Benin / Africa

  

Benin TV director pardoned for offending president

Berthe Cakpossa, director of the private Canal 3 TV, was pardoned by President Boni Yayi on January 31, 2013, two weeks after a court sentenced her to jail and fined her for “offending the head of state,” according to news reports.

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Benin TV director convicted for offending president

Abuja, Nigeria, January 24, 2013–An appellate court in Benin should overturn the conviction and toss out a prison sentence handed to the director of a private television station last week in connection with a broadcast of a press conference in September in which a former presidential adviser criticized President Boni Yayi, the Committee to Protect…

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Boni Yayi, president of Benin, wrote the country's media regulator to complain about television coverage by Canal 3. (AP/Seth Wenig)

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.

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In Benin, newspapers sanctioned for coverage of officials

Throughout December 2011, HAAC, Benin’s state-run media regulatory agency, summoned more than a dozen newspapers to public hearings and handed them sanctions ranging from a public apology to indefinite suspension, according to news reports. HAAC’s president is appointed by Benin’s head of state, and two-thirds of the agency’s members are appointed by the government, CPJ…

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Obama should raise press freedom in Africa food talks

New York, May 16, 2012–President Obama should acknowledge the role that independent news reporting plays in assessing agricultural challenges and facilitating the response to famine, the Committee to Protect Journalists stated in a letter to the White House. Ethiopia in particular downplays the extent of food crises and undermines the ability of donor nations and aid groups to help by denying journalists access to sensitive areas and censoring independent coverage.

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Le Mbandja carried this coverage of the presidential jet scandal. (CPJ)

Gabon journalists summoned over critical articles

New York, March 20, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Gabon’s authorities to drop legal proceedings against six journalists in connection with articles raising questions about use of a presidential plane. Two of the journalists have fled the country fearing arrest after being summoned by police for interrogation.

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A march against the beating of Journalists covering events. (Benoit Koffi)

Benin journalists protest attacks

Six associations of media professionals in Benin rallied Tuesday in Cotonou, the capital, in a protest march against what they called “the barbarity of security forces” against journalists.

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Togo bans paper over story on president’s half-brother

New York, August 26, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Wednesday’s ruling by a criminal court judge in Togo to indefinitely ban the distribution of a Benin newspaper that had raised questions about the alleged involvement of a half-brother of President Faure Gnassingbé in drug trafficking.

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CPJ, African groups call for press freedom commitment

Your Excellencies: As you gather in Paris for festivities that celebrate your nations’ 50 years of independence, we, the undersigned African press freedom advocates petition for your public commitment to a free, vibrant, and self-sustaining press as a cornerstone of the development of francophone Africa in the next five decades.

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A drawing of slain editor Lasantha Wickramatunga stands in the lobby of The Sunday Leader. (CPJ)

Will impunity in media attacks ever end in Sri Lanka?

On Tuesday, I revisited three cases CPJ had investigated last year, dating from January 2009: the attack on Sirasa TV; the murder of newspaper editor Lasanatha Wickramatunga, and the violent attack on another editor, Upali Tennakoon and his wife, Dhammika. Last year’s report was called Failure to Investigate. Today, I’ll take a look at the implications of the…

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