Arrests, closings, censorship found by CPJ delegationEthiopian political divide ensnares the press
Nairobi, Kenya, March 14, 2006—Deep political divisions in Ethiopia have fueled the massive, months-long crackdown on the private press in that country, gutting the print media, promoting rampant self-censorship, and resulting in the imprisonment of more than a dozen journalists on charges that could bring the death penalty, the Committee to Protect Journalists found during…
Journalists harassed for broadcasting “false news”
February 1, 2006 Posted March 14, 2006 Jimmy Uhuru, Unity FM Paul Odom Aryam, Unity FM Joe Okello, Unity FM HARASSED Police in the northern town of Lira raided the private radio station Unity FM and arrested three journalists working for the station. Owner Uhuru, News Editor Aryam, and news reader Okello were released the…
Criminal cases draw concern
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is troubled by the cascade of criminal cases filed against newspaper directors who published lists of supposed “secret homosexuals” in January and February. While readers may have been offended by publication of the lists in La Météo, L’Anecdote, and Le Soleil d’Afrique, the use of repressive criminal defamation and insult laws in this matter endangers press freedom in Cameroon.
Arrests, closings, censorship found by CPJ delegationEthiopian political divide ensnares the press
Nairobi, Kenya, March 14, 2006—Deep political divisions in Ethiopia have fueled the massive, months-long crackdown on the private press in that country, gutting the print media, promoting rampant self-censorship, and resulting in the imprisonment of more than a dozen journalists on charges that could bring the death penalty, the Committee to Protect Journalists found during…
Police close radio station after critical talk show
New York, March 14, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the closure of an independent radio station in Uganda which aired a show critical of the military and a ruling party candidate in last month’s municipal elections. Police in the northern town of Gulu shuttered Choice FM on Monday, the station’s news editor Sam Lawino…
Ethiopian editor sentenced to prison; another freed on bail
New York, March 10, 2006—An editor was sentenced on Wednesday to one year in prison on a charge of publishing “false news” in a 2002 report attributed to the BBC, which claimed that Ethiopia was training rebels in neighboring Eritrea. Abraham Gebrekidan, who edited the now-defunct Amharic-language weekly Politika, was immediately jailed, several local sources…
Ethiopian prime minister pledges fair trials for jailed journalists
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 9, 2006—Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, facing international criticism for cracking down on the press, pledged today that his government would give journalists charged with treason and genocide “their day in court” and a fair and proper trial. In a two-hour meeting with a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists,…
Canadian freelance journalist prevented from returning
New York, March 9, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the expulsion today of a Canadian freelance journalist who reported from Uganda for more than two years for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the London-based magazine The Economist, and other outlets. Blake Lambert told CPJ that authorities at Kampala airport prevented him from re-entering Uganda and…
Editor of independent newspaper attacked
JANUARY 15, 2006 Posted: March 8, 2006 Bonaventure Bizumuremyi, Umuco ATTACKED Four unidentified intruders carrying clubs and knives came to the Kigali home of Bizumuremyi, editor of one of Rwanda’s few independent newspapers, Umuco. CPJ sources said the intruders broke the door, awakening neighbors who intervened before the intruders could get inside. Bizumuremyi, who had…