Africa

  
Members of the military pictured outside the Daily Trust offices in Abuja on January 6. Two of the paper's offices were raided, and one journalist is detained. (Daily Trust/Abubakar Adam Ibrahim)

Nigeria’s military raids Daily Trust offices, arrests editor

New York, January 7, 2019­­­–Nigerian authorities should immediately release Uthman Abubakar, an editor of the privately owned Daily Trust, return equipment seized in raids on the paper’s offices, and cease the intimidation of news outlets covering the conflict in Nigeria’s northeast, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Gabonese soldiers stand in front of the headquarters of the national broadcaster in Libreville on January 7, 2019, after a failed coup. Gabon shut down the internet and broadcasting services following the coup attempt. (AFP/Steve Jordan)

Gabon shuts down the internet and broadcasting services following coup attempt

Abidjan, January 7, 2019–Gabon’s government on Monday morning shut down the internet and broadcasting services following an attempted coup against President Ali Bongo, according to digital rights groups Netblocks, and Internet Without Borders, news reports, and local journalists and civil society organizations with whom the Committee to Protect Journalists spoke.

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Late voters check a list in a school in Kinshasa on December 30, during Democratic Republic of Congo's general elections. Authorities have cut internet access and blocked the signals to at least two news broadcasters while the results are counted. (AFP/Luis Tato)

DRC authorities cut internet and broadcast signals after election

New York, January 3, 2019–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo should immediately take steps to ensure citizens have access to the internet and news outlets as the country awaits the results of its election, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The government has cut access to internet and SMS services, blocked the signals…

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Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane casts his vote in Maseru, Lesotho, on February 28, 2015. Lesotho's military spokesman threatened an investigative journalist over her reporting in a December 5, 2018, letter. (AP Photo)

Lesotho military spokesman threatens investigative journalist

New York, December 21, 2018–Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane must repudiate threats made by the military against Lesotho Times investigative journalist Pascalinah Kabi and ensure that the press can function without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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People walk in Lusaka's business district in November 2014. A journalist was jailed in the city in December 2018 for contempt of court. (AFP/ Gianluigi Guercia)

In Zambia, journalist jailed for 18 months for contempt of court

Nairobi, December 21, 2018–Zambia’s Supreme Court yesterday sentenced Derrick Sinjela, editor-in-chief of the privately owned Rainbow Newspaper, to 18 months in prison for contempt of court. Sinjela was convicted in September in relation to articles that accused the Supreme Court of corruption and questioned its handling of a case between two private companies, said Hyde…

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CPJ calls on Cameroon’s Biya to release critically ill journalist

CPJ calls on Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, to release critically ill imprisoned journalist Thomas Awah Junior, the Northwest correspondent for privately owned Afrik 2 Radio in Yaoundé and publisher of the monthly Aghem Messenger magazine, on humanitarian grounds.

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Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo is led handcuffed from a court in Yangon in September. He and colleague Wa Lone are serving seven-year prison sentences in Myanmar. (Reuters/Ann Wang)

Hundreds of journalists jailed globally becomes the new normal

For the third year in a row, 251 or more journalists are jailed around the world, suggesting the authoritarian approach to critical news coverage is more than a temporary spike. China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia imprisoned more journalists than last year, and Turkey remained the world’s worst jailer. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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A screen shot from December 2017 displaying the front pages of Tanzanian newspapers Mwananchi and The Citizen, calling on the Tanzanian government to help find missing journalist Azory Gwanda. November 21, 2018, marked the one-year anniversary of Gwanda's disappearance. (MCL Digital)

One year after disappearance, CPJ calls for credible investigation into Tanzanian journalist Azory Gwanda’s fate

New York, November 21, 2018–One year after freelance journalist Azory Gwanda disappeared in Tanzania, the Committee to Protect Journalists reiterated its call for a credible investigation and public accounting of his fate.

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CPJ raises mistreatment of Africa team with Tanzania’s president

CPJ writes to President John Magufuli to express concern about the treatment of two members of our Africa program team who were detained by Tanzanian officials on November 7.

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This screenshot of South Africa's Daily Maverick shows an op-ed by CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal about her experience in Tanzania.

Angela Quintal recounts CPJ’s ordeal in Tanzania

Johannesburg, November 13, 2018–“We drove down a dirt road and entered the premises of what appeared to be a safe house, through a large gate. Several men in plain clothes stood in the front yard. At least one appeared to be armed with a rifle. Their animosity was palpable… We were ordered out of the…

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