Rwandan journalist freed after 11 months in jail
New York, July 31, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the provisional release of journalist Jean-Léonard Rugambage, who had been jailed for nearly 11 months by a traditional court trying suspects in the 1994 genocide. Rugambage was freed on Friday on the orders of the national committee overseeing traditional or “gacaca” courts following an investigation…
Mob threatens photographer covering pre-election riot
New York, July 28, 2006—Journalist Emmanuel Makila was surrounded by rioters and threatened with death after an election rally by presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba yesterday in Kinshasa. Makila, who works for private weeklies The Post and Révélateur, told the Committee to Protect Journalists he was saved by a few bystanders who pleaded with the mob…
CPJ condemns dropped charges in Zongo case
New York, July 20, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the decision of a judge in Burkina Faso to drop charges against the only suspect in the 1998 murder of a journalist probing criminal allegations against the president’s family. Prosecutors said yesterday an examining magistrate had granted their request to drop the case…
Two Nigerian journalists released after four days in detention
New York, July 20, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is relieved that the Gambian National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has freed two Nigerian journalists, but it’s alarmed that the pair were held for four days without charge or due process. CPJ remains deeply concerned over the state of press freedom in the Gambia. Sam Obi, a…
Newspaper suspended for two months
July 19, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 La Croisade CENSORED Guinea’s National Communications Council (known as the CNC) suspended La Croisade, a private publication published in the capital, Conakry, for two months starting on July 19. According to local journalists and the Media Foundation for West Africa, the suspension stemmed from an article linking the…
CPJ confirms treason charge filed against another journalist
New York, July 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists has confirmed that Solomon Aregawi, owner of the defunct Amharic-language newspaper Hadar, has been charged with antistate crimes in connection with his journalistic work. This raises the number of journalists jailed for their work in Ethiopia to 18 from 17, according to CPJ research. Three are…
Two more journalists said to be arrested as crackdown continues
New York, July 17, 2006—Two more journalists were arrested on Friday in a government crackdown on critical voices in the run-up to September presidential elections, according to a CPJ source. Sam Obi, a Banjul-based Nigerian who recently founded an independent newspaper called the Daily Express, is being held by the National Intelligence Agency, two local…
New wave of media repression after African Union summit
New York, July 14, 2006—After a brief respite while hosting the African Union summit, Gambian authorities have resumed a crackdown on the media. One journalist has not been seen since July 7, five days after the summit ended. He is believed to have been arrested, while another has gone into hiding fearing arrest, sources told…