“The authorities in the DRC should reverse the prohibition of coverage related to former President Joseph Kabila and his political party and cease threatening legal action for reporting on matters of public interest,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa regional director. “Escalation of fighting in eastern DRC has brought heightened dangers for journalists, which the government should be seeking to mitigate, not enhance. The Congolese people need unfettered access to information, not censorship.”

On June 2, the Higher Council for Audiovisual and Communication (CSAC), the DRC’s media regulator, ordered the media to cease coverage on the party’s activities for 90 days. The order, which CPJ reviewed, also forbids communication channels from “offering space” to PPRD members or Kabila “under penalty of very heavy sanction in accordance with the law,” with the prosecutor general in charge of enforcement.

As justification, the order claimed that Kabila and the party financially and ideologically support the M23 and AFC rebel groups in the eastern part of the country. It follows other government efforts to curb the influence of Kabila and his party, including the suspension of its activities in April. On May 22, the DRC’s Senate lifted immunities that were previously granted to Kabila, who became a life-long senator when his presidency ended in 2019. The government has accused the former president of treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and participation in an insurrectionist movement for his alleged support of the M23 rebellion.

On May 23, Kabila broadcast a nationwide speech on his YouTube channel, which has since been taken down, in which he criticized current DRC President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi and proposed his own solutions for restoring peace in the east. Since late May, Kabila has been engaging in discussions with various actors in the eastern city of Goma, which is under M23 control.

CPJ’s calls and messages to Oscar Kabamba, a spokesperson for the CSAC, went unanswered.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

“The suspension of Al-Haq Yuqal talk show without citing a clear and specific reason amounts to a restriction on press freedom and risks encouraging self-censorship,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director. “We urge Iraqi authorities to end their legal harassment of the press and ensure that journalists and media outlets can operate freely, without fear of legal intimidation.”

On May 4, Iraqi authorities suspended the program for seven days and ordered the removal of past episodes from the channel’s platforms, citing “violations of public decency.” The decision—issued by Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission, its federal broadcasting, telecommunications, and information technology regulator—said the program “repeatedly violated articles 2 and 4 of the national broadcasting code, [related to] public taste and the accuracy of information.” However, no specific episode was mentioned in the commission’s decision.

UTV, a Baghdad-based satellite channel launched in 2020 and owned by the son of politician Khamis al-Khanjar, objected to the decision with a message to its viewers during the show’s usual time slot. It described the decision as “strange and unjust” and affirmed the program would return soon “in belief in the freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution.”

CPJ called and messaged Al-Taie but received no response. In an appearance on his channel on May 4, Al-Taie said the suspended episode had condemned sectarian rhetoric. “If criticizing sectarianism threatens societal peace, then what exactly is the role of a journalist?” he asked.

When CPJ asked for clarification, commission spokesperson Haider Nadhem Al-Alaq said via messaging app, “We considered the decision sufficient because it includes the articles of the broadcasting code that were violated.”

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

In its March 12 decision, the HAAC also withdrew Benin Web TV director Paul Arnaud Deguenon’s press card over his outlet’s January 21 and 23 reporting that said the HAAC presented “erroneous” figures to parliament’s budget committee and its president demanded a new official car. 

“The media regulator should allow Bénin Web TV and journalist Paul Arnaud Deguenon to resume reporting,” said Moussa Ngom, CPJ’s Francophone Africa representative. “Benin’s High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication should respect journalists’ right to question the management of public funds, instead of punishing Bénin Web TV for scrutinizing the regulator’s finances.”

Deguenon attended a public hearing at HAAC’s offices on March 11 where he was ordered to publish an apology as the regulator said the journalist failed to provide evidence to support his outlet’s allegations.

In response, Bénin Web TV said that its journalism was based on facts and precise terms, with no desire to harm the HAAC. The media outlet published three letters from the HAAC and Deguenon’s responses, explaining that its reporting was based on the HAAC’s own 2025 budget presentation and public statement.

In its decision, the HAAC said that “Deguenon reoffended on the same day in his baseless accusations” and had “sharply attacked” the regulator.

The HAAC’s indefinite suspension of Benin Web TV appears to contravene its 2023 authorizationof the outlet’s operations, which specifies that suspensions for noncompliance with a formal regulatory notice may not exceed one month.

In January, the HAAC suspended six outlets and withdrew a press card for one of the outlet’s journalists, accusing them of publishing false allegations, without specifying, and of running unauthorized websites. The HAAC has not reversed the order.

CPJ’s calls to the HAAC to request comment were not answered.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture accused the outlet of “non-compliance” with regulations and collaboration with an unnamed foreign-based television network. The ministry said it was investigating the broadcaster’s activities but did not specify a date to end the suspension.

The outlet refuted the accusations in a statement, according to a report by London-based broadcaster Afghanistan International.

“The Taliban must immediately rescind its suspension of Radio Begum’s operations and allow the station to resume its reporting without interference,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The forced closure of Radio Begum is part of a broader, systematic assault on women’s rights in Afghanistan, particularly targeting women-led and women-owned media organizations. This practice must end, and the international community must hold the Taliban accountable for these actions.”  

Founded in 2021, just months before the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Radio Begum is a women-led media broadcaster in Kabul that also posts on social media, particularly Facebook. In November 2023, its sister channel, Begum TV, was launched in Paris with a grant from the Malala Fund, which advocates for girls’ education globally.

CPJ’s messages to Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid requesting comment did not receive a response.

In March 2023, the Taliban shut down women-run broadcaster Radio Sada e Banowan, citing the airing of music during the holy month of Ramadan. The station was permitted to resume operations on April 7 and continues to report on news about women in the city of Faizabad in northeastern Badakhshan Province.  

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Benin’s media regulator must allow these six news outlets to resume publishing and let journalist Romuald Alingo continue with his work,” said Moussa Ngom, CPJ’s Francophone Africa Representative. “Authorities should focus on preserving and expanding freedom of information in Benin and not impose undue restrictions that can have a troubling effect on the entire profession.”

In its order suspending the four “unauthorized websites” Reporter Médias Monde, Les Pharaons, Crystal News, and the Mme Actu TikTok account, the regulatory High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) said that the outlets had been “the subject of numerous complaints” and their content contained “unfounded allegations.” They had also broadcast content without prior authorization from the HAAC in violation of Article 252 of the Information and Communication Code, it said.

In another suspension order, the HAAC cited complaints that Audace Info regularly published “false allegations which discredit the persons concerned and harm their honor and reputation,” and said that Arlingo had failed to respond to the regulator’s summons.

Lastly, Le Patriote was suspended over its publication in December of an exiled politician’s  criticism of Beninese President Patrice Talon and a January editorial critical of the army for failing to prevent a border attack in which 28 soldiers died. The HAAC also said the outlet “not only became a bi-weekly without the required formalities, but also appears online,” citing a regulation approving Le Patriote as a weekly paper.

HAAC responded to CPJ’s email requesting comment and copies of the complaints and said the letter would be forwarded “to whom it may concern.” The regulator added, “HAAC’s mission is to protect and promote freedom of expression in accordance with the law.”

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

“Governments resort to censoring news outlets when they have something to hide,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “The Palestinian Authority should reverse its decision to suspend Al Jazeera’s operations and allow journalists to report freely without fear of reprisal.”

Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported on Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority suspended Al Jazeera on grounds of “inciting material.” The ban comes after the Authority criticized Al Jazeera’s last week coverage of a standoff between Palestinian security forces and militant fighters in Jenin camp, located in the West Bank, according to reports.

Israel raided Al Jazeera’s Ramallah offices in September and ordered its closure for 45 days, accusing the broadcaster’s West Bank operations of “incitement to and support of terrorism.” 

Israel banned Al Jazeera’s Israel operations in May, citing national security concerns.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

“The Nigerien authorities should reverse their suspension of the BBC and their intentions to take legal action against RFI,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in New York. “The Nigerien government should recognize that press freedom is an essential ingredient for development and peace, and cease its efforts to control information related to the region’s security situation.”

On Thursday, December 12, 2024, Niger’s Minister of Communication Raliou Sidi Mohamed imposed the BBC suspension. BBC reported that its programs, which are broadcast across Niger via local radio partners, had been suspended, but its “website is not blocked and the radio can still be accessed on shortwave.”

The suspension followed Nigerien authorities’ refutation of BBC’s coverage of jihadist attacks on Tuesday, December 10, which reportedly killed dozens of soldiers and civilians. BBC said that Niger’s military government, which took power in a July 2023 coup, called accounts of the attacks “baseless assertions” and a “campaign of intoxication orchestrated by adversaries of the Nigerien people aimed at undermining the morale of our troops and sowing division.”

BBC Afrique denied the accusations and said, “We stand by our journalism.”

Separately, also on December 12, Niger’s government announced its intention to file a complaint against RFI following its reporting on the same attacks. The announcement said that “a vast disinformation campaign was orchestrated by Radio France Internationale in a crude and shameful montage with genocidal overtones” but did not specify when or where the complaint would be filed.

RFI Afrique described the complaint as “extravagant and defamatory, and not based on any evidence.”

In 2023, Nigerien authorities suspended RFI and France 24, which are both subsidiaries of the French government-owned France Médias Monde, and earlier this year tightened legal control over the press by reinstating prison sentences for defamation and insult. 

CPJ’s phone calls to Minister of Communication Mohamed went unanswered.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

“Haitian authorities should reverse their suspension of the Radio Mega show ‘Boukante Lapawòl’ (Exchange of Words) and refrain from further interfering with the free flow of information,” said CPJ U.S., Canada and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen in Washington, D.C. “Haitian authorities would do well to focus on restoring order in the country, rather than accusing journalists of spreading propaganda.” 

The suspension was imposed on November 22 after a wanted Haitian gang leader, Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier, called into the show the night before to denounce alleged public corruption, claiming that he was offered a large bribe by a member of the ruling Presidential Transition Council to negotiate peace with the gangs. It was the second time in several weeks that Cherizier had called into the show without prior arrangement, said Radio Mega’s owner, veteran journalist Alex Saint-Surin.

CONATEL cited a 1977 decree in issuing the suspension without giving Radio Mega the opportunity to explain the incident or defend itself legally.  

“Notorious leaders have benefited greatly from airtime, spreading messages of hatred and terror against society,” CONATEL said in a letter to the station.

CONATEL did not immediately reply to an inquiry from CPJ, but a government spokesman told CPJ in a WhatsApp message that Radio Mega had lent its airwaves to Cherizier’s “propaganda,” adding that Haiti was “weak state” struggling to defend itself from Viv Ansamn, a heavily armed gang coalition led by Cherizier.

Cherizier has called on the council to resign and launched a series of deadly attacks in recent days targeting the prime minister’s office and other government buildings. Armed members of Viv Ansamn control large parts of the capital using tactics such as rape, murder, child recruitment and kidnapping to terrorize the population over the last nine months, according to the United Nations.

The Haitian media support group, SOS Journalistes, rejected CONATEL’s accusations against Radio Mega, saying that “Boukante Lapawòl has never served as a propaganda platform for gangs.” 

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

“Taliban officials must immediately reverse their decision to suspend the broadcast licenses of 14 active media outlets in Nangarhar province that collectively reach millions of people,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ Asia program coordinator. “The Taliban continues to exert pressure on media outlets to control their programming and broadcasting operations in Afghanistan. They must cease these tactics and allow the independent media to operate freely.”

The order also stipulated that the outlets must renew their licenses and pay any outstanding fees or risk having all the outlet’s licenses revoked, according to CPJ’s review of the order, the exiled Afghanistan Journalists Center watchdog group, and a journalist who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity. 

ATRA is a regulatory body that operates as part of the Taliban’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Outlets with suspended radio and TV licenses: 

• Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV
• Sharq 
• Arzasht 

Radio networks affected: 

• The Nan
• Radio Safa
• Meena 
• Radio Dost
• Mazal
• Manar
• Muram
• Haqiqat 
• Hood 
• Spinghar
• Ulfat

CPJ’s text messages to Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid for comment did not receive a reply.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

At least three Burkinabe journalists in the capital, Ouagadougou, have separately disappeared under suspicious circumstances in June.

