Africa

2016

  

In Angola, two journalists charged over report on corruption

New York, December 29, 2016–Angolan authorities should immediately drop charges against two journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Rafael Marques de Morais, who runs the anti-corruption website Maka Angola, and Mariano Bras, of the weekly, O Crime, were charged with “crimen injuria,” which is similar to insult laws, the journalists told CPJ.

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Darsema Sori, left, and Khalid Mohammed are convicted on terror charges in relation to their coverage of protests. (Bilal Communication)

Two Ethiopian radio journalists convicted on terror charges

Nairobi, December 21, 2016–Ethiopian radio journalists Khalid Mohammed and Darsema Sori, who have been imprisoned since February 2015, were today convicted on terrorism charges by the High Court’s 19th Criminal Bench, according to the independent Addis Standard newspaper.

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Journalist killings ease from record highs as murders down, combat deaths up

Deadly violence against the media eased in 2016 from recent record levels as the number of journalists singled out for murder declined. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser and Elisabeth Witchel

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Chad police close radio station, detain manager

Police in Kelo, some 400 kilometres (249 miles) south of the capital N’Djamena, on November 14, 2016, arrested Edmond Oueidigue Kandi, the manager of the community radio station Radio Bargadje, and ordered the station closed, Kandi told the Committee to Protect Journalists. According to Kandi and media reports, local administrative authorities ordered the station closed…

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Protesters block a road in Bamenda, Cameroon, December 8, 2016. (Reuters)

Press freedom under attack in Cameroon

Abuja, Nigeria, December 16, 2016–The Cameroonian government and security services should immediately reverse a series of repressive measures that have produced a crisis of media freedom in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Congolese television journalist detained for four days

Police in Bunia, near the Democratic Republic of Congo’s border with Uganda, on December 1, 2016, detained Adèle Uvon, a television journalist for the privately owned broadcaster Radio-TV Lobiko (RTVL), at an opposition movement press conference launching a campaign to encourage Congolese President Joseph Kabila to stand down at the end of his term on…

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Tanzania police raid popular website’s office in effort to learn users’ identities

Nairobi, December 14, 2016–Tanzanian security forces should immediately and unconditionally release Maxence Melo, the co-founder of popular online discussion portal Jamii Forum, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police raided the website’s office in the capital Dar es Salaam today, after detaining Melo yesterday.

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Turkey’s crackdown propels number of journalists in jail worldwide to record high

At least 81 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey, all of them facing anti-state charges, in the wake of an unprecedented crackdown that has included the shuttering of more than 100 news outlets. The 259 journalists in jail worldwide is the highest number recorded since 1990. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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Kenya detains British newspaper correspondent Jerome Starkey

Nairobi, December 9, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kenyan authorities to release Jerome Starkey, the Africa correspondent for The Times of London, who was detained shortly after arriving in Nairobi last night.

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South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, shown on the left in this September 12, 2016, file photo, has severely cracked down on the country's news media. (AP/Jason Patinkin)

CPJ condemns South Sudan’s expulsion of Associated Press reporter

Nairobi, December 7, 2016–South Sudanese authorities should immediately reverse the expulsion of U.S. journalist Justin Lynch, a freelancer for The Associated Press, and should cease interfering with journalists’ ability to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security officers yesterday arrested the journalist and put him on a flight to Uganda, the AP…

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2016