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Media & freedom of expression
RSS FeedMorocco: Blogger gets two-year jail sentence on trumped-up drug charges
2012-06-19, Issue 590
Reporters Without Borders has strongly deplored the two-year jail sentence that a Marrakech court imposed on well-known blogger Mohamed Sokrate on trumped-up charges of drug possession and trafficking. He was also fined 5,000 dirhams (450 euros). Arrested on 29 May as he was leaving an Internet café, Sokrate was tried and convicted with unusual speed. The trial began on 7 June but was adjourned at the defence's request.
Global: Two special rapporteurs both call for those who violate journalists’ rights to be held accountable
2012-06-20, Issue 590
ARTICLE 19 has welcomed the unusual event of two reports concentrating on the same issue being presented at the twentieth session of the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday 19 June 2012. The reports, by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, both focus on the issue of impunity for violations of journalists’ human rights. Both reports urge relevant state and non-state actors to secure journalists’ rights by implementing international human rights law and monitoring this implementation.
Ethiopia: Ethiopia introduces advanced internet monitoring
2012-06-13, Issue 589
The Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation, which happens to be the sole telecommunication service provider in Ethiopia, has deployed or begun testing Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) of all Internet traffic. This www.blog.torproject.org post analyses the results on web access, following on from previous analysis of censorship in China, Iran, and Kazakhstan.
Ethiopia: Skype criminalised
2012-06-13, Issue 589
The Ethiopian government has passed new legislation that criminalises the use of Internet-based voice communications such as Skype and other forms of Internet phone calling. Authorities have also installed a new filtering system that monitors the use of the Internet in the tightly-controlled Horn of Africa country in a move seen as targeting dissidents.
Ivory Coast: CPJ says Ivorian police assault journalist
2012-06-13, Issue 589
The New York-based global press freedom watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Wednesday condemned the Ivorian police's assault on a journalist, Cybèle Athangba. CPJ said in a statement made available to PANA here that Athangba, a reporter with the daily 'La Nouvelle', was attacked while covering a protest of about 100 police officers in front of the police headquarters in the economic capital, Abidjan.
Sudan: Poet reportedly sentenced to death, detention location unknown
2012-06-17, Issue 589
The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International is extremely concerned about the condition and whereabouts of the Sudanese poet Abdelmoniem Rahma, who was arrested on 2 September 2011 in Blue Nile State, Sudan. He was reportedly tried in a military court in November and there have been alarming reports that he has since been sentenced to death. It is unclear, however, on what charges he has been convicted.
Mali: 'Slow death of freedom of information'
2012-06-17, Issue 589
Reporters Without Borders has condemned the slow death of freedom of information in Mali. 'In the past few days, a newspaper editor has been arrested for the second time in a month, soldiers raided a TV station to prevent it from broadcasting an interview with a Tuarag chief, and a French journalist was prevented from travelling to the breakaway north,' says RSF.
Uganda: Amid assaults on press, Uganda police promise reforms
2012-06-11, Issue 588
Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura is forming a new press unit of police to act as an ombudsman for complaints by journalists and as a public relations department. 'The inspector general is committed to professionalizing the police force,' Simon Kuteesa, who will run the new unit, said. 'We are not re-inventing the wheel here - it's all part of a strategic initiative.' The new unit is expected to be operational in three months, he said.
Egypt: Verdicts, lifting of emergency law not enough to guarantee free expression, say IFEX members
2012-06-11, Issue 588
Recently, Egypt's 30-year-old emergency law expired and former President Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for failing to stop the killing of protesters during Egypt's uprising. Yet the future for free expression in Egypt remains in doubt, say the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and other IFEX members.
Ethiopia: Government steps up control of information
2012-06-11, Issue 588
Ethiopia’s only ISP, state-owned Ethio-Telecom, has just installed a system for blocking access to the Tor network, which lets users browse anonymously and access blocked websites. At the same time, the state-owned printing presses are demanding the right to censor the newspapers they print.
Africa: First pan-African health journalism network created
2012-06-11, Issue 588
Journalists from across Africa announced the creation of the first continent-wide professional association of health journalists. The new organization, the African Health Journalists Association, aims to improve the quality and quantity of reporting on health issues so that people across the continent can make healthy choices for their lives. The group’s media coverage will encourage the best possible public health programs and policies throughout the continent.
