Africa
2014
Cameroonian newspaper editor jailed for defamation
New York, April 15, 2014–Authorities in Cameroon should release a newspaper editor who has been imprisoned since March 29 after being convicted of criminal defamation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On Friday, a judge postponed indefinitely a bail hearing for Amungwa Tanyi Nicodemus, according to news reports.
Swaziland editor, lawyer re-arrested after release from jail
New York, April 10, 2014–Swaziland police on Wednesday re-arrested veteran editor Bheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko three days after they had been released from prison, according to news reports. The two, who were first jailed on March 18 and held until Sunday, had written articles that criticized Swaziland’s chief justice, the reports said.On…
Journalist murders silence the press
CPJ to launch 2014 Impunity Index New York, April 9, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists will release its 2014 Impunity Index, a global tally of countries with the highest number of unsolved press murders. The index, which calculates unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country’s population, shows that authorities are often unwilling or…
Somaliland authorities shut down independent papers
Nairobi, April 8, 2014–Police in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland on Thursday raided the Hargeisa offices of the independent Somali-language paper Haatuf and its sister English-language weekly, Somaliland Times, and suspended them indefinitely, according to local journalists and news reports.
20 years after genocide, Rwanda safe, clean, undemocratic
“Do not forget the genocide,” said the voice of a state broadcast announcer in Kigali crackling through a cheap car radio, referring to the organized slaughter 20 years ago of more than 10 percent of the population. “We are all one now,” he said, speaking in Rwanda’s common language of Kinyarwanda, and meaning that Rwandans…
Somali police should release Sky FM journalist
Nairobi, March 31, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Somali authorities in the capital, Mogadishu, to release a radio journalist who has been held without charge since Sunday. Nuradin Hassan is an editor of Sky FM, as well as a news presenter, according to news reports and Sky FM.
Twitter war shines light on how Rwanda intimidates press
“@RFI speak straight up English, frenchie!! U crying? U started not to make sense,” was one taunting tweet from a certain prolific Twitter account belonging to “Richard Goldston.” The account, since deleted, belonging to a self-proclaimed “anti-imperialist,” repeatedly antagonized Radio France Internationale journalist Sonia Rolley for her critical coverage of the deaths of Rwandan government…
In Swaziland, two held on contempt of court charges
Cape Town, March 19, 2014–Authorities in Swaziland should immediately release Bheki Makhubu, editor of the independent newsmagazine The Nation, and Thulani Maseko, a human rights lawyer, who were imprisoned earlier this week in connection with articles published in The Nation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
South Sudan government warning: Don’t interview rebels
Last week, South Sudanese Information Minister Michael Makuei warned reporters in the capital, Juba, not to interview the opposition or face possible arrest or expulsion from the country. According to the minister, a lawyer by profession, broadcast interviews with rebels by local media are considered “hostile propaganda” and “in conflict with the law.”