Radio stations briefly jammed in Lesotho amid attempted coup
On August 30, 2014, the Lesotho military took control of police headquarters, jammed radio and television stations as well as telephone lines, and handed control of the tiny landlocked country to its deputy prime minister, according to news reports. Prime Minister Thomas Thabane fled to safety in South Africa for four days.
Somali journalist arrested after speaking out against censorship
Nairobi, September 3, 2014–Somali journalist Hassan Gessey, a radio director at the independent Dalsan Radio, is being held without charge by the National Intelligence and Security Agency after criticizing a directive to restrict reporting on military operations, according to news reports and local journalists.
Two journalists abducted and two TV channels forced off the air in Libya
New York, August 21, 2014 — Two journalists were abducted in Libya on Tuesday, and the government shut down broadcasts of two state-run television stations after one was taken over by militants and the other took an anti-government line, according to news reports.
Somali authorities detain three journalists and shutter radio station
Nairobi, August 21, 2014 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the detention of three Shabelle Media Network journalists and the closure of their station. Security agents arrested 19 individuals at the network’s offices in the capital Mogadishu on August 15, and removed the transmitters of Radio Shabelle and Sky FM, two…
James Foley’s killers pose many threats to local, international journalists
New York, August 20, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is extremely concerned for all journalists, most of them Syrians, still held captive by the Al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State, which has repeatedly kidnapped, killed, and threatened journalists in the territories over which it holds sway. President Barack Obama confirmed today that the group is responsible…
New charges against Ethiopian publications further diminish critical voices
Five independent magazines and a weekly newspaper have been charged by Ethiopia’s Justice Ministry, a move that may add to the long lists of shuttered publications and Ethiopian journalists in exile. In a press release issued August 4, the ministry accused the journals of publishing false information, inciting violence, and undermining public confidence in the…
Radio station suspended in Venezuela
Bogotá, August 20, 2014–Venezuelan telecommunications regulator CONATEL shut down a critical radio station on Tuesday after refusing to renew the station’s expired transmission license, according to news reports. The move follows CONATEL’s suspension on Friday of a critical radio program on another station.
Ukraine must reverse ban on Russian TV channels
New York, August 20, 2014–On Tuesday, Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov ordered cable operators in the country to stop airing 14 Russian TV channels in an effort to curb Russia’s war propaganda, according to news reports. The Interior Ministry cited Russia’s decision to ban Ukrainian TV channels in Crimea as a justification for…
Times correspondent ordered out of Afghanistan
New York, August 20, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Afghan government’s decision to expel and ban New York Times correspondent Matthew Rosenberg from the country. The country’s attorney general accused Rosenberg today of publishing a story “considered divisive and contrary to the national interest, security and stability of Afghanistan,” according to the New…