In mid-June, the national media regulator High Council for Communication (CSC) temporarily suspended three media outlets:

• the “7 Infos” program on privately owned television channel BF1
• privately owned bimonthly newspaper L’Événement
• French-language global broadcaster TV5 Monde

Since the transitional president, Ibrahim Traoré, took power in a military coup in 2022, CPJ has documented a deterioration of press freedom in Burkina Faso, including suspensions of media outlets, expulsions of foreign correspondents, and efforts to conscript critical journalists.

“The Burkinabe authorities must do everything possible to find and ensure the safety of journalists Adama Bayala, Serge Atiana Oulon, and Kalifara Séré, and guarantee that media professionals in Burkina Faso can work free of censorship for their critical coverage,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in New York. “The climate of fear in which journalists live in Burkina Faso undermines the public’s ability to be informed and understand how they are being governed at a time of rising insecurity across the country.”

The missing journalists are: 

• Adama Bayala, a columnist who frequently appeared on the BF1 program “Presse Echos,” was last seen leaving his university office in his car on the afternoon of June 28. A person close to Bayala, who spoke to CPJ anonymously for security reasons, said Bayala was ill, received regular medical treatment, and had to follow a strict diet. That person said the journalist’s car remains missing.

• Unidentified men wearing civilian clothes in unmarked vehicles took the publishing director of L’Événement, Serge Atiana Oulon, from his home and seized his computer and two phones the morning of June 24, according to statements by the outlet and Professional Media Organizations of Burkina Faso (OPM). 

The incident came after the CSC on June 19 ordered a one-month suspension of L’Événement’s online publication and distribution—including its social media—following Oulon’s report about a December 2022 investigation into alleged embezzlement of funds intended for the army’s civilian auxiliaries. L’Événement announced in a June 20 Facebook statement that it would challenge the decision in court.

Traoré criticized L’Evènement’s embezzlement investigation in a February 2023 interview with national TV broadcaster RTB, saying the outlet either did not have “the right information” or was acting in “bad faith” and that the report had installed a “climate of mistrust” between soldiers and army volunteers.

• Kalifara Séré, a commentator for BF1, has not been seen since leaving CSC offices on the evening of June 18, according to a person familiar with the case and a family member of Séré, who both spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing security concerns. 

Those sources told CPJ that Séré went to the CSC after the regulator suspended the BF1 program “7 Infos” for two weeks for rebroadcasting Séré’s June 16 on-air comments questioning the authenticity of images of Traoré broadcast by RTB, according to the regulator’s June 19 decision and a statement by BF1.

Police questioned Séré earlier on June 18 at the regional police station in the Wemtenga area of Ouagadougou about a defamation complaint by Désiré Nezien, director of the National Blood Transfusion Centre (CNTS), in connection to those June 16 comments.

Separately, on June 18, the CSC issued a six-month broadcast suspension against TV5 Monde and fined the outlet 50 million CFA francs (US$81,550) after they aired an interview with exiled Burkinabe journalist Newton Ahmed Barry about the country’s security situation.

Gildas Ouédraogo, director of communications for the CSC, told CPJ by messaging app that he was working to get authorization to answer questions.

CPJ’s calls and messages to government spokesperson Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo did not receive any replies. CPJ’s calls to the publicly listed number of the CNTS, the national police, and the gendarmerie were unanswered.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Thursday, the Superior Council of Communication (CSC), Burkina Faso’s media regulator, suspended the British government-funded BBC Afrique and U.S. Congress-funded Voice of America from broadcasting for two weeks, according to a CSC statement and news reports. The CSC said the suspensions were “precautionary measures” in response to the outlets’ reporting on allegations of misconduct by the Burkinabe army, detailed in a report by the global Human Rights Watch (HRW) rights group.

The CSC also ordered internet service providers to block access to the BBC Africa and Voice of America’s websites, and asked Burkinabe media not to relay the content of the Human Rights Watch report under penalty of “sanctions provided for by the laws in force.”

“The Burkinabe authorities must immediately lift the suspension of BBC Africa and Voice of America and refrain from censoring local journalists and media outlets,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in New York. “The army’s conduct cannot be a taboo subject. Burkinabe citizens have the right to be informed on all matters of public interest in the military response to the security crisis in their country.”

According to the HRW report, the Burkinabe army had killed 223 civilians in the country’s north in retaliation for attacks by armed Islamist fighters. In its statement, the CSC said the Voice of America and BBC Africa broadcasts constituted “disinformation likely to discredit the Burkinabe army.” 

In an April 26 statement, Voice of America said that it “stands by its reporting” and “intends to continue to fully and fairly cover activities in the country.” A BBC spokesperson told CPJ that “the suspension reduces BBC’s ability to reach audiences with independent and accurate news” and it will continue to report on the region in the public interest and without fear or favor.

Burkina Faso is ruled by a military regime led by Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power during a September 2022 coup amid an insurgency by Islamist armed groups.

Previously, Burkinabe authorities suspended several international media outlets for reporting on military misconduct allegations and in November sought to conscript two journalists into the military.

Reached via a messaging application, Blahima Traoré, CSC’s general secretary referred CPJ to the CSC’s decision and did not elaborate further.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Tuesday, Sudan’s Ministry of Media and Culture suspended the Abu Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia news channel and Saudi Arabia’s state-owned channels Al Arabiya and Al Hadath for allegedly failing to renew their licenses, as well as “their inability to uphold necessary standards of professionalism and transparency,” according to news reports, and a local journalist who spoke with CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.

“The Sudanese Ministry of Media and Culture’s decision to ban news channels Sky News Arabia, Al Arabiya, and Al Hadath is unacceptable during war time, when media coverage is crucial,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna, in New York. “Sudanese authorities must immediately revert its decision to ban the three news channels and allow them to continue working Sudan.”

The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate, a local trade union, condemned the ministry’s decision and called it a “clear violation of freedom of expression and the freedom of the press,” according to a statement by the syndicate on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

CPJ emailed the Ministry of Media and Culture and the Sudanese Armed Forces for comment but did not receive any replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On December 6, the High Authority of Communication (HAC), Guinea’s media regulator, ordered Canal+, a French distributor in Guinea, to suspend radio and TV content by privately owned broadcaster Djoma, according to a copy of the order shared with CPJ by Kalil Oularé, manager of the Djoma Média press group, and news reports.

Three days later, on December 9, the regulator ordered Canal+ to suspend radio and TV content by two other privately owned broadcasters, Evasion and Espace, according to Nfaly Guilavogui, Evasion deputy managing director, who spoke to CPJ, and a press release by Canal+. The regulator’s December 9 order cited “security imperatives” following a referral from “competent state services,” but did not elaborate.

Then, on December 12, Chinese television distributor StarTimes removed Djoma, Espace, and Evasion from its offerings “by decision of the competent authorities for reasons of national security,” according to StarTime’s press release on the matter and Guilavogui. The press release did not state which authority made the decision.

The formal suspension orders occurred after radio broadcasts of Espace, Evasion, Djoma, and privately owned Fim were already blocked. These broadcasts have been blocked since November 24, according to Djoma news director Aboubacar Condé, Fim editor Sekou Bah, and Guilavogui.  

“Guinean authorities must immediately allow broadcasts by Fim, Espace, Evasion, and Djoma to return on air though all available channels, and restore access to all social media and online communication networks in the country,” said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, in Nairobi. “The blocks placed on radio, TV, and online media across Guinea directly threaten freedom of expression and the public’s right to access information.”

Bah and Oularé told CPJ that they could not point to specific reports that might have triggered the blocks and suspensions, but they believed their generally critical coverage of authorities played a role. “This is a programmed extinction of a medium known for its editorial line” and its critical coverage, including of injustices and human rights violations, Bah said.

Earlier in November, Fim’s radio broadcast was blocked when it was covering an incident in which four former military officials on trial for allegedly suppressing a 2009 demonstration escaped from prison. Espace, Evasion, and Djoma also covered the escape.

“The major event that [they covered which] could have a link with their blocking is the prison break, but the root of the problem is that these media, which have the largest audience in the country, are being blamed for their [critical] editorial line,” Sekou Jamal Pendessa, secretary general of the Syndicate of Press Professionals of Guinea (SPPG), a local trade group, told CPJ. Guilavogui told CPJ that Evasion’s TV programming is accessible via satellite, but that the vast majority of its audience relies on distribution by Canal+.

In addition to the broadcaster blocks, access to several online social media and communication platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter, has been blocked in Guinea since November 24, according to analysis by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), a non-profit internet censorship tracker. Guilavogui and Nouhou Baldé, director of privately owned news site Guinée Matin, also confirmed the blocks, with Baldé telling CPJ that he was only able to access the platforms via a virtual private network.

Baldé told CPJ that the social media blocks hindered readers’ access to the news. “We distribute all the content on social networks and if internet users do not have access to it, this means that our articles are currently read very little,” Baldé told CPJ.  

In a separate incident, on December 11, Guinea’s Post and Telecommunications Agency, which manages radio frequencies in the country, issued a decision to close Ndimba Radio within three months over its alleged failure to pay license fees, which its director Ibrahima Sory Traoré denies, according to news reports.

Traoré told CPJ the closure was retribution for “the media’s non-complacent coverage of the government.”

Moussa Moïse Sylla, director of communications for the Guinean presidency, declined CPJ’s request for comment, stating he was not authorized to speak on the matter.

CPJ called HAC President Boubacar Yacine Diallo, government spokesman Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, and Guinea’s Post and Telecommunications Agency, but received no response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On September 29, Christof Maletsky, CEO of state-owned New Era Publication Corporation, which publishes the daily newspaper, suspended Beukes until October 31 over an editorial critical of the judiciary, three journalists who saw the suspension letter told CPJ, on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisals.

In the suspension letter, Maletsky raised issues regarding non-compliance with New Era’s mandate and the overall professional conduct of the newspaper, according to the journalists. Maletsky barred Beukes from making public statements about his suspension and from entering New Era’s offices in Windhoek, the capital, those sources said.

“Johnathan Beukes’ suspension raises serious questions about the editorial independence of New Era, a taxpayer-funded publication,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator, Angela Quintal, in New York. “Beukes must be allowed to resume work immediately, and New Era’s management should allow the publication’s editors and journalists to exercise their editorial judgment and to keep the public informed without interference or censorship.”

On October 2, the newspaper published a front-page apology to the judiciary, saying it had “published stories and an editorial that fell way below the standards that we had set ourselves.” It referred to an editorial that “painted a picture of a non-transparent commission with regards to the selection of a judge for the Fishrot corruption trial.” The Fishrot case involves an international scandal over alleged corruption in the country’s fishing quota system that has ensnared former government ministers.

On September 29, New Era published an editorial, which CPJ reviewed, alleging the judiciary lacked transparency in its public communications over the appointment of judges and questioning why it never responded to demands for transparency in its decisions. 

John Nakuta, Namibia’s Media Ombudsman, whose office is mandated with hearing complaints against the media, said that he would review the content of the editorial but not the suspension decision, following a referral from the local press freedom organization Editors’ Forum of Namibia, The Namibian newspaper reported. 

On October 9, the Namibian Media Professionals Union led a peaceful protest at the New Era offices, calling for Beukes’ suspension to be lifted. 

Maletsky told CPJ via messaging app that the matter was an internal process that should be allowed to run its course.  

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Amid elections on Saturday, August 26, Gabonese authorities implemented a curfew and blocked internet access to prevent the spread of “calls for violence” and “false information,” and suspended on-air broadcasts of three French state-owned broadcasters.

The High Authority of Communication, Gabon’s media regulator, accused the broadcasters of “a lack of objectivity and balance in the treatment of information in connection with the current general elections,” according to reports by the broadcasters, which described the suspension as “temporary” but did not indicate when it would be lifted.  

As of Monday evening, the broadcasters’ reporting remains inaccessible in Gabon, according to a person in Gabon who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns.

