Africa

  
CrossRiverWatch journalist Agba Jalingo (right) is seen in a federal high court in Calabar, Nigeria. Jalingo is due in court tomorrow on amended charges of cybercrime and terrorism. (Oto-Obongo Clement/CrossRiverWatch)

Nigerian court grants anonymity to witnesses testifying against journalist Agba Jalingo

New York, October 24, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over a Nigerian court’s decision to grant anonymity to witnesses set to testify against journalist Agba Jalingo and deny the public access to the courtroom during the trial.

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An aerial view shows a crowd gathered outside the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) headquarters in Kinshasa on May 30, 2019, as supporters await the return of the remains of former Congolese Prime Minister and opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who died in Belgium in 2017. A Congolese radio journalist was attacked by UDPS supporters at a Kinshasa rally on October 5, 2019. (AFP/Alexis Huguet)

Congolese radio journalist attacked by ruling party supporters at Kinshasa rally

On October 5, 2019, Dominique Dinanga, a reporter for the privately owned Top Congo FM radio station, was attacked by supporters of the ruling Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party at a rally in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where former Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala was to receive…

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Four Iwacu journalists, from left, Térence Mpozenzi, Agnès Ndirubusa, Christine Kamikazi, Egide Harerimana, and their driver, Adolphe Masabarikiza, are detained in Burundi. (Iwacu Media)

Burundi police arrest Iwacu journalists covering unrest

Nairobi, October 23, 2019—Authorities in Burundi should immediately release four journalists and a media worker from the privately-owned news outlet Iwacu, whom police detained in the western Bubanza province yesterday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

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Hamza Idris (left), an editor with the Daily Trust newspaper, sits with colleague Hussaini Garba Mohammed in their office in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, in February 2019. The office was raided in January by the military, who seized 24 computers. (CPJ/Jonathan Rozen)

Nigerian military targeted journalists’ phones, computers with “forensic search” for sources

Hamza Idris, an editor with the Nigerian Daily Trust, was at the newspaper’s central office on January 6 when the military arrived looking for him. Soldiers with AK47s walked between the newsroom desks repeating his name, he told CPJ. It was the second raid on the paper that day; the first hit the bureau based…

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People look at front pages at a newspaper stand in Port Harcourt, after Nigeria's presidential election results were announced on February 27, 2019. Nigerian police beat two Inspiration FM journalists after covering a protest in Uyo, in Akwa-Ibom State, on September 24, 2019. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)

Nigerian police beat two Inspiration FM journalists after covering protest in Uyo

Owoidoho Udofia and Okodi Okodi, two journalists with the privately owned Inspiration FM radio station in Akwa-Ibom State, in southern Nigeria, on September 24, 2019, were forced by police to take off their shirts and roll on the ground, and were beaten with sticks after covering a protest in Uyo, the state capital, according to…

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A police officer is seen in N'Djamena, Chad, on July 11, 2015. A N'Djamena court recently charged two Chadian journalists with criminal defamation and sentenced one to jail. (Reuters/Moumine Ngarmbassa)

Journalists fined, one jailed over criminal defamation complaint in Chad

Dakar, September 25, 2019 — Authorities in Chad should not challenge the appeals of journalists Martin Inoua Doulguet and Abdramane Boukar Koyon, and should take immediate action to repeal legislation that criminalizes acts of journalism, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Police are seen in Hargeisa, Somaliland, on May 18, 2015. Hargeisa police recently arrested two employees of HadhwanaagNews after a court ordered the outlet's website to be blocked. (Reuters/Feisal Omar)

Somaliland authorities block HadhwanaagNews website, arrest 2 employees

Nairobi, September 18, 2019 — Authorities in the breakaway region of Somaliland should immediately release two HadhwanaagNews employees and unblock the outlet’s website, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A Tanzanian police officer is seen in Dar es Salaam on October 28, 2015. Tanzanian authorities recently arrested Sebastian Atilio on false news charges. (AP/Khalfan Said)

Tanzanian authorities charge Sebastian Atilio with false news over WhatsApp posts

Nairobi, September 16, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over Tanzania’s use of false news and journalist accreditation laws to arrest Sebastian Atilio.

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10 Most Censored Countries

Repressive governments use sophisticated digital censorship and surveillance alongside more traditional methods to silence independent media. A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Published September 10, 2019 Eritrea is the world’s most censored country, according to a list compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The list is based on CPJ’s research into the…

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Police forces are seen in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on February 3, 2015. Police in Bata recently arrested two journalists and held them for 13 days without charge. (AFP/Issouf Sanogo)

Police hold 2 journalists for 13 days without charge in Equatorial Guinea

On August 27, 2019, police in Bata, in central Equatorial Guinea, arrested and detained presenter Milanio Ncogo and reporter Ruben Dario Bacale, both employees of the privately owned broadcaster Asonga TV, and held them without charge until September 8, according to Ncogo, who spoke to CPJ over messaging app.

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