Sudan: Clashes with South Sudan stoke crackdown on dissent
2012-05-29, Issue 587
Fighting that started a month ago between Sudan and South Sudan along the oil-rich Heglig region on the border has provoked increased repression in Sudan, noticeably on the media, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Human Rights Watch, Index on Censorship and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). 'Sudan is cracking down on civil and political rights in the face of conflict and opposition,' says Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. 'But locking up critics and silencing dissent will not solve Sudan's problems.'
Malawi: Journalist arrested for article on same-sex marriage
2012-05-29, Issue 587
A journalist with one of Malawi's major publishing houses, Blantyre Newspapers Limited (BNL), is languishing in police custody for writing a story on an alleged engagement ceremony involving two women. Reports indicate that the journalist, Clement Chinoko, was arrested on the evening of Saturday 26 May 2012 for penning a story that appeared in The Sunday Times of 20 May 2012. The story stated that two women from Malawi?s southern city of Blantyre had engaged.
Morocco: Independent media losing foothold
2012-05-30, Issue 587
The Moroccan government’s announcement that it would issue new public media guidelines at the end of May has reignited a stormy debate around independent media in the kingdom. The debate began nearly two months ago when the Islamist government, led by Abdelilah Benkirane, forced public television channels and radio stations to broadcast the five daily calls to prayer, which put many citizens on the defensive against what they saw as a deliberate attempt to Islamise an otherwise moderate sector of society.
Sierra Leone: Al Jazeera graft claims to be investigated
2012-06-03, Issue 587
Sierra Leone's Anti-Corruption Commission has summoned Ghana's investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, to testify in a landmark corruption case involving a top government official. In a joint story with Sorious Samura aired on Al- Jazeera, the award winning Ghanaian journalist shocked the nation after he exposed a criminal ring defying an existing moratorium on timber export in the country. The indicted men allegedly claimed to be representing a top government official and accepted bribe to facilitate the registration of their illegal timber export business.
Ghana: Ruling party leads in the use of indecent expressions on radio
2012-06-03, Issue 587
Activists, supporters and officials of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), made the majority of indecent expressions recorded by a Media Foundation for West Africa study during weeks seven and eight monitoring of language use on radio. Twenty one (21) out of the total of 28 indecent expressions recorded were made by NDC officials and supporters.
South Africa: ANC court challenge to The Spear
2012-05-22, Issue 586
The ANC is squaring up to the Goodman gallery and newspaper in court on Tuesday (22 May) over the exhibition and publishing of Murray’s contentious artwork The Spear. The ruling party is seeking an urgent court interdict against the gallery and the newspaper, demanding the image to be removed from the exhibition and taken off the newspaper’s website, arguing that it violates President Jacob Zuma’s right to privacy and dignity. Both the gallery and the newspaper stand by their decision to exhibit the portrait, claiming they are protected by their constitutional right to freedom of expression.
Somalia: Journalist killed in Mogadishu
2012-05-28, Issue 586
Assailants in Mogadishu have gunned down the host of a critical radio program, further punctuating what has already been a deadly year for the Somali press corps and for the journalist's employer, the Shabelle Media Network. Four unidentified men fired repeatedly at Ahmed Addow Anshur while he was in Bo'le Market, in Dharkenley District, local journalists said.
Sudan: End harassment of journalist
2012-05-23, Issue 586
The National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) should stop harassing human rights defenders and journalists in Sudan and drop the charges against Mr. Faisal Mohammed Salih, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project and Journalists for Human Rights said. Salih, director of Teeba Press, former chief editor of Al-adwaa newspaper and a columnist, has been arbitrarily arrested and detained on three separate occasions on 8th, 9th and 15th May 2012.
Cote d’Ivoire: Pro-opposition newspaper suspended
2012-05-23, Issue 586
The National Press Commission (CNP), the print media regulatory body has suspended Notre Voie, a privately-owned pro-opposition daily newspaper for four publications. The suspension takes effect from 19 May 2012. According to the Media Foundation for West Africa’s (MFWA) correspondent, the decision of the regulatory body follows the publication of material that the commission says amounts to distortion of facts.
Sierra Leone: President warns 'reckless journalists'
2012-05-23, Issue 586
Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma is threatening tough measures against the media in what is a departure from his traditionally tolerant bearing. 'The honeymoon for reckless journalism is over,' he said in a statement, warning journalists and civil society activists to stay away from politics. That has touched on the nerves of media figures.
