Benin journalist Virgile Ahouansè held for 2 days, charged with spreading false news
Dakar, January 10, 2023 — Beninese authorities should drop the false news charges against journalist Virgile Ahouansè and ensure that members of the press do not face legal harassment for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On December 19, an officer with the police criminal brigade called Ahouansè, news director of the…
Burkina Faso journalists Lamine Traoré and Ahmed Newton Barry threatened via WhatsApp
Lamine Traoré, a reporter with the privately owned Radio Oméga, and Ahmed Newton Barry, former editor-in-chief of the privately owned newspaper L’Evènement, received separate, anonymous threats via WhatsApp groups in early December 2022, according to press reports and both journalists, who are based in Burkina Faso and spoke to CPJ by phone. Traoré, who also…
South Sudan security forces detain 6 state media employees
Nairobi, January 6, 2023—South Sudanese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all journalists detained this week and ensure the press can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Tuesday, January 3, agents with the National Security Service detained six journalists with the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, according to multiple media reports…
CPJ joins RSF and 76 journalists, press freedom orgs in calling for release of Senegalese journalist Pape Alé Niang
CPJ joined Reporters Without Borders and 76 press freedom organizations and journalists on Friday, January 6, in calling on Senegalese authorities to drop the charges against and immediately release journalist Pape Alé Niang, who is on a protracted hunger strike deteriorating his health. Niang was refused provisional release this week by a judge, his lawyer…
Zimbabwean opposition party members threaten, obstruct journalists at political meeting
On December 18, 2022, political activists and security personnel affiliated with the Movement for Democratic Change, a Zimbabwean opposition party, threatened a group of journalists covering the party’s meeting in Harare, the capital, according to news reports, a report by the Zimbabwean chapter of the regional press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA),…
Cameroonian journalist Amadou Vamoulké sentenced to 12 years and US$76,000 fine
Dakar, December 21, 2022—In response to news reports that a special criminal court in Yaoundé Tuesday sentenced Amadou Vamoulké, the former managing director of the state-owned Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV) broadcaster, to 12 years in prison and 47 million FCFA (US$76,000) in fines, the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the sentence in this statement. …
Senegalese journalist Pape Alé Niang re-arrested, accused of breaching bail condition
Dakar, December 20, 2022 – In response to news reports that Senegalese authorities re-arrested journalist Pape Alé Niang on Monday, less than a week after his release on bail, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of alarm on Tuesday: “Authorities in Senegal should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Pape Alé Niang and cease all legal…
Ethiopia must release journalist Meskerem Abera after second detention this year
Nairobi, December 20, 2022 –Ethiopian police should unconditionally release online journalist Meskerem Abera and cease harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Federal police detained Meskerem, the founder and editor of private YouTube-based media outlet Ethio Nikat Media, in the capital Addis Ababa on December 13, her husband, Fitsum Gebremichael, told CPJ by phone….
Forensic tools open new front for using phone data to prosecute journalists
On April 13, police in Russia’s Khakassiya republic arrested Mikhail Afanasyev and seized his digital devices. Afanasyev, chief editor of the online magazine Novy Fokus, was detained based on an article about riot police in southern Siberia refusing to serve in Ukraine. He faces a possible 10-year prison sentence for spreading “false” information. It’s not surprising for…
Senegalese journalist Pape Alé Niang released on bail with ban on foreign travel, speaking about case
Dakar, December 15, 2022—In response to a Senegalese court’s decision to release journalist Pape Alé Niang on bail with strict conditions, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement Thursday calling for an end to this legal harassment: “The fact that journalist Pape Alé Niang is no longer in a jail cell in Senegal…