During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, media outlets linked to the Hutu-backed government helped lay the groundwork for the slaughter of Tutsis by routinely vilifying them. One radio station, Radio Television Libre de Mille Collines (RTLM), went so far as to identify targets for the Hutu militias that carried out most of the killing. In December 2003, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda convicted three Rwandan media executives — two from RTLM and one from a newspaper called Kangura — for their role in the genocide.
January 19, 2006 Original alert: December 23, 2005 Klem Ofuokwu, Rhythm 93.7 FM Cleopatra Taiwo, Rhythm 93.7 FM IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION On January 3, two radio journalists were released from prison after paying bail in the southern city of Port Harcourt. Ofuokwu and Taiwo, both of whom work for the private radio station Rhythm 93.7…
New York, January 18, 2006—Hundreds of members of the radical pro-government Young Patriots militia seized control of the state television and radio broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) today, broadcasting calls for protests against the French and U.N. presence in the country, according to local sources. They were also said to ransack a community radio station…
New York, January 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today that Voice of the People (VOP), an independent Zimbabwean news production company, remains inactive after police confiscated its equipment and files in a December raid. Authorities have continued to hold VOP material for more than a month. VOP Director John Masuku appeared in…
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…
January 14, 2006 Radio Las Anod CENSORED Faysal Jama’ Adan, Radio Las Anod Jamal Suleyman Warsame, Radio Las Anod HARASSED Police closed Radio Las Anod, arresting director Adan, editor Warsame, and an unidentified technician, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) and local news media monitored by the BBC. NUSOJ quoted the local…
New York, January 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the closure of Radio Mwangaza, a community station in the northern Congolese city of Kisangani, which has aired programs criticizing local authorities. Court officials sealed its studios on January 11 in a dispute over alleged non-payment of music royalties, station director Jean-Pierre Lifoli told CPJ.…
December 28, 2005 Radio Kasumai CENSORED Police entered the studios of Radio Kasumai, a community radio station in the northern town of Saõ Domingos, and ordered employees to stop broadcasting. The police also threatened several journalists. According to local journalists, the threats stemmed from a recent program in which callers complained on-air that police were…