Africa

Kinshasa, January 29, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to immediately release Thomson Unji Batangalwa, who was detained on January 22 in the eastern city of Baraka, the latest journalist to be harassed for reporting on the fluid security situation. “Information about the war in eastern DRC…

For Congolese journalist Prince Cikala Mihigo, the first day of 2026 brought a brutal reminder of the risks of reporting: rebel soldiers beat and kicked him while questioning him about his work, leaving his face swollen and raw.   Cikala was assaulted at a checkpoint in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern city of Bukavu,…

Dakar, January 26, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges authorities in Niger to release Gazali Abdou Tasawa, a correspondent for the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), who was arrested over a report on Nigerian refugees living by a cemetery. “Gazali Abdou Tasawa is the fifth journalist trapped behind bars in Niger because of reporting…

Dakar, January 21, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malian authorities to reverse their ban on the distribution, circulation, and sale of the privately owned French news magazine Jeune Afrique, the latest outlet to be prohibited by the allied military governments of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. “One of the main, shared achievements of…

For the fifth year in a row, more than 300 journalists were imprisoned worldwide as of the end of 2025, according to CPJ’s annual prison census. These record-setting numbers reflect growing authoritarianism and escalating numbers of armed conflicts worldwide. Often, journalists are held under cruel and life-threatening conditions – “a cemetery of the living,” as one freed Palestinian prisoner described it.

China, Myanmar, and Israel lead jailers of journalists in 2025 New York, January 21, 2026 — For the fifth consecutive year, more than 300 journalists were behind bars at year-end, according to a new report released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). China, Myanmar, and Israel were the leading jailers of journalists on the…

Abuja, January 21, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ghanaian authorities to protect public interest reporting after a court fined Innocent Samuel Appiah for asking a businesswoman to comment on allegations of fraud as he was investigating her activities. Justice Nana Brew ruled that freelance journalist Appiah had violated the privacy of Cynthia Adjei,…

New York, January 20, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on military authorities in Guinea-Bissau to rescind an order prohibiting unauthorized press conferences and public statements, as reporters warned of an increasingly repressive media environment following the junta’s November 26 seizure of power. “During times of political instability, freedom of expression and access to information…

Nairobi, January 15, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Burundian authorities to end the persecution of jailed journalist Sandra Muhoza who has been given a four-year sentence for comments she made on WhatsApp, after almost two years in detention. Muhoza, who was informed of the court’s decision on January 14, was also fined 200,000…

Ugandan journalist Ssematimba Bwegiire lost consciousness immediately after a security officer electrocuted him with a stun gun and pepper-sprayed him in the mouth. But he did not report the incident, reflecting widespread disillusionment among the media about authorities’ commitment to press freedom in elections on January 15. Bwegiire, a reporter with privately owned Radio Simba,…