New York, February 22 — Police in Monrovia yesterday arrested four journalists from Liberia’s The News and charged them with espionage, apparently in reprisal for a February 21 story that challenged government spending on helicopter repairs, Christmas cards, and souvenirs. The page one story questioned the government’s allocation of US$50,000 for helicopter repairs, and drew…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about proposed amendments to the Books and Newspapers Act that would dramatically increase the mandatory publication-licensing bond. Under the amended Act, new publications would be required to post a bond of 1 million shillings (US$13,459) as security for any monetary penalty that might arise from criminal proceedings against them. This represents a hundred-fold increase over the current bond of ten thousand shillings (US$134.59).
Your Excellency: On the occasion of the United Nations Security Council open briefing on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), scheduled to take place in New York on January 24, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wishes once again to express its grave concern over the appalling press freedom situation in the DRC.
Your Excellency: Ahead of the United Nations Security Council open briefing on Angola, scheduled to take place in New York on January 18, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wishes once again to express its deep concern over the deteriorating press freedom situation in Angola.
New York, January 6, 2000—The trial of Sunday Standard journalists Mark Chavunduka and Ray Choto has been deferred to July 2000. At a hearing in Harare yesterday, the magistrate remanded the two until July 7, pending the outcome of their constitutional challenge to the legislation under which they were charged. Military officers arrested and illegally…
December 30, New York — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison today of Joseph Mbakulu Pambu Diana, a Congolese broadcast journalist who had been in jail since 1998 for allegedly collaborating with rebel forces during their occupation of the town of Matadi. In early August 1998, rebels from the Congolese Rally…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about recent death threats against Sunday Standard reporter Ray Choto. The threats began in November, shortly after Choto returned to Zimbabwe after collecting an international press freedom award in Canada, along with his colleague Mark Chavunduka, editor of the Sunday Standard. On November 21 a package arrived at Choto’s home in Harare, containing a teddy bear, two live bullets, and a note threatening him and his family. Two other independent journalists, Basildon Peta of the Financial Gazette and Ibbo Mandaza of the Zimbabwe Mirror, received anonymous threats at around the same time.