Online newspaper editor gunned down in Mozambique

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders is alarmed to learn that Paulo Machava, the well-known editor of the online Diario de Noticias newspaper, was gunned down on a Maputo street today against a backdrop of tension for media personnel in Mozambique. Machava was shot at around 6 a.m. as he was jogging along Vladimir Lenin Avenue, one of the city's main thoroughfares, before going to work. Witnesses said the shots were fired by gunmen in a car. Previously employed by the independent weekly Savana and state-owned Radio Moçambique, Machava recently expressed support for…Read more

Brian Nicholson, long-time CPU member, dies aged 85

  It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Brian Nicholson CBE on 12 August 2015.  Brian served on the Executive Committee of the CPU and subsequently as a Trustee for many years.  He and his wife Henrietta were regular attendees at CPU Conferences all over the Commonwealth and his wisdom and kindness will be remembered by many former CPU Members.Read more

Maldives journalist missing for more than a year, groups deplore government’s inaction

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) express solidarity with the Maldivian media community as they mark the one year anniversary of the disappearance of local journalist, Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla. The IFJ and MJA deplore the inaction by the Maldivian Government to investigate the journalist's disappearance and join local and international demands for an independent inquiry. On August 8, 2014, the Minivan News journalist went missing. Rilwan was last seen boarding a ferry traveling to Hulhumale Island from the capital Male. The…Read more

Two arrested in Sri Lanka five years after journalist’s disappearance

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Free Media Movement (FMM) welcome the arrest of two former military officials over the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda. The IFJ and FMM urge the government to ensure the investigation is thoroughly completed and all those responsible are brought to justice. On August 8, 2015 two former members of the military intelligence service were arrested over the disappearance of Sri Lankan journalist, Prageeth Eknaligoda. According to reports, the pair confessed to the abduction of Prageeth and handing him over to an army camp in…Read more

Religious extremists murder fourth blogger in Bangladesh

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly deplores the murder of Niladri Chattopadhyay on August 7, 2015 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The IFJ demand immediate action from the Bangladeshi Government to end the continued and systematic attacks on freedom of expression in Bangladesh. Chattopadhyay, a secular blogger who used the pen name, Niloy Neel was brutally killed when four men armed with cleavers entered his home in Khilgoan. The men posed as potential tenants and stabbed the 28-year-old while holding his wife and sister-in-law at gunpoint. Niloy died at the scene. Niloy was working…Read more

Gambian media worker held illegally by National Intelligence Agency, charged with sedition

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is alarmed by the judicial uncertainty hanging over Teranga FM radio manager Alagie Ceesay, who was brought before a Banjul court on a sedition charge on 4 August and again yesterday. Ceesay had been missing since 17 July before appearing in court on 4 August and, before that, he was held incommunicado for 11 days during the first half of July. His trial is due to start on 18 August. Ceesay is facing a possible fine of 50,000 to 200,000 dalasi for allegedly using his mobile…Read more

Renewed call for protection plan after third journalist murdered

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders appeals again to the Indian government to set up a national plan for the protection of journalists amid a continuing wave of physical attacks on media personnel. Raghavendra Dube, the 44-year-old owner and editor of Khushboo Ujala, a local weekly in Mumbai, the capital of the western state of Maharashtra, last week became the third Indian journalist to be murdered this year. His body was found near Mira Road police station, in a Mumbai suburb, at around 5:30 a.m. on 17 July, just half an hour after…Read more

Journalists arrested in Zambia for publishing allegedly classified documents

Committee to Protect Journalists Zambian authorities have arrested two journalists and accused them of publishing classified documents, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrests and calls on Zambian authorities to release them immediately. Police today arrested Fred M'membe, editor of the independent daily The Post, and Mukosha Funga, the paper's reporter, at the Woodlands Police Station in the capital, Lusaka, after summoning them to the station, according to news reports. The two have been charged with publishing classified documents, according to news reports. Police said the charges were in…Read more

Boko Haram threatens to kill Nigerian journalist

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to ensure the safety of a Nigerian journalist who received a death threat from a suspected member of the Islamist militant sect Boko Haram. Adeola Akinremi, the features editor of the independent daily ThisDay in Lagos state, told CPJ about the threat earlier this month. Akinremi told CPJ he received an email on May 10 from an individual who said he was Abu Musab Abul-Barnawi. In a January 2015 YouTube video, a man identifies himself as Abul-Barnawi and says he…Read more

Gambia should disclose whereabouts of radio journalist

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Gambian authorities to disclose the whereabouts, health, and legal status of Alagie Abdoulie Ceesay, a radio journalist who was last seen on July 2 with individuals reported to be Gambian state security agents. "Gambian security agents have long stoked a climate of fear for journalists working in the country," said Peter Nkanga, CPJ West Africa representative. "We call on Gambian authorities to immediately release Alagie Abdoulie Ceesay and to stop trying to silence the media through intimidation." Ceesay, the managing director of…Read more