Africa
2005
Journalist jailed in defamation case; CPJ seeks release
New York, February 2, 2005—-A reporter with the Congolese private daily La Référence Plus was taken into custody on Monday and imprisoned in the western town of Matadi on defamation charges brought by two national oil executives. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for his immediate release. In September, a Kinshasa court sentenced José…
ZIMBABWE
FEBRUARY 2005 Posted: March 14, 2005 Cornelius Nduna, freelance THREATENED In early February, police began searching for Nduna, a freelance television producer and reporter who worked for several foreign media organizations, on suspicion of possessing “sensitive tapes” passed to him by an employee of the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, according to his lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa.
CPJ calls on government to lift news ban
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by an ongoing government ban on news programming on Radio Dzialandzé Mutsamudu (RDM), a popular, privately owned station based in Mutsamudu, capital of the semi-autonomous island of Anjouan.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
JANUARY 31, 2005 Posted: February 14, 2005 José Wakadila, La Référence PlusIMPRISONED Wakadila, a reporter with the private daily La Référence Plus, was taken into custody and imprisoned in the western town of Matadi on defamation charges brought by two national oil executives.
SOMALIA
JANUARY 28, 2005 Posted: February 7, 2005 HornAfrik Radio ATTACKED Two unidentified men threw two grenades at the premises of private radio station HornAfrik in the capital, Mogadishu, at around 10 p.m., according to local press freedom group SOJON. The grenades exploded, but the station confirmed that there were no serious casualties or serious damage…
MOZAMBIQUE
JANUARY 27, 2005 Posted: February 2, 2005 Jeremias Langa, STV THREATENED Two men commandeered Langa’s car in the capital, Maputo, forced him to drive around the city for a half hour, held guns to his head, and threatened to kill him, according to a statement from the private television station STV, where Langa works as…
Response from the Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon
Dear Mrs. Cooper, We hereby acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 14, 2005 addressed to His Excellency Ambassador Jerome MENDOUGA, regarding Mr. Eric Wirkwa Tayu, publisher of a private newspaper in Cameroon. Mr. Tayu, you claim, “has been in prison since July 28, 2004 when he was convicted of defaming Kumbo’s mayor, Donatus Njong Fonyuy….”
Fugitive in Cardoso murder returned to Mozambique
New York, January 24, 2005—A fugitive in the murder of investigative reporter Carlos Cardoso has been returned to Mozambique, where he faces a new trial in the November 2000 slaying. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for the prompt prosecution and secure detention of Anibal Antonio dos Santos Junior, who has escaped from custody…
CPJ calls for release of jailed publication director
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the recent jailing of Jules Koum Koum, publication director of the private bimonthly Le Jeune Observateur, on criminal defamation charges. Two journalists are now imprisoned in Cameroon for their work.
CPJ protests government restrictions on media content
New York, January 21, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is troubled that the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has imposed restrictions on the content of private broadcasters. A memo issued by DRC Information Minister Henri Mova Sakanyi on January 18 states that “religious and thematic” broadcasters should refrain from airing all news and…