Africa
2005
Journalist detained by judicial police
New York, July 29, 2005—The managing director of the small private newspaper La Tolérance was arrested yesterday by judicial police, who have accused him of “discrediting” a state prosecutor in an article published in his newspaper. Jean Pierre Phambu Lutette has been jailed in a cell at the public prosecutor’s department in the capital, Kinshasa,…
State broadcaster told to stop opposition coverage
New York, July 28, 2005—A group of armed, uniformed soldiers yesterday stormed the Abidjan offices of state broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) and instructed directors not to broadcast footage of opposition members, according to CPJ sources and local news reports. The soldiers identified themselves as members of the Republican Guard but refused to give their…
IVORY COAST
JULY 26, 2005 Posted: July 28, 2005 José Stéphane Koudou, Le Jour Plus ATTACKED Supporters of the ruling Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) party brutally assaulted Koudou, a political reporter for the private daily Le Jour Plus, according to local sources. The attack occurred as Koudou was reporting on a press conference planned by the youth…
Radio station resumes broadcasts; media council replaced
New York, July 27, 2005—The National Communications Council—known by its French acronym CNC—authorized independent radio station Radio Publique Africaine to resume broadcasting as of today, after police shuttered it on Friday in a standoff over news content. President Domitien Ndayizeye also named a new CNC, following the resignation yesterday of its former chairman Jean Pierre…
CPJ condemns attacks on private newspapers
New York, July 26, 2005—Pro-government militia forcibly disrupted the distribution of private newspapers around the administrative capital Abidjan yesterday, threatening the papers and forcing some to evacuate their premises, according to local sources. Two dailies, Le Nouveau Réveil and Dernière Heure, failed to publish today. Monday morning, militia known as Young Patriots entered Edipresse, the…
Independent radio station remains closed
New York, July 25, 2005—Radio Publique Africaine remained off the air today after police in Burundi closed the independent broadcaster’s offices on Friday night, briefly detaining eight journalists and continuing a standoff over the station’s news coverage. RPA Deputy Director Jean-Marie Hicuburundi told CPJ that he and seven colleagues were taken to a police station…
Police shutter independent radio station
New York, July 22, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply shocked about today’s closure of independent radio station Radio Publique Africaine. The closure took place despite an earlier compromise deal between the authorities and RPA, local sources said. RPA fell silent around 5 p.m. local time as a large group of police broke into…
ZIMBABWE
JULY 13, 2005 Posted: July 21, 2005 The Tribune CENSORED The government-controlled Media and Information Commission (MIC) refused to allow the independent weekly The Tribune to reopen, after suspending it for one year in June 2004 for allegedly violating Zimbabwe’s repressive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (known as AIPPA).