Africa
2011
EU resolution urges Eritrea to free long-jailed journalists
Eritrea was on the hot seat Thursday in Strasbourg and Brussels. Ten years after a massive crackdown on dissent in Asmara that included the arrests of 11 independent journalists, European institutions have signalled that they are weary of President Isaias Afeworki’s repression.
Two Ethiopian journalists detained on terrorism charges
New York, September 16, 2011–Authorities in Ethiopia arrested two independent journalists this week on accusations of involvement in a terrorism plot, bringing the total number of journalists imprisoned since June under the country’s far-reaching antiterrorism legislation to six, CPJ research shows.
Attackers shoot journalist in Somalia
New York, September 15, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Wednesday evening shooting of a Somali radio journalist in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, and calls on the government to immediately take steps to bring the perpetrators to justice. Unknown gunmen shot 20-year-old radio journalist Horriyo Abdulkadir Sheik Ali four times on Wednesday evening…
Ethiopian journalist ID’d in WikiLeaks cable flees country
New York, September 14, 2011–U.S. diplomatic cables disclosed last month by WikiLeaks cited an Ethiopian journalist by name and referred to his unnamed government source, forcing the journalist to flee the country after police interrogated him over the source’s identity, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. It is the first instance CPJ has confirmed…
Journalists continue to be targeted in Somaliland
New York, September 12, 2011–Authorities in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland are obstructing independent journalists from covering government politics, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Four reporters have been harassed and arrested while on assignment since early September.
A quiet victory for The Namibian
Namibia’s information minister recently announced that a decade-long state advertising boycott of The Namibian, the country’s largest daily newspaper, would finally end. An action intended to punish the paper for its independence had failed. It was back in December 2000 that former President Sam Nujoma told his cabinet to block all government advertising and purchases…
Ouattara fighters withdraw from Ivorian media outlets
New York, September 9, 2011–CPJ is relieved that fighters loyal to Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara relinquished control last week of offices belonging to newspaper publishers who supported ousted President Laurent Gbagbo, local journalists and news reports said.
CPJ condemns break-in at Nairobi Law Monthly
New York, September 9, 2011–Thieves broke into the offices of the Nairobi Law Monthly early this morning, stealing computers containing critical information for the magazine’s October issue, Editor Dennis Ben Musota told CPJ. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation.
Mission Journal: South Sudan’s struggle for a free press
The former guerrillas of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) fought a 22-year civil war for greater autonomy and civil rights for the southern Sudanese people, culminating in South Sudan’s independence this July. But local journalists fear the former rebels turned government officials still harbor a war mentality that is unaccustomed to criticism, and that…