Journalists protest state media crackdown in Niger
New York, October 22, 2007—Hundreds of journalists marched through the streets of the Niger capital, Niamey, on Saturday to protest the arrests of two prominent journalists in connection with a government crackdown on media coverage of a rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in northern Niger, according to news reports and local journalists. About 400 marchers carrying…
In Niger, newspaper editor jailed without charge
New York, October 11, 2007—The director of a newspaper based in strife-torn northern Niger was arrested late Tuesday in the capital of Niamey on suspicions of links with France-based Radio France Internationale (RFI)—a station targeted by the government in recent months over its coverage of a deadly rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs, according to local journalists…
In Niger, veteran journalist imprisoned
New York, September 24, 2007—A veteran radio journalist for French broadcaster Radio France Internationale, distinguished for his exclusive coverage of a seventh-month-old armed rebellion in northern Niger, was sent to prison today after four days in police custody on accusations of aiding the rebels, according to local journalists.
In Niger, government bans live broadcasts on Tuareg rebellion
New York, August 30, 2007—Niger’s state-run High Council on Communications has banned the broadcast of live debates on an armed rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in the north of the uranium-rich West African nation, according to local journalists. Attacks by Tuareg fighters have killed at least 45 soldiers since February, according to Reuters. The ruling on…
In Niger, RFI summarily suspended after correspondent threatened
New York, July 20, 2007–The Niger government suspended broadcasts of France-based Radio France Internationale (RFI) on Thursday, accusing the station of “broadcasting false news” related to a recent armed rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in northern Niger, according to local journalists and news reports. The move came less than a week after the army chief threatened…
Attacks on the Press 2002: Niger
In early August, a military uprising in the eastern Diffa Region by soldiers demanding salary arrears jeopardized Niger’s fragile democracy. The mutiny was the first serious challenge to civilian rule since the election of President Mamadou Tandja in December 1999. Before that election, the country had experienced two coups in three years. Anxious to restore…