Rwandan officials threaten to force press to reveal sources
New York, September 11, 2007— Top officials accused Rwanda’s independent press on Sunday of undermining the government and threatened to force journalists to reveal their sources, according to local journalists. During a four-hour state television broadcast in the capital, Kigali, featuring a panel of government ministers and representatives from the security forces, Interior Minister Sheikh…
SOMALIA: Journalist beaten, robbed by police
September 6, 2007 Posted September 17, 2007 Abdi Rizak Warsame, Radio ShabelleATTACKED Warsame, a reporter of leading independent Radio Shabelle in the capital Mogadishu, was assaulted and robbed by two policemen from Somalia’s Ethiopian-backed transitional government on his way home from work, according to news reports and local journalists.
DRC: Rebels loot radio station’s broadcast equipment
New York, September 6, 2007—Community radio station Radio Colombe was raided by rebel soldiers on Saturday night in Rutshuru, north of Goma in the DRC, according to the station’s director, Hubert Furugupa. A group of armed men aligned with rebel general Laurent Nkunda kidnapped two reporters and stole radio equipment and a generator from the…
GABON: Intelligence agents question journalist over critical report
SEPTEMBER 4, 2007 Posted October 12, 2007 Nicaise Moulombi, Croissance Saine EnvironmentHARASSED Intelligence agents in the capital, Libreville, questioned Nicaise Moulombi, member of Gabon’s Council of the Republic and director of the private monthly Croissance Saine Environment, for two hours over a report in August alleging fraud in a public construction project, according to news…
In Somalia, death threats force prominent press freedom activist into hiding
New York, September 4, 2007—A prominent press freedom activist and freelance journalist was forced into hiding on Monday after gunmen went looking for him at his office in the war-torn capital Mogadishu, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists. Ali Moallim Isak, Organizing Secretary of the union and a correspondent of Baidoa-based private Radio…
CPJ expresses concern about HAAC’s actions
Dear Mr. Evegno, We are concerned by a growing trend by the High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) to suspend media outlets in Togo, citing violations to journalist ethics as a basis for suppression. Two newspapers, The Republic Courier and The Trumpet, are currently suspended for articles deemed unprofessional and against journalistic ethics by your institution.
In Niger, government bans live broadcasts on Tuareg rebellion
New York, August 30, 2007—Niger’s state-run High Council on Communications has banned the broadcast of live debates on an armed rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in the north of the uranium-rich West African nation, according to local journalists. Attacks by Tuareg fighters have killed at least 45 soldiers since February, according to Reuters. The ruling on…