Justice pins Gbagbo, but not yet Ouattara’s forces
This week, former Ivory Coast ruler Laurent Gbagbo was extradited to the Hague to account for alleged human rights violations before the International Criminal Court. Justice appears to be slower in coming to rival fighters loyal to current President Alassane Ouattara. According to CPJ research, Ouattara’s forces have been involved in the deaths of two…
South Sudan journalist speaks out after illegal detention
Detained without charge for 18 days, tortured, and released without explanation, South Sudanese journalist Peter Ngor plans to fight back. “I am going to sue them [in] court. What they did to me was completely, utterly wrong,” said Ngor, the editor of a new, private, English-language daily called Destiny. Still, Ngor believes that his illegal…
Ethiopian satirist silently joins ranks of the exiled
Newspaper satirist Abebe Tolla, better known as Abé Tokichaw, fled Ethiopia fearing imprisonment in retaliation for critical news commentaries, media reported this week. His exit was overshadowed by the trial of opposition figures and journalists on charges of terrorism. In an interview he gave to U.S.-based Addis Neger Online from an undisclosed location, Abebe said…
Defending the middle ground of online journalism
It’s easy to use polarizing descriptions of online news-gathering. It’s the domain of citizen journalists, blogging without pay and institutional support, or it’s a sector filled with the digital works of “mainstream media” facing financial worries and struggling to offer employees the protection they once provided. But there is a growing middle ground: trained reporters…
Glimmer of hope for justice in Kenyan death
Slain journalist Francis Nyaruri received threatening calls from a senior policeman shortly before he disappeared and his decapitated body was found in Kodera forest, western Kenya, a court sitting in Kisumu heard today in the presence of two murder suspects and four witnesses.
U.S. senator again presses Gambia on missing journalist
On Thursday, U.S. Senator Richard Durbin sent a letter to Gambia’s justice minister, Edward Gomez, renewing his appeal for the release of local journalist Ebrima “Chief” Manneh. Manneh disappeared more than five years ago after security agents seized him at the offices of his newspaper, the Daily Observer.
Swedish support for jailed colleagues in Ethiopia, Eritrea
If you pass by Kronoberg Prison in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, you will see journalists chained to its gates. They have committed no crime. For over a week, journalists have taken turns locking themselves up in front of the prison to raise awareness of the imprisonment of three colleagues held in the Horn of Africa.
Obiang prize shelved… for now… again
UNESCO’s executive board Tuesday again deferred action on the life sciences prize named after and funded by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea. The Committee to Protect Journalists joined with other human rights organizations to call on the board to eliminate the prize permanently.
Obiang prize goes down to the wire
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is a stubborn man. In 2008, the president of Equatorial Guinea made a $3 million donation to UNESCO to underwrite a prize in the life sciences. But a groundswell of opposition from human rights groups, press freedom organizations, and governments appalled by Obiang’s record of kleptocracy and human rights abuses helped…
Burundi media defy censorship order
Tensions between the Burundi government and the local press are bound to increase as several media this week defied an order not to investigate or discuss a recent massacre. While officials say the measure is “temporary” and necessary to safeguard national unity and the course of justice, independent journalists are asserting their right to publish…