MADAGASCAR
APRIL 19 Posted: May 31, 2005 Rolland Rasoamaharo, La Gazette de la Grande IleJames Ramarosaona, La Gazette de la Grande Ile LEGAL ACTION Rasoamaharo, publication director of the private, daily La Gazette de la Grande Ile, and editor Ramarosaona, were each sentenced on April 19 to one month in jail for criminal defamation in connection…
TOGO
APRIL 15, 2005 Posted: May 3, 2005 All private radio, television journalists CENSORED The High Audiovisual and Communications Authority (known by its French acronym, HAAC) issued a directive saying private broadcasters may not “carry out any media coverage” of the presidential candidates ahead of the April 24 vote. The HAAC directive also states that “private…
British journalists acquitted, deported
New York, April 15, 2005—Two British journalists detained in Zimbabwe during parliamentary elections left the country today after being acquitted of the criminal charge of reporting without accreditation from the government-controlled Media and Information Commission. Toby Harnden, chief foreign correspondent for the London-based Sunday Telegraph, and photographer Julian Simmonds boarded a plane today and safely…
PRESS STATEMENT
string of unsolved arson attacks, a series of unchecked threats, and the passage of restrictive new laws have created deep mistrust between the Gambia’s government and its small independent press. Suspicions have been compounded by the December 2004 murder of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara and the government’s failure to bring the perpetrators to justice. Over…
Murder, arson, repression thwart Gambian press
Banjul, Gambia, April 12, 2005—A string of unsolved arson attacks, a series of unchecked threats, and the passage of restrictive new laws have created deep mistrust between the Gambia’s government and its small independent press. Suspicions have been compounded by the December 2004 murder of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara and the government’s failure to bring…
GHANA
JULY 4, 2005 Posted: July 22, 2005 Frank Boahene, Free Press IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION Claude Decker, Free Press Thomas Kpakpo Thompson, Free Press LEGAL ACTION An Accra high court sentenced Boahene, editor of the private weekly, and directors Decker and Thompson to 15 days in prison for contempt of court, according to local sources. Boahene…
Press freedom group threatened
New York, April 11, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned for the safety of members of Journaliste en Danger (JED), a press freedom organization based in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On April 4, JED Secretary-General Tshivis Tshivuadi received an email containing death threats against him and Donat M’baya…
Judge acquits editor of criminal charges and creates new interpretation for media law
New York, April 5, 2005—The managing editor of the Nairobi-based East African Standard’s Sunday edition was acquitted of criminal charges yesterday. The charges against David Makali, pending since 2003, stemmed from an investigative article about the alleged murder of Dr. Crispin Odhiambo Mbai, a key player in Kenya’s constitutional reform process. Nairobi Chief Magistrate Aggrey…
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
APRIL 4, 2005 Posted: April 13, 2005 Journaliste en Danger (JED) THREATENED Tshivis Tshivuadi, secretary-general of the Kinshasa-based press freedom organization Journaliste en Danger, received an email containing death threats against him and Donat M’baya Tshimanga, JED’s president, and their families. The threats sparked concern amongst JED staff as well as local media organizations.