Threats facing journalists in northern Kenya

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is distressed by reports of persistent threats facing journalists working in northern Kenya, particularly in light of recent violence in the region. Kenyan journalists are increasingly being forced to make an impossible choice in their quest to report public interest stories, as they face attacks and threats from both militant groups and government officials. CJFE has received multiple reports from journalists working on the ground in northern Kenya that the continued incursion of the Al Shabab militant group into the region has…Read more

Independent news website shut down in Singapore for content “objectionable to state interests”

Committee to Protect Journalists Singaporean authorities on Sunday, May 3, 2015, ordered an independent news website to be shut down, citing the website's content as being objectionable to state interests, according to news reports. The Real Singapore is the first news website to be shut down under Singapore's licensing regulations, introduced in 2013, according to CPJ research. The Media Development Authority, a media regulatory board formed under Singapore's Ministry of Communications and Information, revoked the operating license of The Real Singapore for publishing content it said undermined "the public interest, public order, and…Read more

Maldives government takes control of broadcaster, creating state mouthpiece

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) condemn the Maldivian government's moves to take control of the national public broadcaster on April 29, 2015 as an attack on the country's press freedom. On April 27, the Public Service Media (PSM) Bill was tabled in the Maldives Parliament and passed with 41 votes in favor, and four votes against it. The new Act was then ratified by President Abdulla Yameen which dissolves the Maldivian Broadcasting Corporation. The President also proposed a seven person…Read more

Kenyan editor murdered by unknown assailants in Eldoret town

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret to do their utmost to identify and prosecute the killers of journalist John Kituyi on Thursday. Kituyi was walking home from work at around 7:30 p.m. when assailants on a motorcycle approached him, according to news reports and the journalist's family members and local journalists who spoke to CPJ. The attackers hit Kituyi repeatedly with a blunt object and seized his phone, but did not take his money or his watch, the sources said.…Read more

On World Press Freedom Day 2015, press freedom stories from around the world: The good, the bad, and the ugly

The theme of this year's UNESCO World Press Freedom Day [3 May] is deceptively simple: Let Journalism Thrive. Journalists need to be able to do their work, in the public interest, without interference or fear. But many obstacles make this hard - even impossible. And when that happens, we all lose. In a Story Map specially created for World Press Freedom Day, we take you on a world tour of events that IFEX members report are chilling - or, in some cases, warming - the climate for free media in countries around the…Read more

Reporters Without Borders looks back at 30 years of defending freedom of information

Reporters without Borders RSF is marking its 30th anniversary by publishing a report that looks back on the three decades it has spent defending freedom of information. Screenshot from RSF report Entitled “Saving independent journalism - 30 years defending media,” the report examines what RSF has done on behalf of freedom of information for the past 30 years, what it is doing now, and the issues involved. It looks at RSF's biggest campaigns, its battles for the release of detained journalists, the demonstrations it has organized, its lobbying of international organizations, and its practical assistance…Read more

Kenyan police assault journalists investigating corruption

Committee to Protect Journalists Two journalists were beaten by officers from Kenya's paramilitary police wing, the General Service Unit (GSU), at a cattle ranch in southeastern Kenya on April 18, according to news reports. Nehemiah Okwembah, from the privately owned daily Nation, and Reuben Ogachi, a cameraman for the privately owned station Citizen TV, were covering a story in Bombi, a village on the outskirts of the Agricultural Development Cooperation Galana and Kulalu ranch, 576km (358 miles) east of the capital, Nairobi. Citizen TV cameraman Reuben Ogachi is taken to hospital after being…Read more

Journalists assaulted, chased covering protest in Nigeria

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attacks on journalists covering a government workers' strike in Nigeria and calls on Nigerian authorities to ensure police launch a thorough and efficient investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice. About a dozen journalists were at the government secretariat in the southern state of Osun on Tuesday to cover a three-day strike called by one branch of the Trade Union Congress in Osun State, a national union that advocates for workers' rights, according to local journalists and news reports. The branch had…Read more

Malaysia extends sedition law to allow online censorship

Committee to Protect Journalists Malaysia's parliament has approved amendments to the country's sedition law, giving the government broad new powers to censor online media, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the legislative amendments and calls on the government to stop using the law to threaten and persecute independent journalists. Malaysian lawmakers aligned with the ruling United Malays National Organisation voted to stiffen the penalties of the 1948 Sedition Act, according to news reports. The penalties now include mandatory three- to seven-year jail terms for convictions, denial of bail for accusations…Read more

Social media law could chill free speech in Papua New Guinea

Pacific Freedom Forum Punishing social media use could remove an essential check and balance on abuse of power in Papua New Guinea, warns the Pacific Freedom Forum. "Long talked about plans for a new social media law could have a chilling effect on freedoms of speech," says PFF Chair Titi Gabi. "Social media are an effective control on political systems including corruption." Facebook and Twitter are hugely popular in Papua New Guinea, with hundreds of thousands using pages, groups and profiles. That popularity has alarmed government and others concerned at free-flowing and often…Read more