Cameroon / Africa

  
A security guard walks beside the car of Cameroonian President Paul Biya after casting his ballot in the presidential election in Yaounde, Cameroon, on October 7, 2018. Two Cameroonian journalists were detained while covering an opposition gathering in Douala on January 28, 2019. (Reuters/Zohra Bensemra)

Two Cameroonian journalists detained while covering opposition gathering

Abidjan, January 29, 2019–Authorities in Cameroon should immediately release journalists Théodore Tchopa and David Eyengue Nzima, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The two journalists, from privately owned daily newspaper Le Jour, were arrested yesterday while covering an opposition gathering in Douala, Denis Nkwebo, their deputy editor in chief and the president of the…

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CPJ calls on Cameroon’s Biya to release critically ill journalist

CPJ calls on Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, to release critically ill imprisoned journalist Thomas Awah Junior, the Northwest correspondent for privately owned Afrik 2 Radio in Yaoundé and publisher of the monthly Aghem Messenger magazine, on humanitarian grounds.

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Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo is led handcuffed from a court in Yangon in September. He and colleague Wa Lone are serving seven-year prison sentences in Myanmar. (Reuters/Ann Wang)

Hundreds of journalists jailed globally becomes the new normal

For the third year in a row, 251 or more journalists are jailed around the world, suggesting the authoritarian approach to critical news coverage is more than a temporary spike. China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia imprisoned more journalists than last year, and Turkey remained the world’s worst jailer. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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A screen shot of Cameroonian journalist Mimi Mefo speaking during a broadcast of her show on Equinoxe TV.

CPJ calls on Cameroon to release and drop charges against Mimi Mefo

Abidjan, November 8, 2018–Authorities in Cameroon should immediately release and drop all charges against Mimi Mefo, the head of English news and a presenter for the privately owned Equinoxe television and radio station, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Mefo, who also runs Mimi Mefo Info, her own news website, was arrested and taken…

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Cameroon authorities summon journalist Mimi Mefo

New York, November 2, 2018–Authorities in Cameroon should halt their intimidation of journalist Mimi Mefo and ensure that she can work safely without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A taxi driver points towards an electoral poster for Cameroonian President Paul Biya as the road crosses into the majority English-speaking South West region of Cameroon, in Buea, on October 3, 2018. A journalist was detained October 23 after publishing articles criticizing the government's handling of grievances of Anglophone Cameroonians. (AFP/Marco Longari)

Cameroon detains journalist for a week, fails to disclose charge

Abidjan, Ivory Coast, October 30, 2018–Authorities in Cameroon should immediately release or disclose charges against Michel Biem Tong, editor of the privately owned Hurinews website, who was detained on October 23 after being summoned to the State Secretariat for Defense in the capital, Yaoundé, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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An alleged arson attack on Cameroon's Sky FM gutted the private community radio station in the Northwest Region town of Ndu destroying equipment, furniture, and the studio. (Barnard Tata Gibip)

Cameroon community radio destroyed in alleged arson attack

Johannesburg, August 9, 2018–Cameroonian authorities should speedily investigate an alleged arson attack on community radio station Sky FM in the volatile Northwest region and ensure those responsible are prosecuted, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A police officer stands guard in Bamenda on February 22, 2018. Authorities in the city are detaining an Abakwa FM journalist over claims he aired secessionist propaganda. (AFP/Reinnier Kaze)

Cameroon military court orders radio journalist to be held for at least 6 months

New York, May 7, 2018–Cameroonian authorities must immediately release broadcaster Akumbom Elvis McCarthy from detention and ensure that the country’s military courts are not used to prosecute journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A military court reduced Ahmed Abba's 10-year prison sentence on terror-related charges to 24 months. (Credit withheld)

Ahmed Abba to be freed after Cameroonian court reduces sentence on appeal

Durban, South Africa, December 21, 2017 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s ruling by a Cameroonian military appeal court that should result in Radio France Internationale radio journalist Ahmed Abba’s immediate release from prison.

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Journalists and protesters hold placards outside an Istanbul court on October 31, 2017, calling for the release of jailed colleagues, including Turkish reporter Ahmet Şık. Turkey is the worst jailer of journalists in 2017. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Record number of journalists jailed as Turkey, China, Egypt pay scant price for repression

For the second year in a row, the number of journalists imprisoned for their work hit a historical high, as the U.S. and other Western powers failed to pressure the world’s worst jailers–Turkey, China, and Egypt–into improving the bleak climate for press freedom. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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