Hopes of independent press in Rwanda fade as head of media body flees
Rwanda’s progress towards a more liberal media environment has been short-lived. In May Fred Muvunyi, the head of the Rwanda Media Commission, fled the country for fear of being detained or attacked, and the country’s telecommunications regulator suspended the operation agreement for the BBC’s Great Lakes radio service indefinitely.
Erdoğan vs the press: Insult law used to silence president’s critics
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is known for being intolerant of critics. During his third term as prime minister, Turkey was the leading jailer of journalists in the world with more than 60 behind bars at the height of the crackdown in 2012. Most of those have been released, but the press faces another threat–Article 299…
Egypt’s imprisonment of journalists is at an all-time high
Egyptian authorities continue to imprison critical journalists while openly pledging media freedom. Egypt has the highest number of journalists behind bars since CPJ began keeping records, most of them accused of affiliation with a banned group. A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists
At least four journalists attacked in Nigeria in one week
Abuja, Nigeria, June 5, 2015–At least four journalists have been attacked in Nigeria, and one forced to flee his state, in the past week, according to news reports and one of the journalists. The attacks occurred in the same week that the Committee to Protect Journalists wrote an open letter to new President Muhammadu Buhari,…
Erdoğan threatens Cumhuriyet, editor-in-chief over arms smuggling report
Istanbul, June 1, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s legal threats against pro-opposition daily newspaper Cumhuriyet and Can Dündar, its editor-in-chief, whom the president accused of espionage during a live broadcast Sunday night on state-run television.
Two abducted Yemeni journalists found dead after air strike
New York, May 29, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the kidnapping and killing of two Yemeni TV journalists whose bodies were found this week, days after they had been abducted, in the rubble of a building hit by an air strike.
One year after arrest Zone 9 bloggers remain imprisoned as trial drags on
It will be one year this weekend since six bloggers were arrested in Addis Ababa, just days after the group announced on Facebook that their Zone 9 blog would resume publishing after seven months of inactivity. As the anniversary of the arrests approaches on Saturday, Soleyana S. Gebremichale, one of the Zone 9 founders who…
International coalition calls on European Court to prioritize Azerbaijani press cases
Azerbaijan, one of the 10 Most Censored Countries in the world, according to new research by the Committee to Protect Journalists, is to host the first-ever European Games this June. As Baku prepares to bask in the spotlight by hosting an international mega-event yet again, eight of the country’s independent journalists, including award-winning investigative reporter…