Cameroon / Africa

  
Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo is led handcuffed from a court in Yangon in September. He and colleague Wa Lone are serving seven-year prison sentences in Myanmar. (Reuters/Ann Wang)

Hundreds of journalists jailed globally becomes the new normal

For the third year in a row, 251 or more journalists are jailed around the world, suggesting the authoritarian approach to critical news coverage is more than a temporary spike. China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia imprisoned more journalists than last year, and Turkey remained the world’s worst jailer. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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A screen shot of Cameroonian journalist Mimi Mefo speaking during a broadcast of her show on Equinoxe TV.

CPJ calls on Cameroon to release and drop charges against Mimi Mefo

Abidjan, November 8, 2018–Authorities in Cameroon should immediately release and drop all charges against Mimi Mefo, the head of English news and a presenter for the privately owned Equinoxe television and radio station, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Mefo, who also runs Mimi Mefo Info, her own news website, was arrested and taken…

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Cameroon authorities summon journalist Mimi Mefo

New York, November 2, 2018–Authorities in Cameroon should halt their intimidation of journalist Mimi Mefo and ensure that she can work safely without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A taxi driver points towards an electoral poster for Cameroonian President Paul Biya as the road crosses into the majority English-speaking South West region of Cameroon, in Buea, on October 3, 2018. A journalist was detained October 23 after publishing articles criticizing the government's handling of grievances of Anglophone Cameroonians. (AFP/Marco Longari)

Cameroon detains journalist for a week, fails to disclose charge

Abidjan, Ivory Coast, October 30, 2018–Authorities in Cameroon should immediately release or disclose charges against Michel Biem Tong, editor of the privately owned Hurinews website, who was detained on October 23 after being summoned to the State Secretariat for Defense in the capital, Yaoundé, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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An alleged arson attack on Cameroon's Sky FM gutted the private community radio station in the Northwest Region town of Ndu destroying equipment, furniture, and the studio. (Barnard Tata Gibip)

Cameroon community radio destroyed in alleged arson attack

Johannesburg, August 9, 2018–Cameroonian authorities should speedily investigate an alleged arson attack on community radio station Sky FM in the volatile Northwest region and ensure those responsible are prosecuted, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A police officer stands guard in Bamenda on February 22, 2018. Authorities in the city are detaining an Abakwa FM journalist over claims he aired secessionist propaganda. (AFP/Reinnier Kaze)

Cameroon military court orders radio journalist to be held for at least 6 months

New York, May 7, 2018–Cameroonian authorities must immediately release broadcaster Akumbom Elvis McCarthy from detention and ensure that the country’s military courts are not used to prosecute journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A military court reduced Ahmed Abba's 10-year prison sentence on terror-related charges to 24 months. (Credit withheld)

Ahmed Abba to be freed after Cameroonian court reduces sentence on appeal

Durban, South Africa, December 21, 2017 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s ruling by a Cameroonian military appeal court that should result in Radio France Internationale radio journalist Ahmed Abba’s immediate release from prison.

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Journalists and protesters hold placards outside an Istanbul court on October 31, 2017, calling for the release of jailed colleagues, including Turkish reporter Ahmet Şık. Turkey is the worst jailer of journalists in 2017. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Record number of journalists jailed as Turkey, China, Egypt pay scant price for repression

For the second year in a row, the number of journalists imprisoned for their work hit a historical high, as the U.S. and other Western powers failed to pressure the world’s worst jailers–Turkey, China, and Egypt–into improving the bleak climate for press freedom. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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A supporter of President Paul Biya waits outside a Manhattan hotel during the UN General Assembly in September. Cameroonian authorities detained a columnist in Douala on December 6 for allegedly offending the president. (Reuters/Darren Ornitz)

Cameroon detains U.S.-Cameroonian writer over critical commentary

Lomé, Togo, December 8, 2017–Cameroonian authorities detained Patrice Nganang, a Cameroonian-American academic and columnist, as he attempted to fly to Zimbabwe from Douala on December 6, according to his lawyer and media reports. The lawyer, Emmanuel Simh, told CPJ that Nganang is being held in Yaoundé on accusations of offending the president in a Facebook…

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President Paul Biya of Cameroon addresses the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters on September 22, 2017. A trial judge on October 9 charged three journalists with criminal defamation for their

Three Cameroonian journalists charged with criminal defamation

Cotonou, October 12, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Cameroonian authorities to immediately halt the prosecution of three journalists after a judge on October 9 changed the charges against them mid-trial.

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