Journalist given three months’ jail for defamation
New York, June 12, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a three-month prison sentence given to a radio journalist in the Democratic Republic of Congo for defaming a local police chief. Pierre-Sosthène Kambidi, of private radio station Concorde FM in the central town of Tshikapa, was sentenced on June 10, his lawyer said. Kambidi was…
Independent reporter released on bail
New York, June 12, 2006—A court in the Gambia freed a reporter on bail today, more than two months after he was detained by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), local sources told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Lamin Fatty of the Banjul-based The Independent will go on trial June 22 on charges of publishing “false…
Journalist arrested after criticizing the police
New York, June 9, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the arrest of a radio journalist in the Democratic Republic of Congo who criticized the police on air. Pierre-Sosthène Kambidi, who works for the local private radio station Concorde FM, and the Kinshasa-based press freedom organization Journaliste en Danger (JED), was arrested…
Journalists on trial for “promoting sectarianism”
New York, June 8, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled that two journalists are to go on trial in Uganda, charged with “promoting sectarianism” in an article criticizing government persecution of opposition leader Kizza Besigye. Editor James Tumusiime and reporter Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda of the independent Weekly Observer face up to five years…
BBC reporter released; two journalists remain in detention
New York, June 6, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of a BBC reporter held without charge by the Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA), but is alarmed by the continued detention of two other journalists. Lamin Cham was freed on Friday, sources told CPJ. He was arrested May 30 and held incommunicado as…
Foreign journalists target of new restrictions
JUNE 1, 2006 Posted August 4, 2006 All foreign journalists CENSORED On June 1, Eritrean authorities tightened restrictions on foreigners seeking to travel inside the country, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported and several CPJ sources confirmed. The new restrictions were at least partly aimed at curtailing foreign journalists from reporting outside the capital, Asmara, the sources…
Radio journalist assaulted twice by militias
June 1, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 Maryan Mohamud Qalanjo, Radio Shabelle ATTACKED, HARASSED, CENSORED Qalanjo, a reporter for the private, Mogadishu-based station Radio Shabelle, was twice assaulted by militias loyal to the Rahanweyn Resistance Army in the city of Baidoa, where the weak transitional government is based, according to the National Union of Somali…
Journalist arrested for criticizing government
New York, June 1, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of a journalist in Burundi for criticizing the government. Aloys Kabura, a correspondent for the state news agency Agence Burundaise de Presse, was arrested late Wednesday for speaking “defamatory words” in public against state institutions, international media quoted a local prosecutor as saying.…
BBC reporter arrested in widening crackdown
New York, June 1, 2006—Gambian security officers arrested a local journalist working for the BBC on Tuesday, a local source told the Committee to Protect Journalists. A BBC source in London confirmed that Lamin Cham had been detained. His whereabouts are unknown. His arrest comes amid a government crackdown on a critical U.S.-hosted Web site,…
French radio reporter denied accreditation in run-up to election
New York, May 31, 2006—Congolese authorities are refusing to accredit Radio France Internationale’s Ghislaine Dupont to cover July elections, despite the fact that she obtained a visa and has been in the country for five weeks, according to RFI Africa Director Henri Perilhou. Information Minister Henri Mova Sakanyi has pressured RFI to withdraw Dupont, who…