THE GAMBIA The tightening of repressive media laws and the failure to solve the December 2004 murder of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara added to the climate of violence and intimidation faced by private media in 2005. President Yahya Jammeh said that the Gambia allowed “too much freedom of expression,” and local journalists feared that government…
RWANDA The arrival of private radio stations did little to improve the climate for media in Rwanda, where repression by the government of President Paul Kagame and self-censorship by journalists all but stifled critical coverage. Local media and human rights groups often failed to speak out against intimidation and attacks on the press. Previous acts…
SOMALIA A Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was mandated by a peace conference of warlords and political leaders to restore order to Somalia, which has been without an effective central government since 1991. But the TFG split and political rivalries sparked violence, especially in the capital, Mogadishu. Amid ongoing lawlessness, impunity, and increased political tension, journalists…
TOGO The death of President Gnassingbé Eyadema on February 5 gave local journalists hope that a new era of press freedom would follow years of repression. Instead, Eyadéma’s Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (RPT) held on to power, resorting to censorship, harassment, and intimidation of the media as the army suspended the constitution and named the…
UNITED STATES An investigation into the leak of a CIA officer’s identity erupted, with one reporter compelled to testify about his confidential source, another jailed for 85 days before she testified, and a high-level White House aide indicted on federal charges of perjury, false statements, and obstruction of justice. Confidentiality of sources was under attack…
ZIMBABWE In the run-up to parliamentary elections in March, the government of President Robert Mugabe further tightened repressive legislation that has been used to drastically reduce the independent media and its freedom to operate. Independent journalists continued to face police harassment, official intimidation, and the constant threat of arrest under the draconian laws. Several more…
February 15, 2006 Original Alert: January 31, 2006 Radiotélévision La Colombe CENSORED Radiotélévision La Colombe (RTC) began broadcasting again on February 10, almost two weeks after shutting down over security fears, the Congolese press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED) reported. The station is based in the eastern town of Rutshuru, where fighting broke out…
February 15, 2006 Original Alert: November 9, 2005 Fred M’membe, The Post HARASSED, LEGAL ACTION The Zambian state declined to prosecute award-winning journalist M’membe for criticizing President Levy Mwanawasa. M’membe, editor of Zambia’s leading daily The Post, was charged with insulting the president in November 2005. He was released on bail after six hours in…
Editor’s note: On February 6, CPJ erroneously reported that journalist Ibrahim Manzo had been sentenced to two months in prison in Niger. No verdict has been given yet in the case against Manzo, and he remains in preventive detention in the capital, Niamey. New York, February 14, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the…
FEBRUARY 10, 2006 Moustapha Sow, L’Office LEGAL ACTION Sow, director of the private newspaper L’Office, was sentenced to six months in prison for defaming businessman Bara Tall in articles about a high-profile corruption scandal. Sow, who was not immediately taken into custody, told CPJ that he planned to appeal.