Senegalese editor Coulibaly convicted in defamation case
New York, April 14, 2011–A magistrate in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, found investigative journalist Abdou Latif Coulibaly guilty of criminal defamation today in connection with 2010 stories alleging fraudulent transactions between an agricultural business and the government, according to local journalists. Coulibaly is already appealing a suspended prison term in connection with a separate defamation…
Burundi seeks life sentence for Kavumbagu
New York, April 14, 2011–A Burundi state prosecutor asked a panel of judges on Wednesday to hand journalist Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, who has been imprisoned since July 2010 over a column critical of the country’s security forces, the maximum life sentence on a charge of treason, according to local journalists.
Swaziland security forces target journalists
New York, April 12, 2011–Authorities in the kingdom of Swaziland should allow the news media to report freely on anti-government protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today after security forces harassed at least 10 local and international journalists covering a mass demonstration demanding political and economic reform after more than two decades of rule…
Malawi: A prying press silenced by injunctions
In Malawi, where half the population survives on a dollar a day, it proves wise for the political elite to keep their exorbitant wealth hidden from public scrutiny. That’s why they appear to be running to the courthouse to file injunctions to silence the press.
Ethiopia should allow German broadcasts
New York, April 11, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is calling on authorities in Ethiopia to ensure that broadcasts of the German state-funded station Deutsche Welle, which had been jammed, be allowed to air freely. Local journalists confirmed a report by the Bonn-based international broadcaster that its programs were inaudible in Ethiopia last week until…
Burundi must free Kavumbagu, halt flawed prosecution
Dear Justice Minister Ancilla Ntakaburimvo: We urge you to intervene in the case of Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, editor of the news website NetPress who has been improperly imprisoned since July 17, 2010, on a charge of treason. We call on you to urge the state prosecutor to drop the pending charge against Kavumbagu and secure his release.
Cameroonian reporter detained after questioning arrests
New York, April 1, 2011–Using a vague criminal code provision allowing authorities to detain individuals deemed a threat to public order, a provincial governor in Cameroon threw a journalist in prison on Wednesday for inquiring about the arrests of two employees of a state-run palm oil company, according to local journalists.
Cameroon soccer star Samuel Eto’o lashes out at reporter
Journalists: Beware of questioning the performance of Cameroonian international soccer superstar Samuel Eto’o on the field. The act could result in a head butt–as reporter Philippe Boney experienced in 2008–or in rough words, as a Senegalese reporter experienced in a postgame press conference on Saturday.
At NYU, South Africa’s Motlanthe defends press policies
On Monday, in a public lecture at New York University, South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe described as irreversible the democratic gains made since the end of apartheid, including the advancement of press freedom. “We have a constitution which guarantees basic human rights such as freedom of association, freedom of the press, and the independent…