2003

Fesshaye “Joshua” Yohannes is being held in a secret location in Eritrea

New York, May 22, 2003—In a recent interview, Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki justified his government’s continuing crackdown on the independent media there by saying that the media were spreading disinformation. In September 2001, authorities closed all private media outlets in the country and arrested independent journalists and political reform activists. Eighteen independent journalists remain in…

Although the Kenya-based East African Standard, one of Africa’s oldest continuously published newspapers, marked its 100th anniversary in November, journalism remains a difficult profession on the continent, with adverse government policies and multifaceted economic woes still undermining the full development of African media.

Eritrea was Africa’s foremost jailer of journalists in 2002. The crackdown began in the summer of 2001 after a dozen senior officials and other members of the ruling elite signed public letters criticizing President Isaias Afewerki’s dictatorial rule. The letters, which were leaked to the press, prompted a slew of editorials about human rights, democracy,…

Hopes were high in July that Ivory Coast’s political crisis would end after a judge in the capital, Abidjan, confirmed that former prime minister Alassane Dramane Ouattara, the leader of the opposition Rally for Republicans (RDR), is an Ivory Coast citizen.

The U.S. government took aggressive measures in 2002 to shield some of its activities from press scrutiny. These steps not only reduced access for U.S. reporters but had a global ripple effect, with autocratic leaders citing U.S. government actions to justify repressive policies.

New York, March 7, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) yesterday received a response from the U.S. Defense Department to a letter sent on February 5, 2003, to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. CPJ had written to Rumsfeld expressing concern about 18 journalists in Eritrea who are currently being held incommunicado, as well as the…

New York, February 5, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today delivered more than 600 petitions to Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki calling for the release of jailed Eritrean journalist Fesshaye Yohannes (commonly known as Joshua), a recipient of CPJ’s 2002 International Press Freedom Award. Fesshaye, the popular editor of the weekly Setit, Eritrea’s largest-circulation newspaper,…