Intimidation & Harassment

Malawi media outlet closed after publishing stories on “maize gate”

Media Institute of Southern Africa MISA-Malawi is disturbed by news of the closure this morning of Blantyre Printing and Publishing Company (Times Group) offices by the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) over unpaid taxes. While MISA Malawi does not condone default on taxes, we strongly believe that the closure of Times Group is ill-timed and can easily be construed as an attempt by government to stop the media house from further publication of the 'maize gate' investigation specifically, and to silence critical voices generally. The issue of unpaid taxes could have been resolved through mutual business…Read more

Cameroon suspends radio station, seals office

Cameroonian authorities should immediately reverse a decision to suspend independent broadcaster Radio Hot Cocoa 94 FM's permission to operate and allow the station to resume broadcasting immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Government officials in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon's Northwest Region, yesterday sealed the station's office, its manager told CPJ. The regional governor, Adolphe Lele Lafrique, ordered Radio Hot Cocoa to suspend all activities until further notice, accusing it of inciting civil disobedience in a call-in show discussing a teachers' strike in the region, station manager Gideon Taka told CPJ. Residents of…Read more

Gambia orders three radio stations to cease broadcasting

The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Gambian authorities to allow three independent radio stations to resume full broadcasting. Taranga FM, Hilltop Radio, and Afri Radio stopped broadcasting on January 1 on the orders of national security agents, who did not give any explanation for the measure, according to news reports. The closures come amid a political crisis in Gambia after President Yahya Jammeh refused to admit defeat in elections last month. Authorities may have targeted at least one of the stations after it announced details of President-elect Adama Barrow's inauguration, planned…Read more

Malaysian authorities repeatedly arrest, harass award-winning cartoonist Zunar

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Malaysian authorities should drop all criminal charges against editorial cartoonist Zulikiflee Anwar Ulhaque, better known as Zunar, and stop harassing him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police arrested Zunar on December 17, the cartoonist said in a statement, the latest incident in authorities' relentless campaign of judicial and police harassment of the journalist. Police in uniform and civilian clothes arrested Zunar and two of his personal assistants at a public event in Kuala Lumpur organized to promote books of his work, press reports said. The cartoonist was detained…Read more

Bangladeshi reporter arrested over coverage of garment industry strike

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the immediate release of Nazmul Huda, a reporter who was arrested on 24 December 2016 because of his coverage of a strike by garment workers in Ashulia, the Dhaka suburb where Bangladesh's biggest garment factories are located. The police accuse Huda, who works for Bangla Daily and Ekushey TV (ETV), a privately-owned satellite TV service, of reporting false information and encouraging the strike that began in mid-December in factories that produce clothes for leading international retail chains such as Gap, Zara and H&M. Huda's computer and mobile phone were…Read more

Independent Malaysian news website faces threats, harassment

Malaysia's government should cease harassing independent news site Malaysiakini, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police have opened a criminal investigation into the website, and a government-linked pressure group has threatened to "tear down" the website's office. Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar informed Malaysiakini'snews editor, RK Anand, by text message on November 3 that police had launched an investigation into the news group's financing under section 124C of the Penal Code, a provision that criminalizes activities authorities deem "detrimental to parliamentary democracy," news reports said. Maximum penalties under the law allow for 15-year…Read more

Travel ban imposed on leading Pakistani journalist after his story on the military

Pakistan Press Foundation Cyril Almeida, reporter and columnist for Dawn, Pakistan's leading English daily newspaper, was placed on an "Exit Control List (ECL)" to prevent him from leaving the country, after the publication of his story on a meeting between the top civil and military leadership of the country on international pressures on Pakistan to curb militant organisations. The government action was taken on October 10, 2016, four days after his story "Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military" on a meeting in which "blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented warning," was given by the…Read more

Nigeria detains 13 journalists, bloggers, and media workers

Committee to Protect Journalists Nigerian authorities should immediately release at least 11 journalists, bloggers, and media support staff detained in recent days across the country and stop harassing the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. "The impunity with which Nigerian security forces have recently attacked the press is reminiscent of Nigeria's darkest days of military rule," said CPJ West Africa Representative Peter Nkanga. "We call on President Muhammadu Buhari's administration to reverse this alarming slide and let journalists do their jobs without fear of reprisal." At around 1:45 a.m. on September…Read more
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