“Gabonese authorities must lift the suspensions of France 24, Radio France Internationale, and TV5 Monde and ensure people throughout the country can freely access the internet,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator in Durban, South Africa. “Local and international media, as well as internet access, play a fundamental role in election transparency, and the public must be able to receive and share the information they need to make informed decisions.”

CPJ reached HAC member Max Olivier Obame by phone, but he declined to comment. CPJ’s calls to Gabonese Communications Minister Rodrigue Mboumba Bissawou rang unanswered.

Before the election, CPJ joined the #KeepItOn coalition in urging President Ali Bongo Ondimba and his administration to guarantee open and secure internet access during the election and raised concerns about foreign media access to cover the elections.

The results of Gabon’s election could extend the reign of the Bongo family, which has been in power for 55 years between the incumbent president and his late father, Omar Bongo.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Chadian authorities should reverse their decision to suspend Alwihda Info at once and ensure media outlets do not face retaliation for covering issues of public interest,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator in Durban, South Africa. “Chadian journalists must be able to criticize authorities and cover public institutions, including the military, without fear of sanction.”

On Friday, August 25, Chad’s High Media and Audiovisual Authority regulator suspended Alwihda Info for eight days starting Saturday, according to a copy of that decision and Djimet Wiché, the outlet’s publishing director, who spoke to CPJ. Wiché said the outlet would comply with the suspension and halt publications on its website and social media starting Saturday.

The decision accused Alwihda Info of broadcasting “insulting remarks” about the president and remarks that were “of a nature undermining the cohesion and discipline within the army.”

Idriss Déby Itno, known as Mahamat Kaka, has been Chad’s transitional president since the 2021 death of his father.

The regulator’s order cited two reports by the outlet: one, on August 19, about Kaka’s dismissal of an army colonel, and another, on August 21, criticizing a speech by Kaka about conflict in the country’s north. The order said that more severe sanctions would follow in the event of recidivism.

CPJ called the regulator’s president, Abderamane Barka, and numbers publicly listed on the regulator’s website for comment, but received no replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

On August 8, Benin’s High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication, or HAAC, which regulates the country’s communications sector, indefinitely suspended operations of the privately owned press group La Gazette du Golfe, including its TV, radio, print, and online outlets, according to a copy of the decision and two of the group’s staff members, who spoke with CPJ and requested anonymity for safety reasons.  

Separately, on August 10, Burkina Faso suspended “until further notice” the privately owned outlet Radio Oméga, according to a statement by the government’s information service and a member of the broadcaster’s staff, who spoke with CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing security concerns.

Both suspensions stem from the outlets’ coverage of the recent coup in Niger.

“Authorities in Benin should reverse their suspension of La Gazette du Golfe, and Burkina Faso authorities should also lift their suspension of Radio Oméga at once,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in Durban, South Africa. “Journalists should be free to provide information about political developments in West Africa, such as regional responses to the coup in Niger, without fear of reprisal.”

In its decision, the HAAC accused La Gazette du Golfe of failing to respect the regulator’s August 3 statement telling the media to “scrupulously respect constitutional and legal provisions” when dealing with information condoning coups in Africa and the region.

When contacted via messaging app, HAAC Secretary-General Julien Pierre Akpaki said he was traveling and could not respond to questions because he did not have reliable internet. Another HAAC representative told CPJ by phone that the suspension of La Gazette du Golfe was related to its August 8 broadcast criticizing possible military intervention in Niger by neighboring states. That representative requested anonymity because they were not allowed to make public comments.

Benin has offered to contribute troops if the Economic Community of West African States uses military force to reinstate Niger President Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted by soldiers on July 26. Niger’s new military rulers said Monday that they planned to prosecute Bazoum for treason.

Burkina Faso’s official government information service said that authorities suspended Radio Oméga over an August 10 interview with Ousmane Abdoul Moumouni, a spokesperson for Niger’s Council of Resistance for the Republic, which was established to reinstate Bazoum. The statement described Moumouni’s interview as “peppered with insulting remarks against the new Nigerien authorities.”

Burkina Faso, which had two coups in 2022, has warned that it would regard military intervention to reinstate Bazoum as “a declaration of war” against itself as well.

Radio Oméga said in a statement that the state security department of the police summoned and questioned the outlet’s editor-in-chief, Abdoul Fhatave Tiemtoré, on August 11 about his interview with Moumouni. The police held Tiemtoré for several hours before allowing him to leave.

Radio Oméga condemned the suspension as “unfair and unfounded” and said the decision followed “numerous death threats” against its staff by people claiming to support Burkina Faso’s government and calling for the broadcaster to be suspended.

CPJ previously documented threats by government supporters against Radio Oméga reporter Lamine Traoré over his coverage of a meeting between Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traoré and civil society organizations.

CPJ did not receive responses to phone calls and an email sent to Burkina Faso’s government spokesperson, or text messages sent to Fidèle Tamini, general secretary of Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Communication.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

“The court-imposed suspension of TELE1 due to an RTÜK order, along with the imprisonment of the outlet’s chief editor Merdan Yanardağ in June, are unlawful and shameful acts aimed at intimidating the opposition media in Turkey into silence,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative, on Tuesday. “TELE1 should immediately be allowed to continue broadcasting, and Turkish authorities should make peace with the fact that a free and critical news media is essential for democracy.”

The blackout started on Sunday, August 6, and will last until Saturday, August 12, according to reports by TELE1 and other outlets.

Yanardağ was arrested, pending trial, in June due to his criticism of authorities over the prison conditions of Abdullah Öcalan, the convicted leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist organization.

At that time, RTÜK also ordered a seven-day suspension of TELE1, which was delayed pending a lawsuit filed by the media organization. The RTÜK decisions can be appealed in court, according to the related Turkish laws. However, TELE1 reported on August 1 that it had been informed that an Ankara court had lifted the stay of execution and allowed the suspension to go into effect.

RTÜK’s board is based on political party seats in parliament, which is currently controlled by the ruling Justice and Development Party and its allies. In the past, RTÜK has favored pro-government outlets and has focused penalties on critical outlets. In April, CPJ joined other press freedom, freedom of expression, and human rights organizations in calling for the regulator to stop punishing broadcasters for critical reporting.

TELE1 published a press statement on Saturday assuring its audience that the outlet will live on and “continue on its path as a distinguished example of honorable journalism in the history of the press.” The outlet also published an online video that day in which the TELE1 staff vowed to continue doing their jobs after the suspension ends despite the pressure they face.

CPJ emailed RTÜK but did not receive a response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director.

On June 23, Burkina Faso’s media regulator, the Superior Council for Communication (known by its French acronym CSC), suspended LCI, which is part of private broadcaster TF1, for three months for allegedly airing false information about deteriorating security conditions in the country on its current affairs show, “24H Pujadas,” according to several media reports and a copy of the decision.

“We call on the Burkinabè authorities to reverse their decision and immediately lift the suspension of LCI’s broadcasting,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator in New York. “The latest suspension of a French media outlet over its insurgency reporting appears retaliatory rather than grounded in fact and robs the people of Burkina Faso of their right to know what is happening in their country.”

Thousands of Burkinabè citizens have died and millions have been displaced in the eight-year insurgency led by militants affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Islamic State, who currently control large areas of the country. Soured relations between France, the country’s former colonial power, and Burkina Faso’s ruling military junta led to the February withdrawal of French troops helping to fight the insurgents.

LCI is the third French outlet to be suspended since December 2022 in Burkina Faso after France 24’s suspension in March and the radio station RFI in December. In addition, two French journalists working for Le Monde and Libération were expelled from Burkina Faso in April.

The CSC suspension decision said commentary by LCI’s popular “24H Pujadas” host, Abnousse Shalmani, on an April 24 segment titled “Sahel, the lost zone” was “not based on any concrete evidence” and “lacked objectivity and credibility.” It also said the report exaggerated the scale of the insurgency and “seditiously” exposed “unverified” failures in Burkina Faso’s military response to the insurgency, Reuters reported.

Blahima Traoré, CSC general secretary, told CPJ by messaging app that the three satellite television providers that carry LCI for subscribers, were formally notified of the decision on June 23.

Canal+ Burkina, Neerwaya Multivision, and Stars Médias Burkina—the three providers—would be “liable for penalties” if they failed to suspend LCI for three months from the notification date, a CSC notification sent to Canal+ Burkina’s general manager said. At least one of the three—Canal+ Burkina—has suspended LCI broadcasts, but the channel is still available online, Guézouma Sanogo, president of the Association of Journalists of Burkina, told CPJ via messaging app on July 10. CPJ was not able to immediately confirm whether Neerwaya Multivision and Stars Médias Burkina have suspended LCI broadcasts.

According to Article 46 of the 2013 law that establishes the regulator and sets out its powers and composition, the CSC can suspend the broadcasting of a program “for a maximum of three months” depending on the seriousness of the breach.

CPJ tried unsuccessfully to contact LCI and Shalmani for comment via their social media accounts.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Authorities cut off Walf TV’s broadcast signal on June 1 and restored broadcasts on July 1. Wal Fadijri’s radio, print, and online services continued to publish during that time, according to CPJ’s review of their output. 

In early June, protests escalated following the sentencing of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison for “corrupting youth,” prompting authorities to disrupt access to online platforms and mobile internet. 

Thiam’s order, which CPJ reviewed, justified the suspension by claiming Walf TV “constantly” broadcasted violent images about teenagers joining the protests and aired “subversive, hateful and dangerous statements” which incited violence and undermined state security. 

If Wal Fadjri is found to repeat the offense, the order said the group’s television broadcast authorization could be subject to “definitive withdrawal.”

“We have been forced to lay off many of our employees, who technically could no longer do anything, as they were deprived of their work tools,” Cheikh Niass, Wal Fadjri’s managing director, told CPJ via messaging app. Niass said the company was later able to rehire those workers.

Wal Fadjri challenged the suspension at Senegal’s Supreme Court, and on June 22, the court declined to reverse the order because the suspension was already well underway and the purpose was in the “public interests,” according to Niass and a copy of the court ruling reviewed by CPJ.

Moustapha Diop, Wal Fadjri’s director of radio and television, told CPJ that the suspension had negatively impacted the staff’s morale and they felt a “sword of Damocles hanging over [them], and that the slightest mistake or error could result in prosecution.”

CPJ’s calls to Thiam went unanswered. Calls to the Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy did not connect.

On June 9, Senegalese authorities also blocked Wal Fadjri’s ability to use the Wave mobile money platform, hindering the group’s fundraising campaign launched the same day. The group received the 40 million francs (US$66,300) collected via Wave on Monday, July 3, after the block expired.

Senegal’s National Council for Audiovisual Regulation (CNRA) suspended Walf TV for seven days in February 2023 and 72 hours in March 2021 over its political demonstration coverage. In March 2022, the regulator also issued a 72-hour suspension for broadcasters ZIK FM and Sen TV over political coverage.

In March 2023, police arrested Walf TV reporter Pape Ndiaye on false news charges and released him on bail on June 20 under strict conditions.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

“Authorities in Burkina Faso should reverse their decision to suspend France 24, as well as their previous suspension of French broadcaster RFI, and should allow all people in the country to access the news freely,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “Reporting on issues related to terrorism should not trigger blanket indefinite censorship of an entire outlet.”

On March 6, France 24 aired a discussion about their interview with AQIM head Abu Obeida Youssef al-Anabi, also known as Yezid Mebarek. On March 27, France 24 released a statement defending their work, saying they never directly gave the head the floor and presented his comments in journalistic context, and the interview confirmed that AQIM had held journalist Olivier Dubois, who had been abducted in Mali in April 2021 and was released on March 20, 2023. 

As of Tuesday, March 28, France 24’s programming was no longer available on TV or radio in Burkina Faso, but could still be accessed online, according to the outlet and Arnaud Ouédraogo, coordinator of the Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism in West Africa (CENOZO), a Burkina Faso-based news outlet and investigative journalism organization, who spoke to CPJ by phone.

In December 2022, Burkinabe authorities suspended Radio France Internationale, another subsidiary of the French state-owned company France Media Monde, over accusations that the broadcaster relayed an “intimidation message” attributed to a “terrorist leader.”

