Reporting on South Sudan crisis difficult, dangerous
“They even started shooting through my house–I had to lie on the floor with my wife and kids,” Angelo Wello, a freelance journalist for faith-based news sites and a pastor, told me. Like many residents of the capital of Juba, South Sudan, Angelo has found it incredibly hard to get accurate information and report on…
Djibouti journalist detained for covering demonstration
Police arrested Mohamed Ibrahim, a journalist for the pro-opposition news website and radio station, La Voix de Djibouti (The Voice of Djibouti), on December 12, 2013, while he was covering a protest in the Balbala suburb of the capital, Djibouti City, according to local journalists. The demonstration was staged by women demanding land plots that had…
Zambian editors charged with publishing false information
Police detained two journalists of the Daily Nation on December 12, 2013, and released them on bail the next day. Richard Sakala, owner and editor of the paper, and Simon Mwanza, the production editor, were charged with “publication of false information with intent to cause public alarm” under Section 67 of the Zambian penal code.
Second worst year on record for jailed journalists
For the second consecutive year, Turkey was the world’s leading jailer of journalists, followed closely by Iran and China. The number of journalists in prison globally decreased from a year earlier but remains close to historical highs. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser
Police raid and shut down paper in Somaliland
Nairobi, December 16, 2013–Police in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland on December 13 raided the Hargeisa offices of the critical independent daily Hubaal, arrested two staff members, and ordered the publication to be shut down, according to news reports. This is the third time the paper has been targeted this year.
Defining success in the fight against impunity
For the second time this year, the U.N. Security Council took up the issue of protection of journalists. In a discussion today sponsored by the French and Guatemalan delegations, and open to NGOs, speaker after speaker and country after country hammered home the same essential facts: The vast majority of journalists murdered around the world…
Journalists jailed for covering protest in Somaliland
Police arrested four journalists on December 3, 2013, and detained them for nearly a week for covering a peaceful protest in the capital of the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland, according to local journalists and human rights organizations.
Malian government accused of censoring news site
New York, December 10, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports a Malian website based in Paris has been threatened by Mali’s government after posting an Associated Press (AP) story today implicating Malian soldiers in extrajudicial killings.
Kenya parliament passes draconian media laws
Nairobi, December 5, 2013–Kenya’s National Assembly today passed contentious anti-press legislation, the Kenya Information and Communication (Amendment) Act and the Media Council Act, which will effectively silence critical reporting through a new government-controlled regulator and the threat of hefty fines.