2022

Nairobi, July 20, 2022— In response to news reports that authorities in the breakaway region of Somaliland on July 19 indefinitely suspended the BBC, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Taking the BBC off the air will only rob the public of access to a source of critical reporting on matters of…

Nairobi, July 20, 2022 – Authorities in the Ethiopian region of Tigray should immediately release five Tigrai TV journalists who were recently taken into custody for their work, as well as all other members of the press behind bars, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Regional authorities in the state of Tigray, who are…

Lusaka, July 19, 2022 – Botswana authorities should immediately drop the criminal charge against Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler director Tshepo Sethibe, return devices seized from the outlet, and refrain from harassing the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.  On July 13, about 25 law enforcement officers arrested Sethibe at his home in the town…

One year after news broke about a list of over 50,000 phone numbers allegedly selected for surveillance with Pegasus spyware, journalists around the world continue to live and work with the fear that their phones can be used to track their conversations and penetrate all the personal and professional data stored on their devices. The…

Nairobi, July 12, 2022 – Tanzanian authorities should allow the DarMpya online news outlet to resume operations without further interference and reform the country’s online content regulations so they cannot be used to muzzle the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On July 1, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) ordered DarMpya to…

Abuja, July 11, 2022 – Liberian authorities should investigate and hold to account the two police officers responsible for threatening journalists Emmanuel Kollie and Amos P. Korzawu and assaulting Kollie, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On the evening of June 29, two police officers in Foya district, in northern Lofa county, threatened to…

Lusaka, July 8, 2022 – Zimbabwean authorities should drop all charges against freelance journalist Anyway Yotamu, investigate his assault by police, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.  At about 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 7, police officers assaulted Yotamu while he was filming an altercation between taxi drivers…

Abuja, July 8, 2022 – Nigerian authorities should immediately drop all charges against publisher Haruna Mohammed Salisu and reporter Idris Kamal and allow journalists to work free from legal harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.  On June 27, police in the city of Bauchi, the capital of northern Bauchi state, arrested and detained…

Dakar, July 6, 2022 — Senegalese authorities should investigate a call by Talla Sylla, a member of the ruling Alliance for the Republic (APR) party’s youth branch, to burn down the privately owned Walfadjri media company and attack its journalists, ensure the safety of the journalists and the outlet, and allow the press to work…

On May 15 and June 3, 2022, the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), a privately owned Nigerian investigative news website, received threatening messages to the outlet’s official WhatsApp contact number from an unknown number with an Italian country code, according to a June 3 FIJ report and Damilola Ayeni, an editor with the outlet, who…