Where is Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu?
Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu Ahmed, government spokesman and censor-in-chief of the Red Sea nation, has been invisible in the past few weeks. The total absence of any independent press in Eritrea has allowed the government to maintain complete silence in the face of mounting questions and surging Internet rumors of his defection. It was…
Nigerian reporter stopped from filing on governor’s health
Abuja, Nigeria, December 18, 2012–State security agents in Southeast Nigeria blocked a reporter from filing a story Saturday evening about the status of a governor who hasn’t been seen for several months. The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned this act of crude censorship. At about 11:30 p.m. local time Saturday, seven plainclothes men accosted…
Worrying trends at South Africa’s public broadcaster
South Africa is in the midst of one of its most important political events–the ruling African National Congress’s Mangaung elective conference, which takes place once every five years to shape policy and elect new leadership. Because of the power of the ANC as South Africa’s leading political party, the conference holds not only the future…
Indian government should repeal sedition law
Dear Prime Minister Singh: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by Indian authorities’ continued abuse of a colonial-era sedition law to stifle freedom of expression. CPJ calls on your government to begin taking action toward repealing the law, section 124A in the Indian penal code, which Indian lawmakers have deemed punitive and outdated.
Benin TV station censored amid presidential pressure
Abuja, December 7, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns censorship of Beninese private television station Canal 3 and defamation charges against its director for coverage of a corruption scandal involving aides of President Boni Yayi, who appears to have pressured the media regulator into taking action against the station.
Speak Justice campaign fights impunity in press murders
The tortured and decapitated body of 39-year-old María Elizabeth Macías Castro was found on a Saturday evening in September 2011. It had been dumped by the side of a road in Nuevo Laredo, a Mexican border town ravaged by the war on drugs. Macías, a freelance journalist, wrote about organized crime on social media under…
Obama should address media rights in Southeast Asia
Dear President Obama: We are pleased that you will begin your second term as U.S. president with a trip to Southeast Asia. As you visit Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand from November 17 through 20 while attending the 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and related meetings in Phnom Penh, we hope that your commitment to human rights and the fundamental right to free expression remains an important aspect of your agenda.