Gabonese soldiers stand in front of the headquarters of the national broadcaster in Libreville on January 7, 2019, after a failed coup. Gabon shut down the internet and broadcasting services following the coup attempt. (AFP/Steve Jordan)
Gabonese soldiers stand in front of the headquarters of the national broadcaster in Libreville on January 7, 2019, after a failed coup. Gabon shut down the internet and broadcasting services following the coup attempt. (AFP/Steve Jordan)

Nicaragua starts 2019 with continued press crackdowns

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On Monday, Gabon’s government shut down the nation’s internet and broadcasting services following an attempted coup against President Ali Bongo Ondimba. Sudan detained several critical columnists amid protests. In Canada, police blocked media from covering the breakup of an anti-pipeline protest led by indigenous activists.

Global press freedom updates

  • Mozambican police arrested a radio journalist who was photographing families fleeing militant attacks
  • Far-right extremists harassed and assaulted two Italian journalists
  • Nigerian security services forced their way into the offices of the Daily Trust, seizing equipment and detaining two staff
  • Five unknown assailants stormed the headquarters of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation
  • Journalists working for the Turkish news website Odatv have faced a series of threats directed at the outlet
  • Read the latest Turkey Crackdown Chronicle, CPJ’s weekly round-up of press freedom violations in the country

Spotlight

Riot police walk in front of the 100% Noticias cable and internet news station in Managua on December 22, 2018, a day after the station was raided and closed by the Nicaraguan police. Two journalists were arrested during the raid. (AFP/Maynor Valenzuela)
Riot police walk in front of the 100% Noticias cable and internet news station in Managua on December 22, 2018, a day after the station was raided and closed by the Nicaraguan police. Two journalists were arrested during the raid. (AFP/Maynor Valenzuela)

CPJ and more than 200 international journalists published a letter to President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo expressing concern over deteriorating press freedoms in Nicaragua, and calling for the release of detained reporters Miguel Mora and Lucía Pineda Ubau.

Mora and Pineda Ubau, directors at broadcast outlet 100% Noticias, were arrested in December 2018. The arrests come amid increasingly severe retaliation from Nicaraguan authorities against journalists and media outlets, including the death of journalist Ángel Eduardo Gahona.

What we are reading

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