Election

Between January 12 and January 20, 2021, Ugandan security personnel harassed and detained at least four journalists covering the country’s general elections, and shut down at least one radio station, according to a statement by the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda, a local human rights group, and journalists who spoke to CPJ. Ugandans voted in…

In the days leading up to and following senatorial elections in Liberia on December 8, 2020, security forces and civilians attacked, harassed, and threatened members of the press, according to journalists who spoke with CPJ and a statement shared on Facebook by the Press Union of Liberia, a local trade group. On November 30, in…

Several Ugandan internet networks blocked Kenya-based news website The Elephant in mid-December 2020, according to the site’s publisher, John Githongo, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app in January 2021, and a report by Qurium, a non-profit foundation registered in Sweden that provides hosting services for the website. Githongo told CPJ on January 19 that…

Nairobi, January 14, 2021 – Ugandan authorities should immediately cease all efforts to disrupt internet access in the country and allow the press to cover the country’s elections freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Uganda Communications Commission, the country’s broadcasting and telecommunication regulator, ordered telecommunications providers to suspend internet services in…

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 54 other organizations in a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni calling on him to ensure open and unrestricted internet access during and after the country’s presidential election, scheduled for January 14. The letter notes that disruptions to internet access would undermine journalists’ ability to report on the…

Nairobi, January 7, 2021 – Ugandan security forces should stop harassing and attacking journalists, and should ensure that the press can freely cover the country’s upcoming elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since December 11, security officers have assaulted at least 10 journalists covering opposition events ahead of the country’s January 14 presidential…

New York, January 6, 2020—In response to events today in Washington D.C., the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are gravely concerned by today’s attack on American institutions, including the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., where journalists as well as lawmakers are at risk,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Journalists and…

Nairobi, December 23, 2020 — Ugandan authorities should ensure that members of the press can freely cover the country’s national elections on January 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 10, the Media Council of Uganda, a statutory body, said that local and foreign journalists would be barred from covering electoral events…

Nairobi, December 11, 2020 — Ugandan authorities should ensure that journalists can cover the country’s upcoming elections safely and freely and should thoroughly investigate all attacks on the press by members of the public and by security forces, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since early November, police officers and members of the public…

Journalists working around the world continue to face a wide variety of challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. government must redouble its efforts to defend press freedom, CPJ Advocacy Director Courtney Radsch said during testimony to the U.S. Congress today. Addressing the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and…