Nigerian police detain, assault journalist Kasarahchi Aniagolu
Abuja, March 7, 2024—Nigerian authorities must investigate and hold accountable the police officers who detained and assaulted journalist Kasarahchi Aniagolu, and ensure journalists can work without fear that they will be attacked or harassed while reporting the news. Police officers detained, slapped, bodily assaulted, and hit Aniagolu with a gun. A reporter with the privately…
Zimbabwean minister bans 2 journalists from covering government events
Lusaka, March 5, 2024—The minister of state for Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province must immediately rescind an order barring journalists Sydney Mubaiwa and Stephen Chadenga from covering government events, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Officials from the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, a statutory body concerned with gender equality, invited a group of local journalists to cover…
Safety resources for covering protests in Senegal
You can download these safety cards as images or PDFs in English and français. As Senegalese security forces sought to quell protests in February after the postponement of the presidential election, CPJ documented how at least 25 journalists reporting in the capital, Dakar, were physically attacked, briefly detained, targeted with tear gas, or harassed by police. In response, CPJ has…
Record number of journalists in Senegal’s jails amid political turmoil
Senegalese reporter Ndèye Maty Niang, also known as Maty Sarr Niang, would have likely jumped at the chance to report on the political crisis gripping her country since the president postponed elections in early February. But Niang can’t cover the news – she’s in a women’s prison awaiting trial. She’s not alone: Niang is one…
CPJ welcomes acquittal of Nigerian journalists Gidado Yushau and Alfred Olufemi and calls for legal reform
Abuja, March 1, 2024–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the February 14 decision by an appeal court in Nigeria’s western Kwara State acquitting journalists Gidado Yushau and Alfred Olufemi of criminal conspiracy and defamation, charges for which they were convicted last year, and reiterates the call for Nigerian authorities to reform their country’s laws to…
French journalist Antoine Galindo leaves Ethiopia after release
Nairobi, February 29, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the Thursday release of French journalist Antoine Galindo, who was arrested in Ethiopia on February 22, and urged Ethiopian authorities to unconditionally release all other members of the press detained for their work. “It is great news that Antoine Galindo has been released, as his unjust…
DRC police detain journalist Masand Mafuta, slap him, seize equipment and money
Kinshasa, February 28, 2024—Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must hold accountable the police officers who arrested and then assaulted journalist Masand Mafuta, and ensure his belongings are returned, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists said on Wednesday. On February 23, at least six police officers in the capital, Kinshasa, detained Masand,…
DRC journalist Lucien Lyenda attacked by armed forces while covering protest
Kinshasa, February 27, 2024—Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must investigate and hold accountable the soldiers who attacked journalist Lucien Lyenda while he covered a demonstration against insecurity in the country’s southeastern Tanganyika province, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Sunday, three DRC armed forces soldiers attacked Lyenda, a reporter for…
French journalist Antoine Galindo detained in Ethiopia
New York, February 26, 2024—Ethiopian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release French journalist Antoine Galindo, who was unjustly detained on Thursday under alarming circumstances, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday. On February 22, at 3:55 p.m., Galindo, who reports for the Paris-based privately owned news website Africa Intelligence, was detained by security forces…
Zimbabwe’s The NewsHawks freezes military story over fears for journalists’ safety
Lusaka, February 22, 2024—Zimbabwean authorities must end the intimidation and surveillance of journalists working for The NewsHawks online newspaper and ensure they can report safely about the military, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday. The NewsHawks, a privately owned investigative online newspaper, announced on Tuesday that it had halted further reporting on its…