CPJ joins call to protect journalists in Niger 1 month after coup
New York, August 25, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday joined at least 79 journalists and press organizations in calling on Niger’s military authorities to protect the rights and safety of journalists. “Journalists in Niger must be able to work safely and free of intimidation, especially as the country and region grapple with political…
Benin and Burkina Faso suspend media outlets over coverage of Niger coup
Dakar, August 15, 2023—Authorities in Benin and Burkina Faso must immediately lift their respective suspensions of La Gazette du Golfe and Radio Oméga, and allow the media to report without fear on regional politics, including the coup in Niger, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On August 8, Benin’s High Authority for Audiovisual and…
Masked men threaten to kidnap journalist Sahiana Maman Hassan in Niger
On July 28, 2023, three masked men in a pickup truck threatened to kidnap Sahiana Maman Hassan, editor of the news magazine Le Témoin de l’Histoire, in Niamey, Niger’s capital, according to the journalist and Ibrahim Harouna, president of the Press House, a local media association, who both spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Hassane,…
Niger blocks RFI and France 24 in wake of coup
New York, August 3, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned Niger’s suspension of broadcasts by French outlets Radio France Internationale (RFI) and France 24. “Authorities in Niger should immediately unblock access to RFI and France 24’s broadcasts and ensure all media in the country can operate freely and without fear of reprisal,” said Angela…
Niger journalists Moussa Aksar and Samira Sabou convicted, fined under cybercrime act
New York, January 13, 2022 — Nigerien authorities should not contest the appeals of journalists Moussa Aksar and Samira Sabou, and should reform the country’s cybercrime law to ensure it is not used to prosecute the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 3, the High Court in Niamey, Niger’s capital, convicted…
Niger journalist Samira Sabou jailed, charged with cybercrime over Facebook post
New York, June 12, 2020—Authorities in Niger should immediately release journalist Samira Ibrahim Sabou and drop all charges against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities arrested Sabou, editor with the privately owned Niger Search news website and manager of the Mides-Niger news website, on June 10 after she responded to a court…
CPJ calls on Niger to stop persecuting journalist Baba Alpha
New York, April 5, 2018–Nigerien authorities should reverse the expulsion of journalist Baba Alpha and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. After jailing him for a year, authorities on April 3 released Baba Alpha, a journalist with the privately owned radio and television news agency Bonferey, and drove him to Labbezanga,…
Appeal hearing for Niger journalist postponed
New York, January 9, 2018–An appeals court in Niger’s capital, Niamey, yesterday postponed a hearing for Baba Alpha until March 12, the broadcast journalist’s lawyer, Amadou Boubacar Mossi, told CPJ. Alpha, a reporter for the privately owned radio and television news agency Bonferey, is serving a two-year sentence for using false documents, in what his…
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