In March 2022, authorities in Mali suspended both RFI and France 24, accusing them of airing “false allegations” about the country’s military.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Authorities in Burkina Faso should reverse their decision to suspend France 24, as well as their previous suspension of French broadcaster RFI, and should allow all people in the country to access the news freely,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “Reporting on issues related to terrorism should not trigger blanket indefinite censorship of an entire outlet.”

On March 6, France 24 aired a discussion about their interview with AQIM head Abu Obeida Youssef al-Anabi, also known as Yezid Mebarek. On March 27, France 24 released a statement defending their work, saying they never directly gave the head the floor and presented his comments in journalistic context, and the interview confirmed that AQIM had held journalist Olivier Dubois, who had been abducted in Mali in April 2021 and was released on March 20, 2023. 

As of Tuesday, March 28, France 24’s programming was no longer available on TV or radio in Burkina Faso, but could still be accessed online, according to the outlet and Arnaud Ouédraogo, coordinator of the Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism in West Africa (CENOZO), a Burkina Faso-based news outlet and investigative journalism organization, who spoke to CPJ by phone.

In December 2022, Burkinabe authorities suspended Radio France Internationale, another subsidiary of the French state-owned company France Media Monde, over accusations that the broadcaster relayed an “intimidation message” attributed to a “terrorist leader.”

In March 2022, authorities in Mali suspended both RFI and France 24, accusing them of airing “false allegations” about the country’s military.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Wednesday, March 15, the outlet suspended its operations indefinitely, according to media reports and the outlet’s owner, David Boio, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Boio told CPJ that the decision to shutter Camunda News, which covered current affairs on its website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel, came after months of government harassment.

“Angolan authorities must commit to the development of a free and independent media and refrain from harassing online outlets like Camunda News,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “Instead of censorship through intimidation and archaic licensing requirements, the government should encourage a plurality of media to fulfill the public’s right to access information.”

In October 2022, officials with the police National Criminal Investigation Service, the SIC, questioned Boio about Nelson Demba, an activist and co-host of the weekly current affairs show 360˚ aired on Camunda News’ YouTube and Facebook channels, Boio told CPJ.

Demba is facing charges including incitement to rebellion and outrage against the president, and is presently in hiding, according to reports, which said he believes the charges against him are retaliation for his political activity.

Boio told CPJ that SIC officers had also summoned Camunda News senior reporter llídio Manuel and two other staff members in October. He declined to name those staffers for fear of their safety.

Subsequently, in February 2023, SIC officers called Boio to summon him for questioning as a potential state witness in Demba’s case, according to Boio and those news reports. In that phone call, an investigator warned Boio that an arrest warrant would be issued if he failed to appear and instructed him to bring company documents related to Camunda News.

During three hours of questioning on March 7, Boio told CPJ that he was only asked one question about Demba and that most of the questions were related to Camunda News, its legal status and funding, and his personal life.

Shortly after that questioning, Boio suspended Camunda News’ current affairs video content. On Wednesday, he suspended the entire platform, he said.

“The harassment and intimidation are getting to a point where it could lead to more serious problems, and we know how the system in Angola can be complicated and make up serious accusations, so I need to consider my safety as well as that of all others working at Camunda,” Boio told CPJ.

Manuel, the senior reporter summoned in October, told CPJ that he was unable to hire a lawyer in time and did not attend the questioning, and had not received another summons. He said no details of the case had been disclosed to him.

Boio told CPJ that in May 2020 an SIC investigator had arrived at Camunda News’ offices and asked about its ownership, and the following day the broadcaster received a notification from the Ministry of Telecommunications Technologies and Media requesting the documentation to prove the outlet was operating legally.

“We wrote back to the Ministry explaining that we couldn’t find the legal framework for online content such as what we produced,” Boio told CPJ.

“If we had a license, we would probably be treated the same way the TV channels that got cancelled did, but because there is no legal framework they use SIC to intimidate us,” Boio said. Authorities suspended three TV broadcasters in 2021.

Benja Satula, a lawyer representing Camunda News, told CPJ via messaging app that there is no legal framework covering online content platforms, so there could be no illegal activity warranting a criminal investigation.

SIC spokesperson Manuel Alaiwa responded to CPJ’s requests for comment by phone and messaging app saying that he would call later. He had not responded by the time of publication.

When CPJ called Ministry of Telecommunications Technologies and Media spokesperson João Demba for comment, he said the ministry could not comment because it was awaiting information from the SIC.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

“Critical journalism during a time of mourning for the tens of thousands of lives lost to the earthquakes may appear harsh, but it can also pave the way to justice for the victims and better regulations to save lives in the future,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna, in New York. “Turkish authorities should revoke the penalties leveled against broadcasters FOX TV Turkey, Halk TV, and TELE1, and refrain from silencing media criticism of the government and its institutions.”

On Tuesday, February 22, the Radio and Television Supreme Council, the government telecommunications regulator known as RTÜK fined Halk TV and TELE1 5% of their annual revenue and fined FOX TV Turkey 3%, the reports said. The RTÜK also suspended the next five episodes of the Halk TV and TELE1 shows that aired criticism of the government’s earthquake preparation and rescue efforts.

The outlets have the right to appeal to RTÜK decisions under Turkey’s telecommunications law.

Separately, the RTÜK on October 19, 2022, had imposed a three-day broadcast ban on TELE1 that will begin Wednesday, February 23, in response to a parliamentary deputy’s comments on a political debate show in September 2022. Socialist politician Sera Kadıgil described the Presidency of Religious Affairs, Turkey’s official religious authority, as “a tool for political Islam” while she was a guest on the show. TELE1 will comply with the court order for an immediate ban while its appeal is pending. 

CPJ emailed RTÜK for comment but did not receive any response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Jennifer Dunham.

Since late January, authorities have suspended 15 foreign media outlets operating in Somali Regional State, and also revoked the license of a regional journalists’ association, according to news reports and people familiar with the cases.

“The recent suspensions of 15 media outlets the ban on a media association in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State have eroded reporting in the region, and paint a picture of a government unwilling to make room for dissenting voices,” said CPJ Sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo. “Authorities should allow journalists from these outlets to resume their jobs, ensure that enforcement of licensing regulations is not used to muzzle the media.”

On January 28, the Somali Regional State Communication Bureau,  a government office that oversees the region’s media, indefinitely suspended the 15 media outlets and their representatives from operating in the state, saying that they did not have the licensing required for foreign media outlets, according to a letter from the bureau reviewed by CPJ and multiple media reports.

Those outlets, all of which broadcast in the Somali language and have their headquarters outside of Ethiopia, include BBC Somali, Kalsan TV, Universal TV, Horyaal TV, Eryal TV, CBA TV, Horn Cable TV, Star TV, RTN Somali TV, STN TV, Goobjoog TV, Saab TV, Sahan TV, MM TV, and Five Somali TV, according to those sources.

In the letter, the communication bureau said it was complying with an earlier directive from the federal Ethiopian Media Authority to enforce federal licensing requirements. Federal regulations on foreign media registration, which came into force in May 2022, require foreign broadcasters opening a branch in the country to register with the media authority and prohibit journalists from contributing to foreign outlets without a registration certificate.

Abdulrazaq Hassan, chair of the Somali Region Journalists Association, a local media rights group, told CPJ via messaging app that most of those outlets did not have offices in Ethiopia, but instead worked with correspondents in the country.

The SRJA was quoted in those media reports saying that licensing was being used as pretext to shutter independent outlets, and that journalists from the 15 media companies had previously operated with permits from the regional communication bureau.

Abdulkadir Reshid Duale, the head of the Somali communication bureau, told CPJ in a statement that his office had issued temporary permits to the outlets in 2018, which had since expired. He said the media outlets had been warned about the need for federal licensing, and would be allowed to resume working once they had the federal license.

Journalists and managers from eight of the suspended outlets told CPJ that they had been previously granted permission to operate by regional authorities, that the steps to receive a federal license were not clear, and that the suspensions were enforced without adequate warning.

Also, on January 31, the Somali Region Justice Bureau, which oversees the registration of civil society organizations in the region, revoked the SRJA’s license and accused it of having “acted inappropriately,” according to a letter from the bureau reviewed by CPJ and a statement by the Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy, an Ethiopian nongovernmental organization.

In a February 3 letter reviewed by CPJ, the communication bureau asked police and state security to take “appropriate action” against the SRJA, which it accused of operating illegally and “spreading incorrect and misleading messages.”

Separately, regional police detained Muhiyadin Mohammed Ali, a reporter with the U.K.-based broadcaster Kalsan TV, after he published a video on his personal Facebook page protesting the suspensions. He was released on February 2 without charge, according to news reports, a statement by the SRJA, and a person familiar with the case who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation.  In his statement, Abdikadir said Muyihadin threatened a government official in the video.

The Ethiopian Media Authority did not respond to CPJ’s queries sent via messaging app and email.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

Fiji’s former Elections Supervisor Mohammed Saneem is under investigation by the country’s anti-corruption agency for alleged abuse of office and has been stopped from fleeing the country.

The Fijian Elections Office (FEO) said Saneem was alleged to have “on numerous occasions . . . unlawfully authorised payments of sitting allowances” to members of the Electoral Commission (EC) and has been referred to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC).

The FEO said the Constitutional Offices Commission had clarified to Saneem that the allowance for the chairperson and members of the EC remained at the same rate of FJ$500 (NZ$356) per person, per meeting.

• READ MORE: Other Fiji politics reports

Saneem, however, had continued to instruct for allowances to be paid to the commission’s members for attending events other than meetings, including social functions.

According to Section 5 of the Electoral Act 2014, meetings held by the Electoral Commission are to be determined by the chairperson or a majority of the members of the Commission.

The Electoral Commission could also hold meetings virtually.

The FEO said the former elections boss — who was suspended last month and resigned this week — “continued to deviate from this and constantly gave instructions for payment of FJ$500 allowance to the Electoral Commission members”.

Attorney-General Siromi Turaga confirmed to Fijivillage News that Saneem had been trying to board a flight to Australia on Friday morning but was stopped by border officials as he was now under investigation by FICAC.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Pascal Ernest Mulumba Kalende, the minister of communication and media for Lomami province, ordered Radio Tokomi Wapi to suspend its operations and close its office in the provincial capital of Kabinda until further notice, according to those sources.

Jonas Ngiefu, the station’s director, told CPJ that police arrived at Radio Tokomi Wapi’s office later on January 9, and as of January 18 officers remained at the station to enforce the closure.

The suspension order, which cited a resolution by the province’s security council, accused Radio Tokomi Wapi of using its broadcasts to incite the local population to tribalism, revolt, and to disobey provincial authorities, and accused the station of failing to comply with journalistic ethics. The order also asked Radio Tokomi Wapi to submit a list of the journalists who work for the station.

Ngiefu told CPJ that the station broadcasts a program “Facing the Public” on Fridays, during which callers react to news and governance issues. During one episode, on January 6, a guest criticized Lomami Governor Nathan Ilunga and his government’s management of the economy, infrastructure, and social issues, Ngiefu said.

Reached over the phone by CPJ, Ilunga said he convened a meeting of the provincial security council following that broadcast, which he said had insulted his government. CPJ was unable to review that broadcast, as Radio Tokomi Wapi’s programming is not available online.

Ilunga told CPJ that “such comments and insults are intolerable, especially during this election period,” scheduled for late 2023. If left unchecked, Radio Tokomi Wapi “would push the population to revolt,” he said.

Ngiefu and Radio Tokomi Wapi owner Eliezer Ntambwe told CPJ that the station had not broadcast anything that constituted incitement, and called the suspension politically motivated.

According to Ntambwe, who is also a member of the Congolese national legislature, Radio Tokomi Wapi is the only media outlet in Kabinda that allows the local population to criticize provincial authorities.

According to a report by the regional press freedom organization Journaliste en Danger, authorities previously suspended Radio Tokomi Wapi for one week in February 2022, and the outlet was only allowed to resume once its journalists agreed to maintain journalistic standards and to “preserve the good collaboration with provincial authorities.”

