Africa

  
People wave flags as soldiers and other military personnel of Somalia's breakaway territory of Somaliland march past during an Independence day celebration parade in the capital, Hargeisa on May 18, 2016. Somaliland authorities detained journalist Mohamed Aabi Digaale on February 17, 2018. (Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP)

Somaliland journalist detained without charge

Nairobi, February 21, 2018–Somaliland authorities should immediately release Mohamed Aabi Digaale, the Hargeisa bureau chief for the London-based broadcaster Universal TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police arrested Mohamed on February 17 and have been holding him without charge, Guleid Ahmed Jama, chairperson of the advocacy organization Human Rights Center, and Abdullahi Hersi…

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Benin suspends local paper for insulting president

Benin’s media regulator, the High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), ordered the privately owned daily L’Audace Info on February 8, 2018 to suspend indefinitely its print and online editions after it allegedly insulted the president, the paper’s editor, Romuald Alingo, told CPJ.

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An undated picture of members of the Zone 9 blogging collective. One of the bloggers is waiting for a court to drop an incitement charge against him. (Endalkachew H/Michael)

CPJ calls on Ethiopia to drop case against Zone 9 blogger

Nairobi, February 16, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Ethiopian authorities to drop an incitement charge against Zone 9 blogger Atnafu Berhane. Prosecutors told a court on February 14 they planned to drop the charge today, but the process was delayed by a paperwork error, Atnafu told CPJ. He added that a judge…

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A general view shows the capital city of Kampala in Uganda, in July 2016. Five unidentified men dressed in military camouflage seized journalist Charles Etukuri outside the newspaper's office in Kampala on February 13, 2018. (Reuters/James Akena)

Ugandan journalist seized in Kampala following investigative report

Nairobi, February 14, 2018–Ugandan authorities must make every effort to secure the safe release of Charles Etukuri, an investigative journalist for the state-owned New Vision newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Five unidentified men dressed in military camouflage seized Etukuri outside the newspaper’s office in Kampala yesterday, days after he published an investigation…

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Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega was released on February 14, 2018, after serving nearly seven years in prison. (Befekadu Hailu)

Ethiopian journalists Eskinder Nega and Woubshet Taye released from prison

New York, February 14, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes news that Ethiopian journalists Eskinder Nega and Woubshet Taye are free from prison after each served nearly seven years.

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A supporter of Gambia's President Adama Barrow waves an ECOWAS flag at his swearing-in ceremony in February 2017. An ECOWAS court ruling calls on Gambia to repeal its criminal libel and false news laws. (Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon)

ECOWAS court rules Gambia violated rights of journalists

New York, February 14, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Gambian government to act on a judgment passed today by the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to immediately repeal its laws on criminal libel, sedition, and false news.

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A view over the Kismayo sea-port as ships load with charcoal in Somalia in March 2013. Journalist Sabir Abdulkadir Warsame was arrested by regional security forces in the semi-autonomous state of Jubbaland on February 8, 2018, and has been held without charge in the state capital of Kismayo. (AFP/ Phil Moore)

Somali journalist arrested, held without charge

Nairobi, February 09, 2018–Somali authorities should immediately release Sabir Abdulkadir Warsame, a broadcast journalist with the privately owned Somali Cable TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Sabir was arrested by regional security forces in the semi-autonomous state of Jubbaland on February 8 and has been held without charge in the state capital of…

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Eskinder Nega is still in jail after refusing to sign a false confession in exchange for freedom. (Eskinder family)

Ethiopia’s Eskinder Nega refuses to sign false confession in exchange for prison release

New York, February 9, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Ethiopian government’s attempts today to compel Ethiopian journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega to sign a false confession before releasing him under a presidential pardon. Eskinder, who has spent almost seven years in jail for his work, was one of 746 prisoners due to be…

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NTV employees in the station's Nairobi studio on January 19. Kenya is ignoring a court order suspending a broadcasting ban on NTV and three other stations. (AFP/Simon Maina)

Kenyan government ignores court order over broadcasting ban

New York, February 2, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Kenyan government to obey a court order suspending a broadcasting ban on four privately owned television stations. A high court yesterday ordered the government to lift the ban on Citizen TV, Inooro TV, NTV, and KTN News, for 14 days while a…

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A billboard featuring President Salva Kiir, left, and opposition leader Riek Machar, is displayed in Juba in 2016. South Sudan is due to resume peace talks under an agreement that includes calls for an end to harassment of the press. (AFP/Albert Gonzalez Farran, CDS)

As peace talks resume South Sudan continues its assault on press freedom

A ceasefire agreement signed on December 21 between the South Sudanese government and opposition forces has revived a 2015 peace process and brought hope that the conflict will not persist into its fifth year. The agreement includes obligations to “ensure protection of media” and “[c]ease all forms of harassment of the media.” Yet, ahead of…

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