Mozambique / Africa

The trial of six men accused of killing Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso in November 2000 ended on January 31. The defendants were sentenced to lengthy prison terms ranging from 23 to 28 years in jail for conspiring to kill Cardoso because of his aggressive coverage of a 1996 corruption scandal involving the state-controlled Commercial Bank…

Although the Kenya-based East African Standard, one of Africa’s oldest continuously published newspapers, marked its 100th anniversary in November, journalism remains a difficult profession on the continent, with adverse government policies and multifaceted economic woes still undermining the full development of African media.

Hopes were high in July that Ivory Coast’s political crisis would end after a judge in the capital, Abidjan, confirmed that former prime minister Alassane Dramane Ouattara, the leader of the opposition Rally for Republicans (RDR), is an Ivory Coast citizen.

New York, January 31, 2003–Six men accused of killing Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso were convicted today and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) representative at the trial in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo. Meanwhile, fugitive suspect Anibal dos Santos Junior, commonly known as Anibalzhino, who escaped from pretrial detention, was…

New York, January 30, 2003—A verdict in the trial of six men accused of killing Mozambican investigative reporter Carlos Cardoso is expected tomorrow. South African journalist Phillip Van Niekerk will represent the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on the final day of the trial. Van Niekerk, a former editor of the Johannesburg Mail & Guardian…

New York, November 11, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the recent decision by Mozambique’s judicial authorities to extend their investigation into the murder of journalist Carlos Cardoso to Nymphine Chissano, a son of President Joaquim Chissano. Cardoso, Mozambique’s leading investigative reporter, was gunned down, execution-style, on November 22, 2000. Six people were arrested…

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) continues to be alarmed by the serious irregularities in the investigation into the murder of journalist Carlos Cardoso, and we are particularly concerned for the safety of journalists whose recent reporting on the possible involvement of your family has been met by apparent intimidation.

New York, September 3, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about the recent escape from maximum-security detention of Anibal Antonio dos Santos Junior, better known as Anibalzinho, a leading suspect in the murder of Mozambican investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso. A police spokesperson yesterday confirmed to reporters and to the Cardoso family that…

New York, May 21, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a special report today calling on the government of Mozambique to step up its inquiry into the killing of investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso. The report, “The Murder of Carlos Cardoso,” was written by CPJ Africa program coordinator Yves Sorokobi and is based on new…

IntroductionIn July 2001, a CPJ delegation visited the Mozambican capital, Maputo, to learn more about the murder of journalist Carlos Cardoso, who was gunned down in November 2000. The delegation included board member Clarence Page, a columnist with the Chicago Tribune; CPJ deputy director Joel Simon; Africa -program coordinator Yves Sorokobi; South African -journalist Phillip…