2012
Egyptian government attempts to suppress the media
New York, August 16, 2012–President Mohamed Morsi’s government and allies are pushing back against critical news coverage, suppressing critical journalists and state-run newspapers, putting a journalist on trial, and attacking three journalists on the street, according to news reports.
As it backs Assange, Ecuador stifles expression at home
The Quito government’s decision to grant Julian Assange political asylum comes at a time when freedom of expression is under siege in Ecuador. President Rafael Correa’s press freedom record is among the very worst in the Americas, and providing asylum to the WikiLeaks founder won’t change the repressive conditions facing Ecuadoran journalists who want to…
In Gabon, gunmen burn opposition TV station’s transmitter
Lagos, Nigeria, August 16, 2012–Unidentified gunmen today stormed a private television station owned by Gabon’s main opposition leader and burned down its transmitters, according to local journalists and news reports. It was the second armed attack on the broadcaster since 2009.
Former Niger Delta militants attack journalist union office
A group of armed men attacked the office of the local branch of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the southern city of Warri on August 7, 2012, according to news reports. The men came with kegs of gasoline and threatened to lynch journalists and burn the office if they were not granted media…
South Sudan minister defies condemnation against international reporter
Critical journalists often face attacks from governments, CPJ found. A South Sudan minister recently accused a reporter of McClatchy newspaper “to be in pay” of Sudan, after the journalist detailed the country’s support of Sudanese rebels. The Sudan Tribune reports on the story, with commentary from CPJ’s East Africa Consultant, Tom Rhodes. Click here for the full story
McClatchy’s Boswell caught in South Sudan’s war of words
A day before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited South Sudan this month, McClatchy correspondent Alan Boswell reported that President Salva Kiir had finally acknowledged his government’s support for a Nuba Mountains-based group that had been skirmishing with Sudanese forces. In a letter to his U.S. counterpart, the story said, Kiir apologized for…
The Gambia shuts independent radio station
New York, August 15, 2012–Gambian national security agents summarily shut an independent radio station early this morning without providing an explanation, according to news reports. Authorities have censored Taranga FM at least twice before in retaliation for its exclusive news review program, according to news reports. Officers of the Gambian National Intelligence Agency stormed Taranga…
Syrian journalist kidnapped in Homs
New York, August 15, 2012–Unidentified armed men on Monday kidnapped a correspondent for Al-Alam, an Iranian satellite broadcaster supportive of the Syrian government, the latest incident in a series of abductions and attacks against pro-government media in Syria, according to news reports.
In Djibouti, reporter detained for a week without charge
Nairobi, August 15, 2012–Authorities in Djibouti must immediately release a journalist for an opposition news website who has been jailed for a week without charge or access to a lawyer or his family, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Two police officers arrested Houssein Ahmed Farah, a contributor to the Europe-based news website La…
Nigerian photographer assaulted in a government hospital
Lagos, Nigeria, August 14, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to immediately investigate an attack on the grounds of a government hospital that targeted a photographer seeking to cover the release of the remains of June plane crash victims to their families.