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

On Tuesday, December 6, the Latvian National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), the country’s media regulator, canceled the outlet’s broadcasting authorization “due to a threat to national security and public order” and accused the broadcaster of violating the country’s media law, according to multiple media reports, a statement by the regulator, and its official decision.

The regulator ordered the channel to stop broadcasting on Thursday, December 8, and ordered its programming on YouTube to be blocked in Latvia as well, those reports said.

Dozhd TV was based in Russia until March 3, when it was forced to suspend its work and flee the country amid a crackdown on coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The channel resumed operations from exile in July after obtaining a broadcasting permit from Latvian authorities, news reports said.

“As a country that has been through the process of building vibrant independent media, Latvia knows well that this process is hardly smooth and easy. Latvian authorities should ensure that any regulatory violations by media outlets are handled proportionately, and that outlets’ licenses are only revoked as a last resort,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director, in New York. “Authorities should reverse their decision to strip Dozhd TV of its broadcast authorization, and should continue hosting the media outlet and its journalists, who could otherwise become even an easier target for Russian authorities.”

Because Dozhd TV’s Latvian license granted the channel broadcast rights to other European countries, the cancellation will also result in the broadcaster being taken off-air in Estonia and Lithuania, according to media reports and the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission. CPJ was unable to immediately confirm the other countries where the broadcaster may be barred from broadcasting.

Before canceling the broadcaster’s license, the NEPLP cited Dozhd TV for multiple alleged violations. In November, the NEPLP fined Dozhd TV 4,000 euros (US$4,200) for failing to provide a Latvian-language soundtrack to its programming, according to the regulator’s December 6 decision, published on its website.

Dozhd TV chief editor Tikhon Dzyadko told CPJ via email and messaging app that the channel had appealed that decision as unfounded, given that Dozhd’s application for a Latvian license stated that the channel would not be able to provide a Latvian soundtrack before 2023.

“We had no desire to break the laws, but with the relaunch, we were not able to implement everything at once,” he told CPJ. He said the NEPLP had accepted the outlet’s application which stipulated that the channel would feature Latvian subtitles for its 2022 programming and its archives, but added that Dozhd TV had fallen behind on producing those.

On December 2, the NEPLP fined Dozhd TV 10,000 euros (US$10,500) for having shown a map that labeled Crimea as part of Russia and for referring to the Russian military as “our army,” according to media reports and the regulator’s decision.

Also on December 2, the Latvian State Security Service launched an investigation into Dozhd TV after journalist Aleksei Korostelev made comments during a broadcast the previous day that implied that the broadcaster had assisted the Russian military in Ukraine.

Korostelev, who was fired on December 2, later explained that he had poorly phrased his comments and did not support the invasion. The investigation concluded that those comments were “directed against the interests of Latvia’s national security,” according to a statement by the State Security Service.

The final December 6 decision to cancel Dozhd TV’s licence was made based on Article 21.3.8 of the Latvian Electronic Media Act, which empowers the regulator to cancel the broadcast permit of any outlet that “threatens national security or significantly threatens public order or security,” judging that Korostelev’s comments were calls “to support a country, recognized as a state supporting terrorism,” according to regulator’s decision.

The two fines were also considered when reaching that decision, NEPLP Vice Chair Aurēlija Ieva Druviete told CPJ via email.

Dzyadko also wrote on Telegram that the channel “had never, is not, and will never” help the Russian army with equipment. During a live broadcast on Tuesday, he compared the ban in Latvia with the channel being taken off air in Russia in 2014.

In that broadcast, Dzyadko said that no Dozhd TV representative was invited to the NEPLP meeting that decided the outlet’s suspension, and the outlet was unable to argue on its behalf. The regulator wrote in its decision that the “urgency” of the situation allowed it to decide without hearing from the channel’s management.

NEPLP President Ivars Āboliņš wrote on Twitter that Dozhd TV’s management “did not understand the nature and gravity of each individual violation” of Latvia’s regulations.

In a statement reviewed by CPJ, Āboliņš added that Latvia had accepted “a large number” of Russian media outlets and journalists into the country, who had not violated the country’s laws. He said that Dozhd TV had “systematically, significantly and unequivocally violated the regulatory acts and has been punished accordingly.”

Dzyadko told CPJ via email that he believed the suspension was “absurd and unjustified,” and said the broadcaster’s staff “strongly oppose the accusations.”

In a statement, Dozhd TV said it will stop broadcasting on cable in Latvia, but would continue its work on YouTube. The station’s general director Natalia Sindeyeva told independent news website Meduza, and Dzyadko confirmed to CPJ, that about 20% of the station’s revenue comes from its cable broadcasting.

Dozhd TV has one month to appeal the decision, and Dzyadko told CPJ that the channel was “considering options.”

CPJ emailed the Latvian State Security Service for comment, but did not receive any reply.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

“Burkina Faso authorities should reverse their suspension of RFI programming and ensure that journalists can work without fear of being sanctioned over their work, including coverage of security issues,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “It is alarming and unfortunate that Burkina Faso has joined Mali in its disregard for freedom of the press and access to information by denying RFI permission to broadcast.”

On December 3, the Burkina Faso Government Information Service issued a statement accusing RFI of having relayed an “intimidation message” attributed to a “terrorist leader” earlier that day, and saying the outlet would therefore be suspended.

The statement did not mention which specific report from RFI’s December 3 broadcast had prompted the suspension, but additionally accused RFI of broadcasting “misleading information” about the country’s interim President Ibrahim Traoré on December 2. In its own statement, RFI called the accusations about its work “totally unfounded.”

Idrissa Birba, president of Nouveaux Droit de l’Homme (NDH-Burkina) human rights group told CPJ by phone Monday that RFI broadcasts were no longer available on short or long wave radio in the country, but could still be accessed online.

In 2019, Burkina Faso amended its penal code to require government “authorization” to publish information from the scene of a terrorist attack, as CPJ reported at the time. In March, Malian authorities similarly suspended RFI and France 24, another subsidiary of the French government-owned France Médias Monde.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

Bono alleged that the outlets broadcast insults, incitement of hatred, and hate speech, and lacked journalistic ethics, according to the directive, which CPJ reviewed, news reports, François Lendo, director of Radio Losanganya, and Jean-Paul Osongo, director of Radio Grand Tam-tam, whom both spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Bono did not reference any specific broadcasts in his directive.

“Radio Losanganya and Radio Grand Tam-tam are contributing to the aggravation of the already tense political climate,” Bono wrote in his directive, referencing the relationship between two local politicians who own the two radio stations. “If we are [not] careful, these two radio stations risk causing a bloodbath and mourning” in Lodji.

Lambert Mende Omalanga owns Radio Losanganya and Jean-Charles Okoto owns Radio Grand Tam-tam, according to Lengo and Osongo. The owners both hold political positions as national deputy, as part of the Congolese parliament. Since September 2022, Mende and Okoto have been engaged in a separate legal dispute over embezzlement allegations, according to a report by privately owned news website Mediacongo.

Osongo told CPJ that the two sanctioned outlets did not broadcast defamatory or hateful remarks but rather criticized each other’s owners and their management as elected officials, arguing that Bono confused criticism with insult.

On October 28, Mende filed a complaint with the Sankuru Court of Appeal, which argued that Bono did not have the authority to suspend Radio Losanganya, Lendo and Djongo said. The appropriate authority would have been the Superior Council for Communication and Audiovisual (CASC), a local regulator with powers to impose administrative sanctions on media concerning violations of journalist ethics and professional conduct, Djongo said.

On November 2, the Sankuru Court of Appeal ordered the suspension of Radio Losanganya to be dropped because Bono did not have the authority to close the broadcaster, according to a copy of the decision reviewed by CPJ and Raphael Djongo, a lawyer for Radio Losanganya, who spoke to CPJ over the phone. However, as of November 28, Radio Losanganya remains off-air and under police guard, Djongo told CPJ.

The court decision did not mention the suspension of Radio Grand Tam-tam, which remains closed and under police guard as of November 28, according to Djongo and Osongo. Osongo told CPJ that no legal action had been taken to reopen Radio Grand Tam-tam.

On October 27, Bono told CPJ by phone that he had shut down Radio Losanganya and Radio Grand Tam-tam and confiscated their transmitters because of ongoing tension between the broadcasters. CPJ called Bono after the November 2 court of appeal decision, but he did not pick up.

Jules Lodi Emongo, the governor of Sankuru province, did not answer CPJ’s calls.

In late September, Emongo ordered the closure of two other Sankuru broadcasters–Radio Ekitela and Radio Numbampela–over accusations that they promoted tensions in the province. The two stations remain off air and neither outlet has taken legal action to restore access, Radio Ekitela director Franck Danga told CPJ.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Friday, September 23, the High Authority for Communication (HAC), Guinea’s media regulator, ordered the one-month suspension of the radio program by the privately owned Nostalgie Guinée radio station and three of the program’s hosts—Mamadou Mathé Bah, Minkailou Barry, and Kalil Camara, according to local media reports that include a copy of the suspension order and a local journalist who spoke to CPJ by phone and requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

The regulator alleged that a September 22 broadcast of the program—which featured a telephone call from Sékou Koundouno, an officer for a coalition of opposition political parties and civil society groups known as the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC)—included “incitement of public revolt” and “public insults,” according to a copy of the suspension order. The order also claimed that Bah, Barry, and Camara were “not being professional.”

Koundouno told CPJ over the phone that during the program, he called on Guineans to “mobilize for a return to constitutional order.” Koundouno said he made this call to action in response to Guinea’s military government criticizing the president of the intergovernmental Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for opposing military rule in the country. CPJ was unable to review a copy of the broadcast because it was not available online and a request to obtain it from the radio station was not answered.

“Guinean authorities should reverse their suspension of Nostalgie Guinée’s ‘Africa 2015’ radio program and three of its hosts—Mamadou Mathé Bah, Minkailou Barry, and Kalil Camara,” said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Sharan Africa representative, in Nairobi. “The suspensions showcase Guinean authorities’ ambitions to censor voices critical of the military government and send a chilling message to journalists in the country.”

Chaikou Baldé, president of the local press freedom group Media Alliance for Human Rights (AMDH), and the local journalist who requested anonymity told CPJ by phone that on Friday, September 23, 10 minutes before starting that day’s program, the hosts learned of their suspension from public media reports. Baldé said that the suspended hosts were not informed directly or asked to respond to the regulator’s concerns before the decision. The regulator usually gives a journalist a chance to respond before ordering a suspension, Baldé said.

In addition, the regulator banned the suspended hosts from speaking to local media on any topic for one month until October 22, Baldé and the anonymous journalist said. The program has five hosts, but two were away during the broadcast and were not suspended, they said.

CPJ emailed Boubacar Yacine Diallo, the regulator’s president, and received a response that Diallo was available for an interview, but his phone was off. CPJ followed up with questions in another email but received no response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

The list of suspended news outlets that PCIN shared with CPJ includes TV stations Canal San José, NGTV, and Canal RB3, as well as radio broadcasters Radio Darío, Radio Sky, Radio La Guarachera, Radio Vos, Radio San Carlos, Radio Hermanos, Radio Nuestra Señora de Lourdes, Radio Nuestra Señora de Fátima, Radio Allens, Radio Monte Carmelo, Radio San José, Radio Stereo Santa Lucía, Radio Stereo Sol, and Radio Stereo Fe. Other suspended news outlets asked not to be publicly named, according to Cristopher Mendoza, a representative of PCIN, who spoke with CPJ via phone.

At least 12 of the suspended radio stations were owned and managed by the Catholic church in the northern region of the country, Mendoza said.

On August 1, the regulator, the Instituto Nicaragüense de Telecomunicaciones y Correos (Telcor) suspended seven radio stations under the direction of Bishop Rolando Álvarez, the head of the Matagalpa diocese, according to Mendoza and a report by Reuters.

Álvarez was placed under house arrest after a raid on his home on August 19, according to CNN and a statement from the Nicaraguan police, which Nicaraguan news website Confidencial published on its site and posted on Twitter. The bishop is facing a criminal investigation for “destabilizing and provocative activities,” according to the police statement.

