Africa
2011
Burundi government harassing independent broadcasters
New York, August 3, 2011–The government of Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza is attempting to silence critical press coverage of his administration with incessant judicial harassment of two of the country’s leading independent broadcasters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Habeas corpus writ seeks Dawit Isaac, jailed for 3,600 days
Journalist Dawit Isaac, co-founder of Eritrea’s now-defunct leading newspaper Setit, has spent nearly 10 years in one of the reclusive Red Sea nation’s secret prisons with no charges ever placed against him. Isaac’s location and health status are currently unknown, as are those of at least 16 other journalists who CPJ believes are also being…
Puntland frees jailed Somali journalist
New York, August 1, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the decision by authorities in Puntland, Somalia’s northeastern semiautonomous region, to set free reporter Faysal Mohamed Hassan on Sunday. Mohamed, who wrote for the private news site Hiiraan Online, was serving a prison sentence over a story claiming that two murdered men belonged to Puntland’s…
Guinea’s censorship order puts RFI in difficult spot
On Monday, Guinea’s state-controlled media regulatory agency imposed a “temporary” ban on media coverage of the July 19 attack on the private residence of President Alpha Condé, silencing private radio and television talk programs in which critical questions were being raised about the episode. In such circumstances, Guinean listeners turn to foreign media outlets such…
Uganda illegally detains journalist without charge
New York, July 26, 2011–Security services in Uganda are in flagrant violation of a 48-hour constitutional limit on pretrial detention with their imprisonment of a journalist for 13 days without charge, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Ivory Coast’s Ouattara must end persecution of journalists
Dear Secretary-General Ban: Ahead of your Wednesday meeting with new Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, and given your express commitment to make press freedom a priority during your second term as United Nations Secretary-General, we call on you to urge President Ouattara to reinforce the rule of law, the impartiality of justice, and the promotion of national reconciliation by ending the persecution of journalists and media outlets that were favorable to former leader Laurent Gbagbo.
