DRC authorities cut access to internet and SMS ahead of protests
On December 30, 2017, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Telecommunications Minister, Emery Okundji, ordered the country’s telecommunications providers to shut internet and SMS services across the country, according to a media report and the local press freedom group L’Observatoire de la liberté de la Presse en Afrique, (the Observatory of Press Freedom in Africa or…
DRC security forces harass journalists covering Kabila protests
Security forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on December 31, 2017, harassed at least three journalists who were reporting on protests in the capital, Kinshasa, over President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to stand down when his second five-year term in office expired in 2016 and his refusal to hold elections, according to local journalists…
DRC journalist detained, accused of “compromising” president over bread truck photos
New York, January 25, 2018–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo should investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the harassment and detention of Willy Akonda, a reporter with the privately owned ACTUALITE.CD news outlet, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
DRC radio journalist detained over defamation claim
New York, December 21, 2017–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo should immediately release broadcast journalist Benjamin Mutiya, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The national security service (ANR) arrested Mutiya, a reporter at the community station Radio Télévision Communautaire de Walikale (RTCWA), in Walikale, on December 14, according to local press freedom groups.
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
DRC journalist faces defamation charge over report on minister
New York City, September 1, 2017–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should drop all charges against Jeef Mwingamb, editor-in-chief of the weekly Le Fédéral, and release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Congolese authorities question radio journalist over broadcast on new tax
National intelligence services and police issued summonses to Israel Ntumba, a reporter for the Congolese broadcaster, Kasai Horizontal Radio et Television (KHRT), over an August 5, 2017 broadcast on a new motorcycle tax in Kananga, a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the station’s program director, Honi Tshibola and Ntumba, told CPJ.
Congolese radio journalist arrested at protest is beaten in custody
New York, August 25, 2017–Congolese authorities should immediately drop all charges against Jean Pierre Tshibitshabu, a reporter for the independent broadcaster Radio Television KADEKAS, and investigate claims that the journalist was assaulted in custody, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Police raid Congolese radio station for report on new tax
New York, August 10, 2017–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should thoroughly and credibly investigate an August 5 police raid on Radio Télévision Chrétienne (RTC), return all seized equipment, ensure the protection of journalist José Mbuyi, and hold all those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police raided the…
Journalists detained, harassed, beaten covering Congo protests
New York, August 3, 2017–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo should cease harassing and detaining journalists and should allow them to cover protests and other events of public interest without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.