentences so that they can be released immediately and (to) grant clemency for all politically motivated sentences,".

UN rights chief Navi Pillay:  "journalism is not a crime" and urged Egypt to "promptly release" those jailed for doing their job.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said: "We are deeply dismayed that a sentence has been imposed and appalled at the severity of it."

"It is hard to credit that the court in this case could have reached this conclusion," she said, adding Canberra would look at possible intervention in the case.

Greste's brother Andrew: "It is definitely not what we were expecting. I was hoping for acquittal... we will continue to fight for his freedom," he said.

It was gathered that several countries announced plans to summon Egyptian ambassadors to protest what many called an unjust verdict.

Roving Informant: "We join the Major World News Mediums and International Agencies in the cry out against media suppression, violation of media right and immediate release of the sentenced journalists".
source: Al Jazeera and partly edited by Roving Informant


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Top Comedian Ali Baba adds another year today!

Warri - Delta state born Nigerian top Comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akporobomerere popularly known as Ali Baba added a year today.


Roving Informant joins other mediums to celebrate a man who through hard work and relentless believe in the Nigerian Comedy industry, have over the years caved a niche for the industry not only in Nigeria, Africa, but the world in general.

Happy Birthday Ali Baba.

Global Aviation plane en - route Gabon from Nigeria missing!

Cameroon Aviation source has reported that a four-seater plane flying from Nigeria to Gabon via Cameroon on Tuesday has disappeared.

According to report, the plane, owned by the US company Global Aviation, took off from Kano in northern Nigeria at 1800 hours on Monday en route Libreville in Gabon, where it was scheduled to arrive at 2300 hours, after a stop-over in Douala, Cameroon.

The station however said that the plane, with only the American pilot on board, did not make it to Douala, saying the last contact the plane had with the control tower took place in Mongo, which is two hours flight from the Cameroonian economic capital.

Search and rescue operations led by Cameroon’s civil aviation authorities have not yielded any positive results. Reports said.

Queen visits Game of Thrones TV series set!

Queen and Prince Philip visits set of TV series Games of Thrones while on visit to Northern Ireland, where they met members of the cast and crew, before being given a small replica of the programme's iconic Iron Throne as a gift.

The Paint Hall Studios in the city's Titanic Quarter is a focal point for Northern Ireland's growing film industry. 

China - Terrorists using Internet to recruit, plan attacks!

Information from the State Internet Information Office, SIIO, revealed on Tuesday that terrorist groups now engages the internet to recruit members, raise funds and plan attacks in China, 

The Spokesperson for the agency, Jiang Jun, told newsmen at a press conference in Beijing that many internet sites have been placed under surveillance.

He called audio and video materials that promote terrorism a “cancer’’ of the Internet.

“The terrorist forces have turned the internet into a principal tool for their operations,’’ he said.

He said that the groups have sought to spread terrorism and violent beliefs and teach terrorist skills online.

Mr. Jun added that such actions must be struck down decisively.

China launched a campaign on Friday to rid the internet of audio and video materials that promote terrorism and violence.

According to SIIO, the move is aimed at safeguarding social stability in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and long-term peace.

Source: NAN

Ebola epidemic now out of control,MSF calls for massive deployment of medical resources !

According to the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an epidemic of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa is now reported to be "out of control" with more than 60 outbreak hotspots, 

"The scale of the current Ebola epidemic is unprecedented in terms of geographical distribution, people infected and deaths," MSF said in a statement.

The incurable disease is spread by contact with bodily fluids including sweat, meaning just touching an infected person is enough to spread the virus.

The rapid spread of the disease, which is deadly in up to 90 percent of cases, has overwhelmed aid agencies and health workers and terrified local communities.

"The epidemic is now out of control," said Bart Janssens, MSF director of operations. "With the appearance of new sites in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, there is a real risk of it spreading to other areas."

"We have reached our limits," Mr Janssens said. "We are no longer able to send teams to the new outbreak sites." Janssens said, as the MSF calls for a "massive deployment" of medical resources by governments in the region to curb the epidemic.

According to Mr Janssens, "Ebola is no longer a public health issue limited to Guinea: it is affecting the whole of West Africa,".

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News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks cleard of phone hacking charges!

According to CNN former newspaper editor Andy Coulson has been found guilty of conspiracy to hack phones on Tuesday. This came after an eight-month trial in London, the UK's Press Association news agency reported. 

Howbeit, the news agency reports  that another of Rupert Murdoch's former newspaper chiefs, Rebekah Brooks, was cleared at the Old Bailey of all charges. 

Brooks was engulfed in emotion in the courtroom as the verdicts were read out. She left the Old Bailey accompanied by her husband, Charlie Brooks, but did not stop to give a comment to the media. 



The verdict came three years after it was revealed that journalists on News of the World hacked the phone of then-missing teenager Milly Dowler in 2002, raising hopes that she was alive and checking messages, when in fact she had been murdered. The resulting public and political outrage led to the closure of the 168-year-old paper and the setting up of a public inquiry to examine journalistic ethics. 

At the time, it was reported that the schoolgirl's voice mail was intercepted, Brooks was editor of News of the World, and Coulson was her deputy. After Coulson succeeded her as editor, Brooks edited The Sun newspaper, and she later became chief executive of the parent company, News International.

British Prime Minister has rendered an apology over the guilty charges of Andy Coulson.



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