Lesotho police arrest a radio presenter, suspend one station’s license, and raid another

Authorities in Lesotho must stop their sustained efforts to gag the press and should allow journalists to operate freely without fear of arrest or being forced to disclose their sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 14, police arrested and allegedly tried to suffocate Lebese Molati, a current affairs presenter on the privately owned 357 FM in the capital, Maseru, over statements he made about missing police guns during his “Semphu Se Nkha Kaea” (Where Is The News) daily show, according to a statement by the Lesotho chapter of the regional press freedom…Read more

At least 5 journalists injured amid clashes over local elections in Tripura, India

Indian authorities must conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the recent attacks on journalists in the eastern state of Tripura, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 21, in the run-up to municipal elections scheduled to begin tomorrow, groups of people allegedly working for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition Trinamool Congress clashed in the streets of the state capital, Agartala, injuring at least 19 people, according to news reports. At least five journalists were among those injured, according to the news website Newslaundry and Santosh Gope, secretary of Tripura Journalists Union,…Read more

Journalist and activist Muhammad Zada Agra fatally shot in Pakistan

 Pakistan authorities must thoroughly and impartially investigate the killing of Muhammad Zada Agra and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 8, two unidentified men fatally shot Agra, who covered politics, corruption, and the activities of local drug cartels and criminal groups on his Facebook page Citizen Journalist PK and its corresponding YouTube channel, near his home in Sakhakot city in the Malakand district, according to news reports. Agra was also the former district president of the Insaf Students Federation, the student wing of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party, according…Read more

Nigerian journalist Luka Binniyat detained over complaint by Kaduna state official

Nigerian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Luka Binniyat and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 4, police officers in Barnawa, a town in the northern state of Kaduna, arrested Binniyat, a freelance journalist who contributes to the U.S.-based news outlet The Epoch Times, according to an Epoch Times report and Jonathan Asake, president of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, a local rights group, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. Binniyat, who also works as a spokesperson for the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, was arrested at the…Read more

Rwandan journalist Théoneste Nsengimana detained since October 13

Rwandan authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Théoneste Nsengimana and cease harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 13, security personnel arrested Nsengimana, who runs the YouTube channel Umubavu TV Online, according to tweets by the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), a law-enforcement body, and an interview with his wife, Chantal Umwari, published by the YouTube channel Ishema TV. Authorities have charged Nsengimana with membership in a criminal group, dissemination of propaganda aimed at harming the Rwandan government abroad, spreading rumors, and inciting unrest, according to media reports, documents related to the…Read more

Nigerian police assault, detain journalists covering memorials marking Lekki Toll Gate killings

Authorities in Nigeria must prioritize the safety of journalists covering protests and hold officers responsible for abuses accountable, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. On October 20, in three separate incidents, police officers arrested, harassed, or beat up three journalists–Sikiru Obarayese, Abisola Alawode, and Adefemi Akinsanya—as they covered memorials marking the one-year anniversary of killings at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, the journalists told CPJ by phone. On October 20, 2020, Nigerian security forces shot and killed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate during protests calling for an end…Read more

Indian TV reporter found dead after covering violence at farmers’ protest

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for an independent investigation to establish exactly how TV reporter Raman Kashyap sustained fatal injuries while covering a protest by farmers in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state on 3 October. Those responsible must be brought to justice, RSF says. Raman Kashyap, who often worked for Sadhna Prime News TV, disappeared after the protest in Lakhimpur Kheri district turned violent and he was not located until his family found his body in a morgue the next day. The violence erupted when Ajay Kumar Mishra, a local politician who is minister…Read more

Pakistani journalist Shahid Zehri killed in targeted car explosion

Pakistan authorities must thoroughly and swiftly investigate the killing of Shahid Zehri, hold those responsible to account, and do everything in their power to protect the safety of members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 10, Zehri, a reporter for the privately owned news channel Metro 1 News, was killed in an explosion while driving his car in the southern city of Hub in the Lasbela district of Baluchistan province, according to various news reports citing local police officials, and a report by his employer. The Baloch Liberation Army, an ethnic separatist group,…Read more

Tanzanian cartoonist detained over cartoon of president

Tanzanian flag with fabric structure Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns cartoonist Optatus Fwema’s arbitrary detention for the past two weeks in Tanzania over a cartoon of the president. This is the latest chilling message to journalists in a country where press freedom has been worsening steadily in recent years. Fwema has been held at Oysterbay police station in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s business capital, ever since he was arrested at his home on 24 September. The police returned to his home on 5 October to look for incriminating evidence without telling his lawyer.…Read more

Indian journalist Raman Kashyap killed amid Uttar Pradesh clashes

Authorities in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh must swiftly and thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Raman Kashyap and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, Kashyap, a freelance journalist who contributed to the local news channel Sadhna TV, was found dead from injuries he sustained while covering a protest the previous day by local farmers that turned violent, according to multiple news reports and a local reporter familiar with his case who asked not to be named citing fear of reprisal. Kashyap was covering a protest in the city…Read more