MOSCOW: A Russian military court on Monday sentenced in absentia Meta spokesman Andy Stone to six years behind bars for “justifying terrorism,” as part of efforts to restrict Western social media platforms in the country.
The largely symbolic ruling came several months after Mosocw, which has blocked Meta platforms Instagram and Facebook, put the US citizen on a wanted list.
Judge Roman Kiforenko said the sentence would begin upon Stone setting foot on Russian territory or being extradited to Russia, news agencies reported.
The case followed a post by Stone in March 2022 — weeks into Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine — in which he said Facebook would not punish users calling for violence against Russian forces.
Stone said Meta had “temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’“
“We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians,” the post read.
Nick Clegg, the President of Meta Global Affairs, said at the time that the policy would only apply “in Ukraine itself.”
Clegg said the decision was taken in “extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances” and was designed to protect “people’s rights to speech as an expression of self-defense.”
Russia barred Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg from entering the country shortly after launching hostilities in Ukraine.
Moscow does not tolerate criticism of the offensive on social media, imposing fines or jail terms to thousands for denouncing the large-scale military campaign now in its third year.
Russia orders jail term for Meta spokesman in absentia on ‘terrorism’ charges
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Russia orders jail term for Meta spokesman in absentia on ‘terrorism’ charges
- Andy Stone was sentenced to six years in what has been described as a symbolic ruling agaist Western social media platforms
Journalist killed in West Bank during Palestinian Authority raid
- Family of slain Jenin-based journalist Shatha Al-Sabbagh accuses PA of a ‘repressive campaign against its own people’
- Al-Sabbagh is 10th journalist killed in Gaza and West Bank in past two weeks
LONDON: A 21-year-old journalist was killed in the West Bank on Sunday, with her family saying Palestinian Authority security forces were responsible for her death.
Shatha Al-Sabbagh died from gunshot wounds to the head near her home in the Jenin refugee camp, according to Jenin Governmental Hospital.
Her death brings the number of journalists killed in Gaza and the West Bank in the past two weeks to 10.
In a statement, Al-Sabbagh’s family said: “We hold the Palestinian Authority and its security services directly responsible for this crime.
“This dangerous escalation shows that these agencies have become repressive tools practicing terrorism against their people, instead of protecting their dignity and confronting the Israeli occupation,” the family added.
The PA has been accused of a brutal crackdown on anti-Israel armed groups in Jenin and other areas since early December.
The authority said the campaign is part of a broader effort to “pursue criminals” and prevent areas like Jenin from becoming battlegrounds similar to Gaza.
At least six West Bank residents and five PA security officers were reportedly killed during clashes in these operations.
Palestinian security forces spokesman Anwar Rajab denied the accusations, attributing Al-Sabbagh’s death to “outlaws” in the camp.
He said that preliminary investigations and eyewitness testimonies indicated no PA security forces were present at the scene, a claim rejected by the family and residents of the Mahyoub neighborhood in Jenin.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has called for an independent investigation into Al-Sabbagh’s killing, urging the inclusion of a syndicate representative to ensure transparency and accountability.
Criticism of the PA’s campaign has also come from factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who accuse the authority of targeting resistance fighters in Jenin.
Some experts said that the PA is trying to impose its dominance over the region and demonstrate its ability to govern and manage internal security in postwar Gaza.
Local reports suggest the PA also stopped Qatar-based Al Jazeera’s operations in several West Bank cities, including Jenin and Tubas, earlier this month.
Al Jazeera condemned what it described as an “incitement campaign” by the PA’s ruling Fatah party against the network and its journalists.
Tensions throughout the West Bank remain high, exacerbated by Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 44,500 people, the majority of them women and children.
The year has been especially deadly for media workers in Palestine. At least 60 journalists were killed in 2024, most of them by Israeli forces.
On Friday, five media workers were killed in Gaza in an Israeli strike on their vehicle, which was clearly marked with the word “Press.”
Earlier in December, Israeli airstrikes killed four other journalists in separate incidents on Dec. 14 and 15.
Iran confirms arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala
DUBAI: Iran confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.
Sala, 29, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19, according to the Italian foreign ministry.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Saturday declined to say whether the case might be linked to the arrest of an Iranian in Italy this month at the request of the United Sttates.
The case of the Italian journalist being held in Iran is “complicated,” but Rome hopes to bring Sala home quickly, Tajani
said.
“Italian national Cecilia Sala traveled to Iran on Dec. 13 with a journalist visa and was detained on Dec. 19... for violating the laws of the Islamic Republic,” a statement by Iran’s Culture Ministry said, according to IRNA.
