Burkina Faso / Africa

  

Spanish journalists David Beriain and Roberto Fraile killed in Burkina Faso

David Beriain and Roberto Fraile are killed after being abducted from a wildlife reserve in eastern Burkina Faso, where they were working on a documentary film, the Spanish government confirms. CPJ calls on the authorities to conduct a swift and thorough investigation. (Photo: AP/Sophie Garcia)

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Burkina Faso's presidential palace is seen in Ouagadougou on March 20, 2019. The president and Constitutional Council have the power to prevent the enactment of revisions of the country's penal code that could result in jail time for reporters. (AFP/Olympia de Maismont)

Burkina Faso parliament passes legal revisions criminalizing false news, reporting on terrorism

New York, July 3, 2019 — Burkina Faso authorities should prevent the enactment of revisions of the penal code that criminalize false news and reporting on terrorism or security operations, and ensure laws do not permit jail time for reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Thousands of people demonstrate on December 13, 2014, in Ouagadougou to pay homage to murdered journalist Norbert Zongo. (AFP/Ouoba Ahmed)

Glimmer of hope in Norbert Zongo murder case in Burkina Faso

New York December 14, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the arrests on Saturday of three people in Burkina Faso in connection with the 1998 murder of Norbert Zongo, editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper L’Independant.

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Residents protest over the coup in Ouagadougou in September. With many radio stations silenced during the unrest, pirate station Radio Resistance was a vital resource for news. (Reuters/Joe Penney)

Resistance over the airwaves: Pirate station’s vital role during Burkina Faso coup

Radio Resistance was a pirate radio station born out of necessity. During Burkina Faso’s short-lived military coup last month, in which many local radio stations were forced off air, it kept citizens informed and gave them the courage to stand up against the attempted takeover, Burkinabe journalists said.

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Radio station burned down in Burkina Faso

Abuja, August 27, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an arson attack on the independent Radio Manegmoogo in Burkina Faso on Monday and calls on authorities to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. The attack comes in the run-up to elections scheduled in October in a country that spent almost three decades under the authoritarian rule…

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Burkina Faso suspends live political broadcasts by media

Abuja, Nigeria, May 19, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Burkina Faso authorities to lift its suspension of live political broadcasts in the country. The three-month ban comes as Burkina Faso prepares to hold elections in October.

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A poster advertises a screening of Timbuktu at the Pan-African Film Festival in Burkina Faso. The Oscar-nominated film on Islamic militancy was barred from a Paris suburb. (AFP/Ahmed Ouoba)

Ban of India’s Daughter and other films silences debate on key issues

What do Delhi, Beijing, and Villiers-sur-Marne have in common, but Ouagadougou does not? The first three recently banned access to films their governments deemed inappropriate. But a film festival in the fourth, the capital of Burkina Faso in West Africa, is stepping up security to show an acclaimed but controversial movie about Islamic militancy in…

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African Court upholds appeal against criminal defamation

Cape Town, South Africa, December 5, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s ruling by the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights in Addis Ababa that criminal defamation should be used only in restricted circumstances and that imprisonment for defamation violates freedom of expression. The court also upheld the appeal of Issa Lohé Konaté,…

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Protesters demonstrate against a proposed amendment to Burkina Faso's constitution that would allow President Blaise Compaore to extend his term. (AFP/Issouf Sanogo)

Press in Burkina Faso must be protected amid anti-government protests

Lagos, Nigeria, October 30, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that protesters stormed and looted the offices of Burkina Faso’s national broadcaster Radiodiffusion Television du Burkina in the capital, Ouagadougou, today. Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest a constitutional amendment that would allow President Blaise Compaore to seek re-election next…

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Police in Burkina Faso seize journalist’s camera, deletes images

A police officer on July 24, 2014, seized the camera of Hippolyte Sama, a photojournalist with the independent newsmagazine Fasozine, while he was photographing relatives of victims of an Air Algeria plane that crashed in northern Mali, according to news reports.

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