Andrew Mwenda, Founder and Managing Editor, The Independent
To Attend the Benefit Dinner (PDF) | Awards 2008 | Announcement of the Awardees | Bilal Hussein | Danish Karokhel and Farida Nekzad | Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez| Beatrice Mtetwa Andrew Mwenda, one of Uganda’s leading political journalists, is managing editor of the bimonthly newsmagazine, The Independent, based in the capital, Kampala. A press freedom advocate throughout…
Beatrice Mtetwa, Media and Human Rights Lawyer, Zimbabwe
Burton Benjamin Award To Attend the Benefit Dinner (PDF)|Awards 2008 | Announcement of the Awardees | Bilal Hussein | Danish Karokhel and Farida Nekzad | Andrew Mwenda | Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez Beatrice Mtetwa is a prominent media and human rights lawyer and a 2005 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award. Throughout the decade, Mtetwa has…
CPJ condemns ongoing TV suspension and detention of journalists
New York, September 18, 2008–The Nigerian government should immediately lift its suspension of Channels TV and release four staff members being held by State Security Services, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security agents closed the Lagos and Abuja offices of Channels TV on Tuesday after the station mistakenly aired a fabricated report that…
Press Freedom Awardees draw attention
We announced the 2008 International Press Freedom Award recipients on Tuesday, and the news has been well-received worldwide. Bilal Hussein of Iraq, Danish Karokhel and Farida Nekzad of Afghanistan, Andrew Mwenda of Uganda, and Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez of Cuba will all be honored by CPJ on November 25 for their courageous work. Beatrice Mtetewa, of Zimbabwe will…
Translator must again report to security services
New York, September 16, 2008–CPJ condemns the ongoing harassment of translator Samuel George in Port Harcourt. Security services officers have ordered George to report to their offices on September 26, although no charges have been brought against him in the two weeks he has been made to report repeatedly.
In Senegal, editor sentenced to prison; convictions in newspaper raids
New York, September 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a Senegalese judge’s decision today to sentence a newspaper editor to three years in prison on criminal charges in connection with an editorial about President Abdoulaye Wade and his son. Today’s ruling came on the heels of Thursday’s sentencing of 12 individuals to…
Goats released from prison in Congo
The BBC reported this week that a minister in the Democratic Republic of Congo has ordered a jail in the capital, Kinshasa, to release a dozen goats, saying the animals were being held there illegally. According to the story: “The minister said many police had serious gaps in their knowledge and they would be sent…
Translator still under interrogation in Nigeria
We are deeply concerned about the welfare of translator Samuel George who has been under interrogation by State Security Services in Port Harcourt since August 31. He was arrested with American documentary filmmaker Andrew Berends while they were filming at the Nembe waterside in Port Harcourt. Joe Bussio, who provided accommodation for Berends in Port Harcourt during the filming, was also arrested. No official charges have been brought against any of them. Berends was finally allowed to leave the country on Tuesday.
Filmmaker Berends freed, Nigerian still faces questioning
New York, September 9, 2008—U.S. filmmaker Andrew Berends, detained by Nigerian security officials for 10 days, was aboard a flight to Germany late today, two U.S. State Department officials told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Berends, the focus of an international advocacy effort, was scheduled to fly from Frankfurt, Germany, to the United States, they…
Nigerian senator calls for release of journalist and translator
New York, September 9, 2008—Nigerian Sen. Chris Anyanwu urged the ministers of information and defense today to assist in the immediate release of American filmmaker Andrew Berends and Nigerian translator, Samuel George. Anyanwu, a prominent former journalist, also urged that the government undertake formal discussions with the media to avoid future arrests of journalists.