On an ordinary Friday, Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, a reporter in the West African nation of Gambia, publishes her weekly column on women’s issues, “She She She,” in the only independent daily newspaper here, The Point. Last Friday however, Dibba was herself a newsmaker—after recovering her freedom.
New York, September 3, 2009–Five journalists and a TV station covering Gabon’s disputed presidential election, which has already been marred by media censorship, have been attacked since Wednesday, according to local journalists and news reports. Official results announced today declared Ali Ben Bongo–son of Omar Bongo, the late 41-year ruler of the oil-rich, equatorial nation–the…
New York, August 31, 2009–A magistrate in Zambia issued a summons today for the entire editorial staff of the southern African country’s largest independent newspaper to appear in court on Wednesday on contempt charges, according to local journalists and news reports. The ruling was prompted by an op-ed commenting on the prosecution of the paper’s…
New York, August 26, 2009–Two Ethiopian journalists were thrown in prison on Monday after a judge convicted them under an obsolete press law in connection with coverage of sensitive topics dating back several years, according to local journalists and news reports.