Kenyan journalist Catherine Wanjeri wa Kariuki shot in leg covering protests
Kampala, July 16, 2024 —Kenyan authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the July 16 shooting of journalist Catherine Wanjeri wa Kariuki as she covered ongoing protests in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Kariuki, a reporter for the privately owned Mediamax Network Ltd media group, was shot three times…
Greek journalist beaten on air while reporting from Athens fire
On June 19, 2024, Frixos Drakontidis was reporting live from the scene of a fire in Varis-Koropiou, a southern suburb of the capital Athens, when an unidentified man approached him and asked him to leave the premises of a company hit by the blaze. When Drakontidis refused, saying that he was a journalist with Protothema…
CPJ calls on Kenyan authorities to respect press freedom amid ongoing protests
Nairobi, June 25, 2024—Kenyan authorities must investigate reports of several journalists attacked while covering protests, desist from intimidating the media, and ensure reliable and secure access to the internet, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Thousands of Kenyans have taken to the streets several times since June 18 to protest a proposed law that…
Ghana ruling party supporters assault journalist Dokurugu Abubakar Ndeeya
On May 16, four supporters of Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) assaulted Dokurugu Abubakar Ndeeya, a reporter with the privately owned Zaa Multimedia, while he was filming outside a meeting between Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia and party leaders in the northern Tamale region, the journalist told CPJ and media reports said. Ndeeya told CPJ he…
Fleeing prolonged media crackdown, Ethiopian journalists struggle in exile
When Belete Kassa’s friend and news show co-host Belaye Manaye was arrested in November 2023 and taken to the remote Awash Arba military camp known as the “Guantanamo of the desert,” Belete feared that he might be next. The two men co-founded the YouTube-based channel Ethio News in 2020, which had reported extensively on a conflict that…
Drug-related violence fuels an exodus of Ecuador’s press
On the only radio station in the remote Ecuadorian town of Baeza, morning show host Juan Carlos Tito updates listeners on the weather, recent power outages, and repairs to a bridge spanning a nearby river. For the last 24 years, Tito, 53, has been the trusted voice of Radio Selva, broadcasting important community news to…
Burundi regulator warns Iwacu Press Group after police assault 2 of outlet’s journalists
Kampala, Uganda, June 17, 2024—Burundian authorities must desist from intimidating the independent news outlet Iwacu Press Group and swiftly investigate recent police attacks on two of the outlet’s journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Iwacu received a letter on June 6 from Burundi’s media regulator, known by its French acronym CNC, accusing the…
CPJ welcomes sentencing of 7 involved in 2019 beating of Turkish journalist
Istanbul, June 13, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Turkish court’s sentencing of seven people involved in the May 10, 2019, attack on columnist and TV commentator Yavuz Selim Demirağ in the capital, Ankara. The 36th Ankara Court of Serious Crimes on Tuesday, June 11, sentenced seven men to nine years in prison each…
Journalist Tatiana Osango assaulted after interview criticizing DRC president
Kinshasa, June 12, 2024—Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should impartially investigate the June 5 assault of broadcast journalist Tatiana Osango and ensure those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Seven men used glass bottles to hit Osango, a reporter who presents a political program on the…
Hostile climate intensifies for Slovak press after PM Fico shooting
The day after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot on May 15, the heads of 27 news outlets condemned the attack and called on politicians not to further divide society by looking for culprits. “Just like after the murder of our colleague Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, we are once again at…