New York, March 16, 2005—BBC reporter Raphael Tenthani and Mabvuto Banda of the independent daily The Nation have been released on bail after being held overnight by police in the capital, Lilongwe. The two journalists were arrested yesterday at their homes in the southern city of Blantyre for reporting that the president feared ghosts may…
New York, March 16, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that Mauritanian authorities detained a journalist for reporting on the illegal slave trade. According to press reports and a Mauritanian source, police detained freelance journalist Mohamed Ould Lamine Mahmoudi on Sunday, March 13, after he interviewed a woman in the southern town Mederdra who…
MARCH 15, 2005 Updated: April 15, 2005 Raphael Tenthani, freelance Mabvuto Banda, The Nation LEGAL ACTION, HARASSED Police arrested Tenthani, a freelance reporter who contributes to the BBC, and Banda of the independent daily The Nation at their homes in the southern city of Blantyre after the journalists reported that President Bingu wa Mutharika had…
New York, March 15, 2005—Two well-respected journalists were arrested today by police at their homes in the commercial capital of Blantyre, in southern Malawi, after reporting that the president feared ghosts may haunt the presidential palace. They are currently being detained at police headquarters in the capital, Lilongwe. According to international news reports and local…
New York, March 14, 2005—Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court today upheld a widely criticized law requiring all independent journalists and media organizations to register with a government commission, but ruled that the Media and Information Commission (MIC) must reconsider a 2003 decision to deny registration to the banned Daily News and its sister paper, the Daily News…
When U.S.-led forces waged an offensive in Fallujah in November and a state of emergency was declared, the Iraqi interim government’s Higher Media Commission directed the media to “set aside space in your news coverage to make the position of the Iraqi government, which expresses the aspirations of most Iraqis, clear.” Those that didn’t comply…
by Ann CooperWith its myriad dangers and devastating death toll, Iraq remained the worst place to practice journalism throughout 2004, and one of the most dangerous media assignments in recent history. Twenty-three journalists and 16 media support workers were killed on the job in Iraq during the year. An insurgent kidnapping campaign also posed severe…
Overviewby Julia Crawford With the rule of law weak in many African countries, journalists regularly battle threats and harassment, not only from governments but also from rogue elements, such as militias. Repressive legislation is used in many countries to silence journalists who write about sensitive topics such as corruption, mismanagement, and human rights abuses. If…
OverviewBy Joel Campagna The conflict in Iraq led to a harrowing number of press attacks in 2004, with local journalists and media support workers primarily in the line of fire. Twenty-three journalists and 16 support staff—drivers, interpreters, fixers, and guards—were killed while on the job in Iraq in 2004. In all, 36 journalists and 18…