Nigerian journalist threatened for alleging rape at a boys’ school
Abuja, Nigeria, October 30, 2015–A radio journalist told the Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday that he had been threatened by three men after he reported on the alleged rape of students in a boys’ school in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano.
Burundian journalist arrested in Democratic Republic of Congo
New York, October 19, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of Egide Mwemero, a Burundian journalist who, according to the managing director of his radio station and local reports, was arrested in Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on October 13.
In Ethiopia, Zone 9 bloggers acquitted of terrorism charges
Nairobi, October 16, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the acquittal by an Ethiopian court today of four Zone 9 bloggers charged with terrorism. Abel Wabella, Atnaf Berhane, and Natnail Feleke, jailed since April 2014, are scheduled to be released today, while exiled blogger Soleyana S. Gebremichael was acquitted in absentia, news reports said. A…
Kenyan parliament passes repressive media bill
New York, October 15, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the passage late Wednesday by Kenya’s national assembly of a bill that would impose a harsh fine or two years in jail, or both, for a journalist who is found guilty of defaming the Kenyan parliament or its members. The bill must be approved by…
In Ethiopia, drawn out Zone 9 trial serves to further punish bloggers
On Friday the Zone 9 bloggers are due to appear in court in Ethiopia for the 39th time since their arrest in April 2014. Endalk Chala, a co-founder of the group which is being honored with an International Press Freedom Award from CPJ this year, provides an overview of the drawn out trial and finds…
Getting Away With Murder
CPJ’s 2015 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free Published October 8, 2015 Elisabeth Witchel/CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant The ambush of a convoy in South Sudan and the hacking deaths of bloggers in Bangladesh this year propelled the two nations onto CPJ’s Global Impunity Index, which spotlights countries…
Resistance over the airwaves: Pirate station’s vital role during Burkina Faso coup
Radio Resistance was a pirate radio station born out of necessity. During Burkina Faso’s short-lived military coup last month, in which many local radio stations were forced off air, it kept citizens informed and gave them the courage to stand up against the attempted takeover, Burkinabe journalists said.
Somali security agents raid Universal TV office, arrest journalists
Nairobi, October 5, 2015–Somali national security forces raided the offices of the privately owned broadcaster Universal TV in Mogadishu on October 2 and arrested Abdullahi Hersi, the station’s East Africa director, and Awil Dahir Salad, a producer, on the same day, according to local journalists and reports.
Balancing Act
Digital Europe The EU has been striving to recover what Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Günther Oettinger described at a May 2015 press conference as digital sovereignty in a global market dominated by U.S. companies, but if this ambition is not strictly framed by human rights standards, press freedom on the Internet may be…