New York, April 11, 2006–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about newspaper publisher Patrice Booto, who has been in jail in the capital, Kinshasa, since November 2, 2005. Booto recently told a representative of Journaliste en Danger (JED), a Kinshasa-based press freedom organization, that he was suffering from several health problems and had…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the continued use of criminal statutes to jail Congolese journalists for reporting on allegations of corruption and other violations. Jean Pierre Phambu Lutette, managing director of the small private newspaper La Tolérance, was arrested on Friday on charges of insulting a local government official and “inciting tribal hatred,” according to the local press freedom organization Journaliste en Danger (JED). He has since been transferred to the central prison in the capital, Kinshasa, where he joins publishers Jean-Louis Ngalamulume, in jail since January 27, and Patrice Booto, behind bars since November 2, 2005.
APRIL 18, 2006 Posted: April 25, 2006 Arthur Tshimanga Kaputu, Lubilanji Expansion IMPRISONED Kaputu, director of the small private newspaper Lubilanji Expansion was detained for three days without charge by the public prosecutor in the capital, Kinshasa. According to the Kinshasa-based press freedom organization, Journaliste en Danger (JED), which sent a representative to meet with…
The murder and attempted murder of journalists in 2005 sent a chill through the independent press in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Journalists operated in a tense pre-electoral climate, enduring threats and harassment from government officials and other powerful figures. Rampant corruption and a weak judiciary in a country still bearing the scars of…
February 15, 2006 Original Alert: January 31, 2006 Radiotélévision La Colombe CENSORED Radiotélévision La Colombe (RTC) began broadcasting again on February 10, almost two weeks after shutting down over security fears, the Congolese press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED) reported. The station is based in the eastern town of Rutshuru, where fighting broke out…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by recent threats against the Congolese press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED) after the Kinshasa newspaper Le Soft reported findings from JED’s investigations into the November murder of journalist Franck Ngycke Kangundu and his wife, Hélène Mpaka. JED President Donat M’baya Tshimanga, who is quoted in Le Soft’s February 7 article, and JED Secretary-General Tshivis Tshivuadi went into hiding after receiving an anonymous threatening phone call. JED legal adviser Charles Mushizi also received a threatening phone call.
New York, February 7, 2006—Jean-Louis Ngalamulume, publisher of the private newspaper L’Eclaireur, has been jailed since January 27 in the capital, Kinshasa, on charges of publishing “public insults” against a government official, according to the press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED) and the secretary-general of the Congolese press union. Police questioned Ngalamulume about a…
New York, January 31, 2006—Rebel soldiers have forced a radio station in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of Congo off the air by looting equipment and terrorizing journalists, local press freedom organizations and United Nations radio said. Radiotélévision La Colombe (RTC), the only radio station in the town of Rutshuru, closed on Sunday.…
New York, January 13, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the closure of Radio Mwangaza, a community station in the northern Congolese city of Kisangani, which has aired programs criticizing local authorities. Court officials sealed its studios on January 11 in a dispute over alleged non-payment of music royalties, station director Jean-Pierre Lifoli told CPJ.…