In announcing the closure of the seven radio stations on August 2, Telcor said the stations “did not meet the technical requirements to be on the air,” but it did not specify the requirements, according to Reuters.

In addition to providing religious programming, these radio stations served rural communities with local and national news, according to Mendoza. “For these communities, this was the only contact they had with what was happening at a national level,” he said.

On August 12, Telcor ordered the suspension of operations of Radio Darío, an independent news and opinion radio station in the northwest city of León, according to station owner Anibal Toruño, who spoke with CPJ over the phone, and a public statement by Telcor that Toruño shared on his Twitter account.

Toruño told CPJ that Telcor argued that official records contained incorrect information about the radio station, including the station’s address, the make and model of the transmitter, and the radio frequency. Toruño said that the address and transmitter had changed after the radio station’s headquarters were burned down in 2018, and staff had to move to another building and buy new equipment, as CPJ has documented.

“We notified the authorities about all of this. This is simply an excuse to silence us,” Toruño told CPJ.

On August 15, two other stations owned by Toruño, Radio Sky and La Guarachera, which broadcast music, also had their licenses revoked, according to news reports and Toruño.

CPJ sent an email to Telcor requesting comment, but did not receive any response.

CPJ has documented the Nicaraguan government’s ongoing crackdown against the press since a wave of protests in spring 2018, including imprisonments, criminal proceedings, raids on news outlets, criminal defamation charges, and physical attacks. At least one journalist was killed while covering protests in April 2018.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

In mid-August, Sierra Leone’s broadcast media regulator, National Telecommunications Commission, suspended the licenses of privately owned broadcasters Star Radio and Star TV for over two weeks and denied workers access to the broadcasters’ transmitters in Brookfields, a neighborhood in western Freetown, the capital, according to an August 19 commission statement and Philip Neville, the broadcasters’ founder who holds 70% ownership of shares and handles the finances.

Neville, who spoke with CPJ by phone, said that in mid-August, commission officers arrived at the offices of the broadcasters’ transmitters and ordered all the staff to vacate the premises. Neville also said the officers told him that they gave the order because the broadcasters failed to pay about 140 million leones (US$10,000) of allegedly accumulated debt that the broadcasters owed to the commission for broadcast licenses, including some licenses no longer in use. Before the commission officers’ visit and the suspension of licenses, the broadcasters believed payments to the commission were up to date and there was no debt, according to Neville.

“Authorities in Sierra Leone should allow Star television and radio stations to continue reporting the news and provide the public with information,” said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, in Nairobi. “Media regulators are too often used as tools to gag the media and the suspension of Star raises concern over freedom of the press in Sierra Leone.”  

The commission’s statement said that the broadcasters failed to comply with sections 30 and 65 of the country’s telecommunications laws. According to CPJ’s review, Section 30 allows the commission to suspend or cancel broadcast licenses for various violations, including fraud, treason, or “where the suspension or cancellation is in the public interest”; Section 65 requires broadcasters to obtain “a general or specific license” to operate a radio transmitter. Neither section indicated penalties for violations and CPJ could not determine how the commission calculated the US$10,000 amount.

On August 25, Neville said that the broadcasters were permitted to resume usage of the transmitters and begin broadcasting again after his office paid 74 million leones, the equivalent of about US$5,300, to the regulator on August 23, adding that the regulator still expected the broadcasters to pay the remaining amount.

According to Neville and a copy of a 2017 letter he wrote to the commission, which CPJ reviewed, authorities granted the broadcasters separate licenses to operate in five regions—Freetown, Mile 91, Makeni, Bo, and Kenema—at the cost of US$700 annually for each radio frequency and US$2,000 annually for one television frequency.

Neville’s 2017 letter also said he had informed the commission that year that the broadcasters no longer used three of the frequencies in Bo, Kenema, and Makeni to reduce production costs, but continued to pay 6 million leones (about US$430) monthly to cover the licenses still in use. However, Neville told CPJ that the commission continued to bill his office for renewal of licenses no longer in use. Neville told CPJ that the broadcasters had always paid for the licenses used. 

Neville told CPJ that he did not understand how the US$10,000 amount had been determined. He added that paying that full amount would place financial strain on the broadcasters’ operations.

Daniel Kaitibi, commission director general, and Abdul Ben-Foday, commission director of corporate and industry affairs, both confirmed to CPJ over the phone that the broadcasters’ licenses were suspended because they allegedly owed the commission US$10,000. Ben-Foday told CPJ that the commission was empowered by law to make access to the licenses conditional on payment.

Neville alleged that the commission’s decision to suspend his broadcasters’ licenses was in reprisal for Star TV’s August 13 airing of an episode of a Facebook talk show “Tell It To Racheal,” by U.S.-based journalist Racheal Bangura Davies.  

Participants on the episode, which CPJ reviewed, blamed the Sierra Leonean government for causing violence that erupted during a nationwide protest on August 10.

Neville said the airing of the talk show episode “did not go down well” with the government, which accused the broadcasters of inciting the public against authorities. The government used the commission to punish the broadcasters, Neville said.

In a text message to CPJ, Sierra Leone information minister Mohamed Rahman Swaray denied that the suspension of the broadcasters’ licenses was connected to the airing of the talk show episode.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Taking the BBC off the air will only rob the public of access to a source of critical reporting on matters of local and international importance and entrench the view that Somaliland is an increasingly hostile place for journalism,” said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative. “Authorities should reverse this decision, ensure that the BBC can operate freely, and refrain from future interference in the work of the press.”

In a press conference covered by local broadcasters, Saleban Yusuf Ali Koore, Somaliland’s information minister, said the government was immediately suspending all BBC activities as of Tuesday, July 19. It was unclear, from the minister’s statements, whether the ban would be limited to BBC’s Somali service programming or affect the entire outlet’s broadcasting and reporting operations in Somaliland. Saleban accused the BBC Somali of abandoning impartiality and “undermining the credibility of the Somaliland state,” according to those reports.

The BBC has not been formally notified of the suspension, a BBC spokesperson told CPJ by email, adding that the broadcaster was committed to serving its Somaliland audiences, and was seeking further clarification about the suspension from the government.  As of Wednesday, BBC broadcasts are no longer accessible in the region via FM radio, but can be accessed on shortwave radio and through its website, according to Guleid Ahmed Jama, a human rights lawyer in Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On July 1, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) ordered DarMpya to suspend publication immediately, according to news reports and a copy of TCRA’s July 1 letter.

The letter cited the TCRA’s June 28 inspection of the outlet’s office in the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam, where authorities found that the outlet’s license had expired in 2021, and it was therefore publishing in breach of the Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations.

A person familiar with the matter, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity citing safety concerns, said that DarMpya had applied for its license renewal shortly before the suspension. On July 6, DarMpya tweeted that it had ceased publication until it could renew its license.

The letter said the inspection followed complaints about DarMpya’s coverage of a protest, but did not specify the reporting in question. In a since-deleted tweet seen by CPJ, DarMpya alleged that a June 17 protest against alleged Kenyan interference in the Tanzanian government’s plan to evict members of the Maasai community from lands in northern Tanzania was staged. The person who spoke to CPJ said that the inspection was in response to that tweet.

Tanzanian Information Minister Nape Nnauye told CPJ via messaging app that DarMpya had been under scrutiny for allegedly unbalanced content, but said the outlet’s suspension had nothing to do with its journalism and was solely due to its failure to comply with licensing requirements.

“Tanzanian authorities are using a repressive set of regulations to control who may and may not express themselves online. The suspension of the DarMpya news outlet shows how such regulations can become tools of censorship,” said CPJ Sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo. “Authorities should allow DarMpya to resume operations without interference, cease using harsh regulations to police speech on the internet, and urgently reform the country’s laws to nurture, rather than limit, press freedom.”

DarMpya publishes national news and commentary on its website, on YouTube as DarMpya TV, where it has about 809,000 followers, and on Twitter as DarMpya Blog, where it has over 309,000 followers. It has not published news content on those channels since July 2.

Tanzania’s online content regulations were first issued in 2018, and at the time CPJ called on authorities to scrap the regulations, as they threatened the “diversity and robustness of online media.”

A new version of the regulations was issued in 2020, and those rules were amended earlier this year, narrowing the scope of the licensing requirements, but news blogs, online television broadcasters, and online radio stations must still register with the TCRA and comply with content restrictions.

Nnauye told CPJ that the Tanzanian government was engaging with local journalists about reforming media laws, but while the regulations remain on the books, the government will enforce them.

“We can’t close our eyes and say the law isn’t there,” he said. “As long as the law is there, it is not suspended, it is not changed. I am sworn to stand and make sure these laws are followed. If it is changed, then we will follow the new one.”

Under President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who took office last year, Tanzania has committed to reforming its  media laws, as CPJ has documented. However, at least two other publications—Raia Mwema and Uhuru—were suspended last year, as CPJ has documented.

In a phone call today, a representative of the TCRA said they would follow-up on emailed queries CPJ had sent about DarMpya’s case. CPJ had not received a response at the time of publication.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

John Achiek De’Mabior, Radio Jonglei’s executive director, told CPJ that on May 19 security forces and other authorities delivered the suspension notice, ordered the staff to leave their offices, and locked the doors. The notice did not specify the length of the suspension. The station reopened on May 24, according to De’Mabior and a copy of Manyuon’s order to lift the suspension, which CPJ reviewed.

The suspension was related to coverage of government officials’ statements on May 16 marking SPLA Day, according to De’Mabior and Radio Jonglei CEO Tijwog Agwet, who also spoke with CPJ, as well as media reports. The day commemorates the 1983 founding of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), which fought for southern autonomy from Sudan.

In an interview with CPJ, Manyuon defended the decision to suspend the station completely and accused Radio Jonglei of violating professionalism and journalistic ethics. Radio Jonglei had given preferential coverage to Jonglei State’s deputy governor over the governor, he said, adding that this amounted to incitement because of the political and ethnic divisions in the state government and South Sudanese society. The governor and deputy governor come from different ethnic groups, Manyuon said.

Manyuon said he ordered the suspension after he had summoned Radio Jonglei staff, who rebuffed his concerns about the coverage and asserted their right to editorial independence.

Agwet told CPJ that he was in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, when he learned of the suspension. He then traveled to Bor town, apologized for the coverage, and opened an internal investigation into the actions of the station’s staff.

“They were planning on…making a government committee to investigate them [the Radio Jonglei staff]. I said I will do my administrative business,” Agwet told CPJ. “I’m investigating my people.”

In his May 19 letter to Manyuon, a copy of which CPJ reviewed, Agwet wrote that  “mistakes” were made in Radio Jonglei’s May 16 coverage by “omitting” the governor’s speech.

Agwet told CPJ that, given the sensitivities surrounding social and political divisions in South Sudan, Radio Jonglei’s coverage of SPLA Day did not adequately include the governor’s voice, but said the suspension was not appropriate.

“There are people who need to have access to information…they are not part of this [dispute],” Agwet told CPJ. “There are other important things that are being aired by the radio. So totally I disagree with the government for suspending and closing down the radio.”

On May 20, Elijah Alier Kuai, managing director of South Sudan’s Media Authority, the country’s media regulator, wrote to Manyuon to “advise” him to immediately lift the suspension of Radio Jonglei and “desist from interfering with the independent editorial policies of media houses.” The letter, which CPJ reviewed and was covered by local media, said any media violation complaints “must be filed with the Media Authority,” citing the 2013 Media Authority Act establishing the regulator.

Manyuon told CPJ that “the Media Authority has the role to advise, but does not have the role to order…We don’t need to take that [the authority’s letter] into account, we did not respond to them.” The suspension was lifted due to Radio Jonglei’s internal investigation and the state government’s desire “for the public to have freedom of press,” Manyuon said, adding that it wasn’t related to “intimidation from the Media Authority.”

Previously, between late August and late September 2021, Radio Jonglei was shut down over coverage of anti-government protests, according to media reports and Agwet.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

ZIK FM and Sen TV are subsidiaries of the private media group D-Média, which is owned by Bougane Guèye Dany, leader of the opposition coalition Gueum Sa Bopp.

