New York, July 1, 2008—Ten to 15 men armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the offices of the Ugandan tabloid daily Red Pepper on Saturday, setting fire to a generator and the printing press, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. The men, riding in a convoy of five vehicles, carried out a well-orchestrated raid that…
Dear Mr. President, Following the brutal beating of two Senegalese journalists by police after a soccer match on Saturday, we are writing to express our alarm at an increasing pattern of physical attacks and threats against independent journalists in the line of duty in recent weeks and months. Thorough, transparent police investigations or prosecutions of these abuses have seldom taken place. We are deeply concerned about an ongoing culture of impunity for crimes against journalists.
New York, June 26, 2008—Despite the arrest of a suspect in the murder of New Zealand photojournalist Trent Keegan, questions about the killing remain unanswered, CPJ said today. Kenyan police are holding a suspect in Keegan’s murder, a Kenyan police spokesman told CPJ. The police have not released details, but spokesman Eric Kiraithe told CPJ…
JUNE 22, 2008 Posted July 30, 2008 Abdifatah Mursal, Ogaal Faisal Mohamed, Heegan ATTACKED Presidential guards beat two newspaper reporters from the northern breakaway republic of Somaliland on June 22, according to the editor of one of the papers. Abdifatah Mursal from the private Ogaal and Faisal Mohamed from the private Heegan were attacked by…
Dear Mr. Nsenda, We are deeply alarmed by the ongoing imprisonment of newspaper editor Nsimba Ponte and his assistant Davin Tondo. A government prosecutor said this week that their months-long pre-trial detention was illegal, and yet the two have been denied bail and were not charged until June 6, according to local press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED). In addition, Ponte is in poor health.