Senegal: Free expression and information key to promoting equal political representation
2012-05-24, Issue 586
ARTICLE 19 and the Caucus of Women Leaders of Senegal unveiled two documentaries on May 14 2012 to celebrate the second anniversary of the adoption of the law on equal political representation. The first documentary produced by the Caucus, highlights the process that led to the adoption of the law and the commitment of all political actors. The second documentary produced by ARTICLE 19 assesses the level of access to information and freedom of expression in relation to the parity and public debate on political representation of women.
Angola: Trial of journalist begins
2012-05-15, Issue 585
The trial of journalist Ramiro Aleixo began on 11 May, 2012, at the Luanda Provincial Court, in Angola. Aleixo stands accused of the crimes of defamation, slander and injury against the military justice system, namely its Supreme Court and office of the military attorney. From a legal standpoint, the accusation against Mr. Aleixo has two serious flaws, says the blog makaangola.org.
Zambia: Hope for media freedom protection as draft constitution is launched
2012-05-15, Issue 585
On 30 April 2012, Chairperson of the Technical Committee On Drafting The Zambian Constitution (TCDZC), Justice Annel Silungwe launched the 2012 First Draft Constitution for purposes of wide consultation with the public. The committee started work on the draft charter on 1 December 2011 and was supposed to have produced the draft in February 2012 but failed to do so. Regardless, this first draft consists of several progressive articles and clauses on media freedom, freedom of express, right to access information and even freedom to state-owned media.
Rwanda: Radio presenter held pending trial
2012-05-15, Issue 585
Reporters Without Borders has deplored community radio presenter Habarugira Epaphrodite's detention since 24 April in the main prison of Gitarama, the capital of Muhanga district, on a charge of 'minimizing' the 1994 Tutsi genocide and 'spreading genocide ideology'. Epaphrodite was arrested because, while reading a report about ceremonies marking the 18th anniversary of the genocide on community radio Huguka's morning new broadcast on 22 April, he mixed up the Kinyarwanda words for 'victims' and 'survivors', making it sound as though he approved of the genocide.
Morocco: Rapper sentenced to one year in prison for criticising police
2012-05-15, Issue 585
The sentencing of a rapper on 11 May 2012 to one year in prison for 'insulting the police' shows the gap between the strong free-expression language in Morocco's 2011 constitution and the continuing intolerance for those who criticize state institutions, Human Rights Watch said. The sentence was handed down one week before the opening of the international Mawazine music festival in Rabat, which is held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI. Mouad Belghouat, better known as 'al-Haqed' (the sullen one), has been in pretrial custody since March 29 because of his rap song 'Kilab ed-Dowla' (Dogs of the State), which denounces police corruption, and a YouTube video set to the song.
Uganda: Video director gunned down
2012-05-16, Issue 585
Independent TV director Amon Thembo Wa’Mupaghasya was shot dead at around 1am on 12 May as he was returning to his home on the outskirts of the western city of Kasese after covering a wedding. Thembo was gunned down by unidentified individuals who took his bag and video camera. The police have arrested several suspects but have not yet said what they think the motive was. Kasese is located near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Swaziland: New bill will 'close down the press'
2012-05-17, Issue 585
The Swaziland Government has been accused of trying to close down the press with the publication of a new Bill to bar public servants from disclosing any information about their work that relates to ‘public policy’. They will also be prevented from talking about the economic strategy of the kingdom. The new Public Service Bill also states civil servants must not ‘publish in any manner anything which may be reasonably regarded as of a political or administrative nature’.
Egypt: Al-Alam Channel raided; equipment seized
2012-05-17, Issue 585
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has denounced the crackdown of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and Security Services on the freedoms and rights acquired by the Egyptian people after the revolution. 'ANHRI considers the raid on the office of al-Alam news channel in Cairo on May 13th as a new episode in the series of stifling press freedom and clamping down on media work in Egypt for exposing the violations committed in the transitional phase.'
Mali: Journalists accuse military authorities of tapping their telephones
2012-05-17, Issue 585
Journalists in Mali are accusing the military authorities of illegally tapping their telephones as a means of silencing critical opinion in the country. The accusation followed the arrest and subsequent detention of Birama Fall, managing editor of Le Prétoire, a privately-owned Bamako-based bi-weekly newspaper on May 12, 2012. The authorities had illegally listened to Fall’s phone conversation with a former government minister over civilian deaths during the recent counter coup attempt. Fall was, however, released after two hours without charge.
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