Attacks on the Press 2001: Eritrea
ERITREA The Eritrean government banned the entire independent press last year, as part of a crackdown on political dissent in the tiny Red Sea nation. In early August, a dozen senior officials and other members of the ruling elite signed a public letter criticizing President Isaias Afeworki’s dictatorial rule. The letter followed a lengthy internal…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Journalists in Prison
There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.
Government tightens noose on independent press
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by your government’s ongoing crackdown on the independent press in Eritrea. According to our research, all the country’s independent newspapers have now been shut down. Eleven journalists are currently jailed without charges, while the whereabouts of three others are unknown.
Nine journalists arrested; two others flee as crackdown continues
New York, September 25, 2001—Eritrean security forces have arrested at least nine journalists over the last few days, sources in the capital, Asmara, told CPJ. The arrests came less than a week after authorities abruptly closed all privately owned newspapers, allegedly to safeguard national unity in the face of growing political turmoil in the tiny…