CAMEROON
JANUARY 10, 2005 Updated: February 15, 2005 Jules Koum Koum, Le Jeune Observateur LEGAL ACTION, IMPRISONED Jules Koum Koum, publication director of the private bimonthly Le Jeune Observateur, was sentenced to six months in prison for allegedly defaming the CPA insurance company in an article published in February 2004.
In Zimbabwe, Mugabe signs repressive new media law
New York, January 10, 2005 —Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has signed into law a measure that sets prison terms of up to two years for any journalist found working without accreditation from the government-controlled Media and Information Commission. The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Mugabe and his government to turn away from such measures, including…
CPJ condemns attack on journalists
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the recent violent attack on journalists by government security forces. On Tuesday, January 4, police acting as security at a meeting of the National Executive Council of Your Excellency’s ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the capital, Abuja, assaulted at least 10 journalists who were covering the meeting.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
JANUARY 5, 2005 Posted: January 27, 2005 Deo Mulima Kampuku, La Référence Plus LEGAL ACTION Mulima, a reporter with the independent Congolese daily La Référence Plus, was sentenced in absentia to four months in jail for criminal defamation on January 5, according to local press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED) and sources at the…
2004 prison census: 122 journalists jailed
Around the world, 122 journalists were in prison at the end of 2004 for practicing their profession, 16 fewer than the year before. International advocacy campaigns, including those waged by the Committee to Protect Journalists, helped win the early release of a number of imprisoned journalists, notably six independent writers and reporters in Cuba.
Journalists Killed in the Last Ten Years
The Toll: 1995-2004 Each year in January, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) publishes a list of journalists killed in the line of duty around the world. This list has become the most widely cited press freedom statistic and is often seen as a barometer of the state of global press freedom. While the correlation…
Journalists in prison, 2004
Around the world, 122 journalists were in prison at the end of 2004 for practicing their profession, 16 fewer than the year before. International advocacy campaigns, including those waged by the Committee to Protect Journalists, helped win the early release of a number of imprisoned journalists, notably six independent writers and reporters in Cuba.
Journalist jailed in defamation case
New York, December 28, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the recent jailing of an Ethiopian journalist who was unable to pay bail in a criminal defamation case. Wosonseged Gebrekidan, former editor-in-chief of the private, Amharic-language weekly Ethiop, has been imprisoned since December 23. Local sources said Gebrekidan was charged with defamation…
CPJ concerned by repressive media legislation
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by new legislation that threatens press freedom in the Gambia. Last week, the National Assembly passed two pieces of legislation that impose criminal penalties for press offenses and could limit media ownership and development. CPJ urges Your Excellency not to sign this legislation into law.