Human Rights Network for Journalists - Uganda A directive issued to all broadcasters by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) poses a serious threat to freedom of expression and the media, as it attempts to restrict journalists' ability to report freely on the upcoming presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections in Uganda. “As a media rights organization, we believe that this is a bold step by UCC solely intended to gag the media and compromise its independence ahead of the upcoming political developments in the country,” observed the HRNJ-Uganda National Coordinator, Robert Ssempala. Freedom…Read more

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an attack on two journalists who, according to one of the journalists and news reports, were left with serious injuries after being beaten and threatened on the grounds of the Nigeria Customs Service offices on June 25. Yomi Olomofe, executive director of the privately owned community monthlyPrime Magazine, and McDominic Nkpemenyie, a correspondent with the state-funded Tide Newspaper, were assaulted by a group Olomofe claimed were smugglers, according to news reports. Olomofe told CPJ the attackers threatened to kill them to serve as…Read more

Committee to Protect Journalists The burned body of a journalist was found in the Indian state of Maharashtra on Saturday, the day after he had been kidnapped, according to news reports. The murder of Sandeep Kothari is the second such one of a journalist in India in less than two weeks. "The horrific murder of another journalist in less than two weeks is alarming and is symptomatic of India's entrenched culture of impunity," said CPJ Asia Program Research Associate Sumit Galhotra. "We call on Indian authorities to launch an independent investigation into Sandeep…Read more

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) in condemning the attack on a journalist in Assam, India on Thursday night, June 18, 2015. The IFJ and IJU are extremely concerned about the rise in attacks on journalists in India in recent weeks and call on the Indian Government to take immediate action. Prasanta Kumar, the Khairabari correspondent of Assamese daily Asamiya Pratidin, was shot and attacked by a group of five people while returning home from dropping a friend on his motorbike.…Read more

Media Foundation for West Africa June 5 marks seven years since the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice ordered the government of The Gambia to release “Chief” Ebrima Manneh, a journalist who has been missing since July 2006, and pay his family damages of US$100,000. Unfortunately, Manneh's whereabouts remain unknown and the government has not paid the mandated compensation.Ebrima Manneh, a journalist with the Daily Observer, was arrested by plainclothes officers from the notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA) at his newspaper's office on July 7, 2006. The NIA officers asked Manneh to come to…Read more

Committee to Protect Journalists A Rwandan journalist who was arrested in Burundi on Monday has been charged with espionage, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Burundian authorities to release the journalist and drop the charge immediately. Etienne Mivumbi Besabesa is a reporter for community radio stations Radio Izuba and Radio Flash and also works as a correspondent for the independent news website Igihe, according to news reports. He was arrested in Giteranyi, a commune in the northeastern Burundian province of Muyinga, and charged today with espionage, according to…Read more