2005

JULY 18, 2005 Posted: July 21, 2005 Daily News and Daily News on Sunday CENSORED The government-controlled Media and Information Commission (MIC) refused, once again, to license the banned independent Daily News and its sister paper, the Daily News on Sunday, both of which were shut down in September 2003 for violating the country’s draconian…

New York, July 19, 2005—Independent station Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) went off air yesterday, after a compromise was reached with the National Communications Council, according to local sources. RPA agreed to a 2-day suspension, on the understanding that Thursday, the council—known by its French acronym CNC—will lift its original ban, which would have required the…

New York, July 19, 2005—The government-controlled Media and Information Commission (MIC) yesterday refused, once again, to license the banned independent Daily News and its sister paper, the Daily News on Sunday, both of which were shut down in September 2003 for violating the country’s draconian press laws. According to the state-owned Herald newspaper, the MIC…

JULY 18, 2005 Posted: August 9, 2005 Community and religious broadcasters THREATENED An Information Ministry official threatened to shutter community and religious radio and television stations broadcasting “political” news or programs, according to local sources.

New York, July 18, 2005—One journalist was sentenced to three years in prison and another to three months today for commentaries in the private weekly L’Observateur that criticized President Idriss Déby, according to local sources. The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the court’s decision and calls on authorities to release the two immediately. The paper’s…

JULY 15, 2005 Posted: July 18, 2005 Radio Publique Africaine HARASSED Burundi’s National Communications Council ordered the popular independent station Radio Publique Africaine off the air indefinitely, alleging that RPA’s recent election coverage was biased and that it had insulted the council. Alexis Sinduhije, RPA’s director, called the suspension unjust and said the station intended…

JULY 18, 2005 Updated: October 17, 2005 Ngaradoumbé Samory, L’Observateur IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION Samory, editor of the private weekly L’Observateur, was sentenced to three months in prison and a fine of 100,000 CFA francs (about U.S.$176) on charges of defaming the president and “inciting hatred.”

JULY 15, 2005 Posted: July 18, 2005 Radio France Internationale CENSORED A media regulatory agency ordered Radio France Internationale (RFI) to halt its FM broadcasts in Ivory Coast until it retracted two disputed reports and paid a fine. The order was the latest incident pitting Ivoirian authorities against the France-based public broadcaster, whom President Laurent…

New York, July 15, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is troubled by the continued detention of Jean Marie Kanku, publisher of the private newspaper L’Alerte in the capital, Kinshasa. Kanku has been charged with criminal defamation stemming from a July 8 article alleging that a DRC official had misused humanitarian reconstruction funds, according to the…