Chora Media said Sala had left Rome for Iran on Dec. 12 with a valid journalist visa and had conducted several interviews and produced three episodes of her “Stories” podcast. She had been due to fly back to Rome on Dec. 20.
Sala has been in contact by phone with her family and the Italian embassy in Tehran was notified of her detention, the statement said.
In recent years, Iran’s security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.
Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies taking prisoners to gain diplomatic leverage.
Italian journalist arrested in Iran: Rome
- Cecilia Sala was detained on Dec. 19 by police in Tehran
- Foreign ministry said it had been following case closely
ROME: Italy denounced Friday the “unacceptable” arrest of an Italian journalist in Iran, who her employer said was being held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.
Cecilia Sala was detained on Dec. 19 by police in Tehran, the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that Italy’s ambassador, Paola Amadei, had visited her earlier Friday.
Defense Minister Giudo Crosetto said on X that her arrest was “unacceptable,” adding that Italy was using “high-level political and diplomatic action” to try to secure her release.
Chora Media, an Italian podcast publisher for which Sala worked, said she had left Rome for Iran on Dec. 12 with a journalism visa, and was due to return on December 20.
But she went quiet on Dec. 19 and then did not board her flight. Shortly afterward she called her mother to say she had been arrested, it said.
“She was taken to Evin prison, where dissidents are held, and the reason for her arrest has not yet been formalized,” Chora said in a statement.
Sala also worked for Italian newspaper Il Foglio, which said she had been in Iran “to report on a country she knows and loves.”
“Journalism is not a crime, even in countries that repress all freedoms, including those of the press. Bring her home,” it said.
Chora said it had not publicized her case until now in the hope that she would swiftly be returned home. It called for her immediate release.
The foreign ministry said it had been following the case closely and was working with Iranian authorities to clarify Sala’s situation, including the conditions of her detention.
Sala, reported to be 29-years-old, had been able to make two phone calls to relatives, it said, without giving further details.
Lebanese journalist Abir Rahal killed by husband before his suicide
- The couple were at a Shariah court in the town of Shheem in Mount Lebanon to complete their divorce proceedings
- Masoud fled the scene after shooting his wife at a close range
BEIRUT: Lebanese journalist Abir Rahal was shot to death by her husband inside a courthouse before he committed suicide, reported the state news agency NNA.
The couple were at a Shariah court in the town of Shheem in Mount Lebanon to complete their divorce proceedings after Rahal filed for separation from her husband, Khalil Masoud, according to media reports.
Masoud fled the scene after shooting his wife at a close range, posting a video on his Facebook account an hour later detailing their financial disputes over a local news website he claimed to have founded.
He also expressed his intent to commit suicide after the video is posted.
Security officers later found his body in his car after he shot himself with a gun in his possession.
“When you watch this video, I will have departed this world,” said Masoud.
He was transported to the government hospital in Sibline but succumbed to his injuries shortly afterward.
The couple are survived by their three children.
Palestinian TV says Israeli strike kills 5 journalists in Gaza
- The Committee to Protect Journalists’ Middle East arm said the organization was devastated
GAZA: A Palestinian TV channel affiliated with a militant group said five of its journalists were killed Thursday in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in Gaza, with Israel’s military saying it had targeted a “terrorist cell.”
A missile hit the journalists’ broadcast truck as it was parked in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to a statement from their employer, Al-Quds Today.
It is affiliated with Islamic Jihad, whose militants have fought alongside Hamas in the Gaza Strip and took part in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war.
The channel identified the five staffers as Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan, Ayman Al-Jadi, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed Al-Lada’a.
They were killed “while performing their journalistic and humanitarian duty,” the statement said.
“We affirm our commitment to continue our resistant media message,” it added.
The Israeli military said in its own statement that it had conducted “a precise strike on a vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside in the area of Nuseirat.”
It added that “prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.”
According to witnesses in Nuseirat, a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft hit the broadcast vehicle, which was parked outside Al-Awda Hospital, setting the vehicle on fire and killing those inside.
The Committee to Protect Journalists’ Middle East arm said the organization was “devastated by the reports that five journalists and media workers were killed inside their broadcasting vehicle by an Israeli strike.”
“Journalists are civilians and must always be protected,” it added in a statement on social media.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said last week that more than 190 journalists had been killed and at least 400 injured since the start of the war in Gaza.
It was triggered by the Hamas-led October 7 attack last year, which resulted in 1,208 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 45,361 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
