Africa

  

Take this survey on digital safety, then take these steps

It is an extraordinarily difficult time to be a journalist. Nearly every month, the digital security landscape shifts–new surveillance concerns are unearthed and freshly drafted laws are introduced that seek to curb freedom of expression under the guise of national security.

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A banner tied to the gates of Parliament protests a media bill under review. (CPJ/Tom Rhodes)

Kenya’s press takes to the streets against bill

“Mr. President, you gagged us!” said a banner tied to the gates of Parliament today. Kenya’s Editors Guild and the Kenya Correspondents’ Association organized peaceful demonstrations across the country to protest a media bill currently under parliamentary review. Protests were held in every county in the country, according to William Janak, chairman of the correspondents’…

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After UN resolution on impunity, more work to be done

For all the people who have been working on the problem of impunity for so long, the announcement on November 26 that the Third Committee of the United Nation’s General Assembly had passed a resolution on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, setting November 2 as the “International Day to End Impunity…

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CPJ

Interactive Timeline: 12 months of impunity at a glance

In December 2012, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 27 partner organizations launched Speak Justice: Voices against Impunity as part of an international effort to seek justice for the hundreds of journalists who have been murdered around the world. Today, on International Day to End Impunity, we are taking a look back at what has…

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Journalists can help curb gender-based violence

Training journalists how to better cover gender-based violence can help challenge attitudes that foster sexual attacks. Helping journalists learn personal skills to safely navigate sexual aggression can help prevent them from becoming victims themselves.

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Training can help journalists survive captivity

Two murdered journalists for the Africa service of Radio France Internationale, Ghislaine Dupont, 51, and Claude Verlon, 58, might have had a chance. They were abducted on November 2 in Kidal in northern Mali, but the vehicle their captors were driving suddenly broke down, according to news reports.

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Kenyan journalists' protests in 2007 warded off a new media law. (AP)

Just the fear of draconian press laws is enough

Few in Kenya’s media could comprehend how a media bill, considered the most repressive in Kenya’s 50-year history, could sail so easily through Parliament last week. Fittingly, Parliament passed the Kenya Information and Communications Amendment Bill on Halloween. It is awaiting President Uhuru Kenyatta’s signature following a 14- day deliberation period.

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Radio Shabelle was forced out of these offices on Saturday. (NPR)

Shabelle off air and staff evicted, fearing for safety

The young staff members of Radio Shabelle, whose offices were in the relatively safe section of Mogadishu next to the airport, are no longer feeling safe.  On Saturday, while presenters were on the air, heavily armed security forces raided the Shabelle offices and arrested the three-dozen staff members at gunpoint, according to a statement by…

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Somalia, it’s time for action

On the morning of Tuesday, October 22, 2013, Somali television journalist Mohamed Mohamud, nicknamed “Tima’ade,” was seriously wounded when unknown armed men attacked him on his way home from work. He was shot more than five times. Colleagues and local residents in Wadajir district, where the attack took place, immediately rushed him to Madina Hospital in…

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In this screenshot, Kenyan Police Chief David Kimaiyo holds a press conference on October 23 in which he harshly criticizes the press. (K24TV)

Kenyan police threaten press — Press fights back!

On Wednesday, David Kimaiyo, Kenya’s inspector general of police, launched a tirade at the Kenyan press, threatening to arrest and prosecute two journalists for their coverage of the Westgate Mall rescue operation.

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