The alleged violations took place during on-air segments by Ahmed Aïdara, a member of the opposition Yewwi Askan Wi (Liberate the People) coalition who was elected mayor of Guédiawaye, a suburb of Dakar, in January. During those segments, several of which CPJ reviewed, Aïdara provided commentary on daily news stories.

The broadcasters’ suspension was lifted after the three days. On April 5, 2022, Aïdara announced his resignation from D-Média and launched his own YouTube channel, where he broadcasts similar content. He is currently running to become a member of parliament in Senegal’s general elections in July, according to media reports.

Previously, on March 14, the CNRA had warned D-Média over the content of Aïdara’s program, according to a notice published on the regulator’s website. The CNRA claimed Aïdara had violated rules purportedly in place to promote objectivity by continuing to “promote himself and his political side and to denigrate the opposite side or citizens.”

In a March 31 interview with a local radio station, the executive director of the D-Média group, Moumy Seck Guèye, said the CNRA’s decision was “illegal” and that they would challenge the suspensions in court. “[Aïdara’s] political hat does not interest us,” Guèye added. “How many political journalists are there in the media? There is a double standard.”

Speaking to CPJ by phone, Ibrahima Bakhoum, CNRA’s communications officer, said, “When there is a recurrence [of an alleged violation], as in this case [with D-Média], we do not waste time.” The CNRA had warned journalists involved in politics that the press code and the Senegalese journalists’ charter prohibited conflicts of interest, said Bakhoum, adding, “One cannot be in politics and be in news production.”

CPJ called and sent text messages to Guèye for clarity on the organization’s plans to challenge the regulator’s decision, but she did not respond. CPJ contacted several Sen TV staff members for comment on the suspensions, but each of them said Guèye was the only person able to speak for the company on the issue.

CPJ’s calls and questions sent via messaging app to Aïdara went unanswered.

The regulator had previously imposed a 72-hour suspension on Sen TV and another privately owned television station, Walf TV, on March 4, 2021, according to local media reports. The suspensions related to the outlets broadcasting images of unrest following the arrest of the main opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, according to the same sources.

In its decision to suspend Walf TV, the CNRA cited the station’s “repeatedly broadcasting images of violence.” CPJ was unable to review a copy of the regulator’s March 2021 decision to suspend Sen TV.

Both Sen TV and Walf TV managed to continue broadcasting via social media throughout that suspension period, according to CPJ’s review of their pages at the time.

In a recent phone interview, Moustapha Diop, director of Walf TV, told CPJ that the broadcaster only learned of the March 2021 suspension when its signal was cut, with the official notification not coming until the following day.

In response to CPJ’s emailed questions following the March 2021 suspensions, the CNRA requested an in-person meeting. CPJ responded that such a meeting was not possible, but the  regulator never responded to the questions.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Jennifer Dunham.

Mali’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization suspended both broadcasters on March 16, after accusing them of airing “false allegations” about abuses by the country’s military. On Wednesday, April 27, Mali’s High Authority for Communication (HAC) announced that those suspensions would be “definitive,” according to reports by RFI and France 24.

“Authorities in Mali should reverse their decision to make the suspensions of RFI and France 24 ‘definitive,’ and cease their efforts to prevent journalists from covering and distributing news,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “Malian authorities’ decision to solidify these suspensions indicates just how committed they are to denying those in their country access to information.”

The broadcasters’ state-owned parent company, France Media Monde, announced it would contest the suspensions, according to those reports. CPJ called the High Authority for Communication of Mali and sent questions via messaging app to Sambi Touré, the director of the government’s information center, and Harbert Traoré, a technical adviser for the Ministry of Communication, but did not receive any replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

On April 1, the National Communication Council media regulator announced that Equinoxe TV CEO Séverin Tchounkeu and editor-in-chief and presenter Cédrick Noufele were both suspended from working as journalists for one month, and that the outlet’s “Droit de Réponse” (“Right of Reply”) program was barred from airing during that time, according to press reports and a statement by the NCC.

A person close to Equinoxe TV’s top management, who spoke to CPJ on the condition they not be named out of fear of reprisal, said the outlet planned to challenge the regulator’s decision in court this week.

“Cameroonian authorities should immediately allow Equinoxe TV CEO Séverin Tchounkeu and editor Cédrick Noufele to resume their work, and must stop attempts to censor content about matters of public interest,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “The country’s media regulator should encourage a diversity of views instead of trying to police speech, and should ensure that Equinoxe TV can air its programming freely.”

On February 28, Noufele hosted a panel discussion on “Right of Reply” about a nationwide teachers’ strike, according to the NCC statement, which accused him of failing to properly supervise the discussion that was “likely to lead to the amplification of a potentially explosive social demand.”

Following that show, national Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji compared Equinoxe TV to radio stations that incited turmoil leading up to the Rwandan genocide.

In a letter dated March 18, and subsequently published by local media outlets, Littoral Region Governor Samuel Dieudonné Ivaha Diboua accused Equinoxe TV of “repeated incitement to popular revolt” and said the station had “an outrageously aggressive editorial line for years.” In that letter, Diboua threatened to take legal action against the station for alleged incitement.

On March 21, Tchounkeu appeared on a show on Equinoxe TV, which CPJ reviewed, during which he mocked grammatical errors in Diboua’s letter and suggested that Nji had written it. Also in the broadcast, Noufele denied any wrongdoing in hosting that panel discussion.

In its statement, the NCC cited the February 28 and March 21 programs for allegedly “broadcasting unfounded, insinuating and offensive statements,” and ordered the journalists and “Right of Reply” to be suspended for one month.

CPJ called Nji and contacted him via messaging app, and also called and emailed Diboua’s office for comment, but did not receive any replies. When CPJ called the NCC for comment, President Joseph Chebonkeng Kalabubsu referred CPJ to the regulator’s statement.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

“In their attempt to quash all independent coverage of the war in Ukraine, Russian authorities have closed down or otherwise silenced independent media outlets, and have forced journalists to flee from prosecution. Novaya Gazeta has been one of the last bastions of Russia’s free press,” said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said. “Russia’s draconian censorship tactics must stop. Now more than ever, it is critical that Russian news outlets be allowed to provide unbiased coverage. Novaya Gazeta must be allowed to operate freely.”

In its March 28 statement, Novaya Gazeta said the state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, had issued a warning over the newspaper’s coverage, and that it would cease publishing in print and online until the end of Russia’s so-called “special operation” in Ukraine.

According to reports by Russian state news agencies, authorities alleged that Novaya Gazeta published material from a group classified by the Russian government as a “foreign agent” without labeling it as such. The regulator previously sent Novaya Gazeta a warning for allegedly failing to mark foreign agent material on March 22, according to those reports.

Under Russia’s foreign agent law, a third warning for such an offense could result in the government closure of the news outlet.

Novaya Gazeta often publishes reporting critical of the Russian government, including the invasion of Ukraine, and recently covered an interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave to a group of independent Russian journalists.

Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief and founder of Novaya Gazeta and 2007 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for his work amid government repression.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

“In their attempt to quash all independent coverage of the war in Ukraine, Russian authorities have closed down or otherwise silenced independent media outlets, and have forced journalists to flee from prosecution. Novaya Gazeta has been one of the last bastions of Russia’s free press,” said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said. “Russia’s draconian censorship tactics must stop. Now more than ever, it is critical that Russian news outlets be allowed to provide unbiased coverage. Novaya Gazeta must be allowed to operate freely.”

In its March 28 statement, Novaya Gazeta said the state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, had issued a warning over the newspaper’s coverage, and that it would cease publishing in print and online until the end of Russia’s so-called “special operation” in Ukraine.

According to reports by Russian state news agencies, authorities alleged that Novaya Gazeta published material from a group classified by the Russian government as a “foreign agent” without labeling it as such. The regulator previously sent Novaya Gazeta a warning for allegedly failing to mark foreign agent material on March 22, according to those reports.

Under Russia’s foreign agent law, a third warning for such an offense could result in the government closure of the news outlet.

Novaya Gazeta often publishes reporting critical of the Russian government, including the invasion of Ukraine, and recently covered an interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave to a group of independent Russian journalists.

Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief and founder of Novaya Gazeta and 2007 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for his work amid government repression.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

On December 30, 2021, police arrested Augias Ray Malonga, acting director of the privately owned newspaper Sel-Piment, at his home in Brazzaville, the capital, according to Malonga and Edouard Atzotsa, the secretary-general of the Trade Union Federation of Communication Workers of Congo-Brazzaville (FESYTRAC), both of whom spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Authorities held Malonga for seven days and then released him without charge, he told CPJ.

On January 20, 2022, the country’s state-run media regulator, the Superior Council for Freedom of Communication (CSLC), suspended Sel-Piment for six months over its republication of an article from a website run by government critics in exile, according to Malonga and news reports.

“Authorities in the Republic of Congo should immediately lift the suspension of Sel-Piment and refrain from arresting journalists for their work,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “Journalists should be free to re-publish and report on issues of public interest without fearing that they may be detained or face sanction.”

On December 30, Malonga received a summons to appear the following day at the Brazzaville headquarters of the DGST, the country’s domestic security agency, he told CPJ; police then arrested him before he had a chance to comply.

The arrest was sparked by the paper’s December 27 republication of a report on alleged corruption by the country’s treasurer originally published by Congo-Liberty.com, a website run outside of the country that advocates for political change in the Republic of Congo, as well as another article also published in the December 27 edition criticizing management of the country’s economy, Malonga said.

During his detention, DGST head Phillipe Obara questioned Malonga about the source of the Congo-Liberty.com report and said that authorities did not appreciate that he was in contact with critics outside the country. Malonga told CPJ that he refused to answer questions about that report.

CPJ emailed the DGST for comment, but did not receive any reply.

Malonga was released on January 6, 2022, after CSLC President Philippe Mvouo intervened in his case, Malonga told CPJ. He said authorities did not tell him the exact reason for his release. CPJ emailed Mvouo and contacted him via messaging app for comment, but did not receive any response.

Atzotsa told CPJ that Malonga “was released under pressure from many press organizations” including the journalists’ union.

According to those news reports, the CSLC alleged that the republished article defamed the country’s treasurer, and therefore the newspaper would be suspended. CPJ sent questions to the Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Finances, Budget, and Public Portfolio for comment via email and through a contact form on its website, but received no response.

Sel-Piment is a satirical weekly newspaper known for its criticism of President Denis Sassou Nguesso and the ruling Congolese Party of Labor, according to news reports. Authorities previously suspended Sel-Piment in 2013 and 2021, and repeatedly arrested its editor, Malonga’s father Raymond Malonga.

Malonga became interim director of the newspaper after his father’s arrest in February 2021, he told CPJ.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

At about 12:30 p.m. on Monday, MediaOne TV ceased broadcasting after it received a suspension notice via email, according to the outlet’s editor, Pramod Raman, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting suspended the broadcaster for unspecified “security reasons” and because it allegedly had not been granted a security clearance by the Home Ministry during its license renewal, according to multiple news reports, a statement by the outlet, and Raman.

Following the suspension, the Kerala High Court temporarily postponed the government’s order until a hearing on Wednesday, according to those sources. The channel has since resumed live broadcasting.

“Indian authorities should not use vague security concerns to suspend broadcasters like MediaOne TV,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C.  “The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting must drop its bid to ban MediaOne TV and stop efforts to create such a harmful precedent.”

MediaOne TV is owned by Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited, many of whose investors are members of the Kerala state chapter of the Islamic organization Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, according to the Indian Express. The channel has critically reported on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organization of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, as well as the government’s response to protests surrounding the Citizenship Amendment Act and farming legislation.

On January 5, the outlet received a notice from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting asking why its security clearance should not be revoked, Raman said. He told CPJ that the notice did not cite any specific actions by the broadcaster that could result in the denial of its clearance.

Previously, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting banned MediaOne TV for 48 hours over its coverage of riots in Delhi in March 2020, as CPJ documented at the time.

CPJ emailed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Home Ministry for comment, but did not immediately receive any replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

In a statement released on September 5, Tanzanian government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa announced a month-long suspension of the privately owned newspaper, beginning the following day. In that statement, he accused Raia Mwema of repeatedly breaking the law and violating professional journalism standards through misleading reporting and incitement.

