Attacks on the Press 2009: Niger
Top Developments• Tandja tightens grip on power, media through constitutional changes.• Journalists reporting on corruption face government reprisals. Key Statistic 3: Years beyond his elected term that Tandja can serve, according to a constitutional change. In an audacious bid to maintain power, President Mamadou Tandja pushed through constitutional amendments repealing presidential term limits and tightening his control…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Nigeria
Top Developments • Local operatives of the ruling PDP assault journalists with impunity. • Editor slain at his home outside Lagos. Wife pledges to continue his work. Key Statistic 21: National dailies, a number reflecting Nigeria’s robust media climate. With 21 national dailies, 12 television stations, and several emerging online news sources, Nigeria continued to…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Somalia
Top Developments• Al-Shabaab terrorizes media through violence, threats, censorship.• Many local journalists flee into exile, leaving a void in coverage. Key Statistic9: Journalists killed in direct relation to their work in 2009. Somalia was among the world’s deadliest countries in 2009, surpassing violent hot spots such as Iraq and Pakistan. As conflict continued between the…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Uganda
Top Developments• Reporters attacked, harassed during Kampala unrest.• Criminal cases pile up as high court considers constitutional challenge. Key Statistic 22: Criminal cases pending against Andrew Mwenda, a top political editor.Violent protests broke out in Kampala in September when security forces blocked leaders of the traditional kingdom of the Baganda, Uganda’s largest ethnic group, from visiting…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Zambia
Top Developments• Ruling party supporters behind assaults against journalists.• Government wages politicized prosecutions against The Post. Key Statistic 400: Estimated turnout at a demonstration protesting anti-press attacks. Press freedom deteriorated in the first full year of Rupiah Banda’s presidency. Tensions mounted between Banda’s government and the leading independent daily The Post. Politicized criminal charges were…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Zimbabwe
Top Developments• Government fails to implement reforms allowing private media to operate.• Two international broadcasters allowed to resume operation. Key Statistic $32,000: Application and accreditation fees imposed on international journalists. In a measure of the deplorable state of press freedom in Zimbabwe, a year marked by harassment and obstruction was considered a small step forward. “Journalists…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Africa Developments
ATTACKS ON THE PRESS: 2009 • Main Index AFRICA Regional Analysis: • In African hot spots, journalists forced into exile Country Summaries • DRC • Ethiopia • Gambia • Madagascar • Niger • Nigeria • Somalia • Uganda • Zambia • Zimbabwe • Other developments BOTSWANA A media law was enacted in January requiring government…
CPJ condemns police harassment of Nigerian editor
New York, February 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on police and prosecutors in northern Nigeria to withdraw the threat of arrest and prosecution of Mallam Tukur, left, the editor-in-chief and publisher of the independent weekly, Desert Herald, based in Kaduna State.
Cameroonian security agents detain 2 journalists
New York, February 9, 2010—Security agents in Cameroon have detained two journalists since Friday in an apparent effort to learn the source of a purported memo from the chairman of the state oil company about the purchase of a luxury boat, according to local journalists and news reports.