Journalist Casimir Kpedjo detained, facing false news accusations in Benin
Goma, Congo, April 30, 2019 — Beninese authorities should drop their investigation into Casimir Kpedjo, editor of the privately owned daily Nouvelle Economie, and allow him to report and publish news without fear of harassment or being jailed, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Benin newspaper suspended over its critical reporting of the president
Goma, September 5, 2018–Authorities in Benin should immediately reverse an order to suspend indefinitely the privately owned daily, La Nouvelle Tribune, and allow it to continue operating without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Benin suspends local paper for insulting president
Benin’s media regulator, the High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), ordered the privately owned daily L’Audace Info on February 8, 2018 to suspend indefinitely its print and online editions after it allegedly insulted the president, the paper’s editor, Romuald Alingo, told CPJ.
Benin media regulator threatens to prosecute online outlets over registration
Benin’s media regulator, the High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), on December 21, 2017, threatened to shut down online publications that did not have authorization to distribute content, according to an HAAC press statement and the news website Beninwebtv.
Court fines Benin media regulator for wrongfully closing broadcaster
A court in Benin on May 22, 2017, ordered the reopening of Sikka TV, which the High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC by its French acronym), the state’s broadcast regulator, had ordered closed in November 2016, according to media reports. The court also ordered HAAC to pay 50 million West African francs (U.S.$86,000) in…
Benin’s parliament should expunge criminal defamation from the media bill
Abuja, Nigeria, December 23, 2014–Benin Republic’s parliament is set to vote on a media bill that threatens to jail journalists for insulting the president or other government officials, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on parliament to scrap any measures in the bill that could send journalists to prison for doing…
Benin TV director convicted for offending president
Abuja, Nigeria, January 24, 2013–An appellate court in Benin should overturn the conviction and toss out a prison sentence handed to the director of a private television station last week in connection with a broadcast of a press conference in September in which a former presidential adviser criticized President Boni Yayi, the Committee to Protect…
Benin TV station censored amid presidential pressure
Abuja, December 7, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns censorship of Beninese private television station Canal 3 and defamation charges against its director for coverage of a corruption scandal involving aides of President Boni Yayi, who appears to have pressured the media regulator into taking action against the station.
In Benin, newspapers sanctioned for coverage of officials
Throughout December 2011, HAAC, Benin’s state-run media regulatory agency, summoned more than a dozen newspapers to public hearings and handed them sanctions ranging from a public apology to indefinite suspension, according to news reports. HAAC’s president is appointed by Benin’s head of state, and two-thirds of the agency’s members are appointed by the government, CPJ…