The Electronic Frontier Foundation notes in its latest bulletin how PBS' On The Media reported this week that journalists are being detained in some cases as they enter the United States for "suspicionless searches." The program examined the plight of producer Sarah Abdurrahman as she, family and friends tried to come back to the U.S. from Canada. The program said several other incidents point to a "growing and disturbing" problem of unnecessary delays and intimidation of journalists.
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The phone-hacking trial continues in Britain and today saw some of the most intense examination of defendant Rebekah Brooks by prosecutors who argued she knew for years about the practice and the cover-up. Brooks has been testifying for nine days. Court heard owner Rupert Murdoch asked her not to resign when it came to light the phone of a murdered girl had been hacked.
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A former journalist has been sentenced to two years in prison in Vietnam for blogging critically about parliamentary censure in his country. Truong Duy Nhat had quit his job and started an anti-government blog when he was charged and tried. The United States has criticized the sentence, which comes in the wake of Vietnam gaining a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council.