Africa

  

Safety resources for covering protests in Senegal

You can download these safety cards as images or PDFs in English and français.  As Senegalese security forces sought to quell protests in February after the postponement of the presidential election, CPJ documented how at least 25 journalists reporting in the capital, Dakar, were physically attacked, briefly detained, targeted with tear gas, or harassed by police. In response, CPJ has…

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Record number of journalists in Senegal’s jails amid political turmoil

Senegalese reporter Ndèye Maty Niang, also known as Maty Sarr Niang, would have likely jumped at the chance to report on the political crisis gripping her country since the president postponed elections in early February. But Niang can’t cover the news – she’s in a women’s prison awaiting trial. She’s not alone: Niang is one…

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Alfred Olufemi (left) and Gidado Yushau (right) at court on January 13, 2020. (Photo: Adejumo Kabir/Premium Times)

CPJ welcomes acquittal of Nigerian journalists Gidado Yushau and Alfred Olufemi and calls for legal reform

Abuja, March 1, 2024–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the February 14 decision by an appeal court in Nigeria’s western Kwara State acquitting journalists Gidado Yushau and Alfred Olufemi of criminal conspiracy and defamation, charges for which they were convicted last year, and reiterates the call for Nigerian authorities to reform their country’s laws to…

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French journalist Antoine Galindo of Africa Intelligence

French journalist Antoine Galindo leaves Ethiopia after release

Nairobi, February 29, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the Thursday release of French journalist Antoine Galindo, who was arrested in Ethiopia on February 22, and urged Ethiopian authorities to unconditionally release all other members of the press detained for their work. “It is great news that Antoine Galindo has been released, as his unjust…

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Masand Mafuta

DRC police detain journalist Masand Mafuta, slap him, seize equipment and money

Kinshasa, February 28, 2024—Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must hold accountable the police officers who arrested and then assaulted journalist Masand Mafuta, and ensure his belongings are returned, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists said on Wednesday. On February 23, at least six police officers in the capital, Kinshasa, detained Masand,…

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Journalist Lucien Lyenda's face became swollen after soldiers hit him with rifle butts as he was reporting on a demonstration about insecurity in the southeastern town of Kirungu in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

DRC journalist Lucien Lyenda attacked by armed forces while covering protest

Kinshasa, February 27, 2024—Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must investigate and hold accountable the soldiers who attacked journalist Lucien Lyenda while he covered a demonstration against insecurity in the country’s southeastern Tanganyika province, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Sunday, three DRC armed forces soldiers attacked Lyenda, a reporter for…

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French journalist Antoine Galindo of Africa Intelligence

French journalist Antoine Galindo detained in Ethiopia

New York, February 26, 2024—Ethiopian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release French journalist Antoine Galindo, who was unjustly detained on Thursday under alarming circumstances, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday. On February 22, at 3:55 p.m., Galindo, who reports for the Paris-based privately owned news website Africa Intelligence, was detained by security forces…

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NewsHawks Managing Editor Dumisani Muleya.

Zimbabwe’s The NewsHawks freezes military story over fears for journalists’ safety

Lusaka, February 22, 2024—Zimbabwean authorities must end the intimidation and surveillance of journalists working for The NewsHawks online newspaper and ensure they can report safely about the military, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday. The NewsHawks, a privately owned investigative online newspaper, announced on Tuesday that it had halted further reporting on its…

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A 2021 photo of the Nigerian Federal High Court in Abuja, which ruled in favor of a local press group to compel the government to investigate attacks on journalists. (Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)

CPJ urges Nigerian authorities to investigate attacks on journalists following court judgment

Abuja, February 22, 2024—Nigerian authorities must comply with a federal high court judgment ordering the government to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for attacking journalists in Nigeria, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.  In 2021 Nigerian local press freedom group Media Rights Agenda (MRA) filed a lawsuit requesting the court to compel the federal government…

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Guinea-Bissau president threatens media, 30 armed men raid 2 state broadcasters

New York, February 16, 2024—Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló must withdraw his recent statements denigrating and threatening the media and ensure a credible investigation into two armed raids on public broadcasters and other recent attacks on the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.  CPJ also calls on Embaló to guarantee that journalists will…

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