Raia Mwema editor Joseph Kulangwa denied those allegations but said the newspaper would comply with the order and not file an appeal, according to a letter from the newspaper to Msigwa, which CPJ reviewed, and interviews Kalangwagave with local outlet The Chanzo and German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who took office in March, previously ordered the reversals of some media bans, and officials in her government have made statements committing to improve conditions for journalists, according to multiple news reports and CPJ reporting. 

However, last month her government also suspended Uhuru, a newspaper owned by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, for two weeks, as CPJ documented at the time.

“Promises by Tanzania’s government to improve the country’s press freedom climate will continue to ring hollow if authorities keep up the trend of taking newspapers off the streets on the flimsiest pretexts,” said CPJ Sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo. “Tanzanian officials should drop their suspension of Raia Mwema and ensure that all newspapers can report the news without fear of suspensions and bans.”

Msigwa, a presidential appointee who is also in charge of Tanzania’s Information Services Department, which licenses newspapers, said in his statement that Raia Mwema broke the law in three separate reports.

He cited an August 21 article about proposed government fees for public locations playing music, saying it “creates panic among the community.” Speaking to Deutsche Welle, Kalangwa said that the report was not published with malicious intent but was meant to tell the public to prepare for the new fees.

Msigwa alleged that a September 3 article about the August 25 shooting of police officers by a person whom Raia Mwema linked to the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party did not provide adequate evidence that the shooter was a member of that party and could incite hatred within it. He also alleged that the newspaper showed a lack of professionalism by mislabeling the date of that article.

In the letter from Raia Mwema and in Kalangwa’s interviews, the newspaper and editor said that the article only claimed that the shooter was a supporter of the party, not that he was a member, and said that they had visual evidence and witness statements to support that claim. Raia Mwema also asked why the party itself did not file a complaint. In the September 3 article, which CPJ reviewed, a man identified as the shooter is seen wearing a shirt with the party’s colors.

Msigwa also cited another September 3 article about a lawsuit against a former government official, saying that the newspaper failed to make clear in its headline that the official was no longer in office. In that article, which CPJ reviewed, the official is identified as having left office in the first paragraph.

In his statement, Msigwa accused Raia Mwema of breaching sections of the Media Services Act, a 2016 law which imposes prison terms of up to five years and fines of up to 20 million Tanzanian shillings (US$8,600) on those convicted of publishing false news; up to five years in prison and fines of up to 10 million shillings (US$4,300) for first-time offenders convicted of publishing and distributing seditious content; and prison terms of up to six years and fines of 20 million shillings (US$8,600) for publishing false information likely to cause alarm or disturb the peace.

In 2019, the East African Court of Justice ruled that the Media Services Act, which was also cited in the Uhuru case in August, was inimical to press freedom, as CPJ documented. However, Tanzania has not implemented the court’s directive to amend the law, according to multiple reports.

The law was also cited as justification for the closure of several publications under the previous government of President John Magufuli, including in 2017 when Raia Mwema was closed for 90 days, according to reports and CPJ research.

On September 6, CPJ emailed the Information Services Department for comment, but did not receive any reply.

On September 12, Samia moved that department from the Ministry of information, Culture, Arts, and Sports to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, headed by a newly appointed minister, according to a statement shared by Msigwa and media reports.

After that reorganization, CPJ emailed the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology for comment on September 14, but did not receive any response, and the phone number listed on the ministry’s website did not connect.

CPJ repeatedly called Msigwa for comment and also contacted him via messaging app and Twitter, but did not receive any responses.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Earlier that day, Uhuru had published a front-page story alleging that Hassan, who took office in March following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, did not intend to run for office during the next general election in 2025, according to the same media reports and a statement by the CCM.

The CCM disowned Uhuru’s reporting, claiming that the article was false and a mischaracterization of an August 9 interview Hassan gave to the BBC, according to the party’s statement and CCM Secretary General Daniel Chongolo, who spoke about the incident during a press conference on the morning of August 11.

In a video posted on Twitter on August 27, Uhuru Media Group, the newspaper’s parent company, said that the publication was back in circulation after 14 days and shared top headlines of that day’s newspaper. Edwin Soko, the chairperson of the Mwanza Press Club who spoke to CPJ via telephone on September 9, also confirmed that the paper was in circulation.

CPJ was not able to get through to anyone at Uhuru when trying to call phone numbers listed on its website and Facebook page in early September. The publication also did not respond to an email, a message sent via Facebook, or a message submitted through an automated form on the outlet’s website. 

At the August 11 conference, Chongolo said that the newspaper’s board had suspended three senior managers at Uhuru pending investigation, and that he had directed the newspaper to cease publishing for seven days, according to a recording of the press conference posted on YouTube by private media outlets Mwanahalisi TV and Global TV.

However, Msigwa, a presidential appointee who is also the director of Tanzania’s Information Services Department, whose mandate includes licensing print media, issued a harsher 14-day suspension of Uhuru’s license, according to a statement posted on his Twitter account later that day. The suspension would take effect August 12, Msigwa said, adding that Uhuru could appeal to the Minister of Information if it wanted to contest the suspension. 

In the statement, Msigwa said that in publishing the front-page story, Uhuru had breached professional standards and had violated sections of Tanzania’s Media Services Act. He accused the newspaper of violating sections of the law that allow for the imposition of hefty fines and prison terms for publications that include false information or have seditious intent.

Under the Media Services Act, first-time offenders convicted of publishing or distributing seditious publications may face up to five years in prison and/or fines of 10 million Tanzanian shillings (US$4,300). Anyone convicted of publishing “recklessly” or “fraudulently” fabricated information may face a prison term of up to five years and fines of up to 20 million Tanzanian shillings (US$8,600). 

Uhuru is the first newspaper to be suspended in Tanzania in 2021, though the Media Services Act was weaponized to temporarily shutter several publications and to indefinitely revoke the license of at least one newspaper under the Magufuli presidency, according to CPJ’s past reporting and an August 11 statement by a local non-governmental organization, the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC), reviewed by CPJ.

In 2019, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), a regional body, directed Tanzania to amend the Media Services Act, finding that the law was inimical to press freedom and violated the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, of which Tanzania is a founding member, as CPJ reported at the time.

In the August 11 statement, the THRDC urged the government to implement the 2019 EACJ ruling, saying that failure to do so was giving Tanzania a “bad image.” On August 27, the THRDC and two other local non-governmental organizations, Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) and the Legal and Human Rights Centre, filed a lawsuit against the government of Tanzania for contempt of court at the EACJ for its failure to amend the Media Services Act, according to a statement published on Facebook by the MCT.

CPJ emailed the EACJ for confirmation of the filing, but did not receive a response.

CPJ’s emails to the CCM, the Ministry of Information, and the Information Services Department requesting comment on the suspension of Uhuru, sent in late August and early September, went unanswered. 

Msigwa did not answer his phone when CPJ called twice in early September, and also did not respond to a text message or WhatsApp message from CPJ requesting comment.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Forcing a popular news talk show host like Hamid Mir off the air after voicing criticism of Pakistan’s military—and support for a fellow journalist—only underscores the lack of true press freedom in Pakistan,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Critical comments about key state institutions are an important component of democracy, not a scourge to be eliminated.”

Mir’s suspension followed comments about the military at a rally outside the National Press Club in Islamabad in support of journalist Asad Ali Toor, according to news reports, video posted on Twitter, text messages from Mir to CPJ, and a statement issued by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, which was posted on Twitter. Toor was assaulted at his home last week, as CPJ documented.

A Geo News representative, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, told CPJ in a telephone conversation that Geo was in the process of drafting a statement for public release on Mir’s suspension.

Mir survived an attempt on his life in 2014, when he was hit by six bullets in Karachi, as CPJ reported at the time.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Since May 20, dozens of anonymous people have called and sent text messages to Nkanga, an Abuja-based reporter with the BBC, angered over a recent documentary aired by the broadcaster, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview and shared copies of the threats.

Nkanga told CPJ that he had gone into hiding for fear of his safety.

“Nigerian authorities must promptly and thoroughly investigate the threats made to BBC journalist Peter Nkanga and ensure his safety,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “Death threats and systematic harassment can be a form of censorship, and authorities must take any attempts at intimidation seriously.”

On May 17, the BBC aired a documentary anchored by Nkanga that featured Ahmed Isah, the host of the Brekete Family Program, a popular Nigerian radio show in which he advocates on behalf of people facing human rights issues. In the documentary, Isah is seen slapping a woman who allegedly set her niece’s hair on fire, which Nkanga says “crossed a line.” Elsewhere in the documentary, Nkanga also refers to Isah as “effective” in seeking justice for Nigerians who faced abuse.

On May 19, Isah apologized on-air during the Brekete Family Program for hitting that woman, but accused Nkanga and the BBC team of plotting to kill him, saying, “they had planned a specific spot where they would stage what looked like an attack on our vehicle and there they would eliminate me.”

The BBC denied those allegations in a statement published by the local daily Premium Times. 

On May 20, during a call-in segment on the Brekete Family Program, someone who identified themselves as “Barrister Tinubu” called the program, said Nkanga’s phone number on-air, and called for Isah’s supporters to contact Nkanga to voice their displeasure over the documentary.

Nkanga told CPJ that he almost immediately began receiving threatening messages and calls and he was forced to switch off his phone. One of the threats, a recording of which CPJ reviewed, came from an unidentified caller who said Nkanga would be “stoned to death” if he continued covering Isah and Human Rights Radio.

On May 21, the same person identifying themselves as Barrister Tinubu called the show again, shared another of Nkanga’s phone numbers, and again criticized the journalist’s work. A May 22 tweet tagging Nkanga and BBC Africa included an image of a bleeding snake wrapped around a saw and a message that those picking fights need to “Be careful.”

On May 20, Nigeria’s broadcast media regulator, the National Broadcasting Corporation, summoned Isah and a co-host of the Brekete Family Program over the assault featured in the documentary, according to Premium Times.

Nkanga told CPJ that he was particularly worried about what Isah’s supporters would do to him or his family if Nigeria’s media regulator punished Isah as a result of his reporting.

The National Broadcasting Corporation said on May 27 that it had suspended Human Rights Radio, the Brekete Family Program’s parent company, over Isah’s actions depicted in the BBC documentary, according to Premium Times. The suspension will begin on May 31 and last for at least 30 days, according to that report, which also said that the broadcaster would be required to pay an unspecified fine.

When CPJ called Isah for comment, a person who confirmed that he was Isa hung up as soon as CPJ’s representative identified themself. When CPJ called back, the person answered but then hung up immediately. CPJ called and emailed Brekete Family Program for comment, but the calls did not connect and the email received an error message.

CPJ called and texted National Broadcasting Corporation Spokesperson Franca Aiyetan and police spokesperson Maryam Yusuf, but did not receive any responses.

Nkanga previously worked as CPJ’s West Africa Representative from 2012 to 2017.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On April 19, the Ministry of Telecommunications Technologies and Media (MINTTICS) ordered all three of the country’s TV operators—DSTV Angola, TV Cabo, and ZAP TV—to cease airing content from Record TV Africa, Vida TV, and Zap Viva, according to a statement by the ministry, which CPJ reviewed, and media reports.          

The statement alleged that those channels had violated multiple laws by allegedly failing to properly register as media companies, and cited the Press Law, Television Law, Statute on Journalists, and the General Electronic Communication Regulations as its authority to suspend the channels until they properly registered.

All three channels are off the air in Angola, but are still being broadcast in Mozambique, according to reports.

“With next year’s elections looming, Angolan President João Lourenço and his administration should promote a range of media perspectives and ensure that the state does not have a monopoly on information crucial for the public to make informed decisions,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “Censoring media outlets owned by opponents or those critical of the government flies in the face of the president’s purported commitment to a free press.”

The MINTTICS statement said that the ministry also planned to revoke the operating licenses of media outlets that had allegedly been inactive for two years or more, which it said comprised 27 of the country’s 144 registered radio stations, 209 of the 243 registered newspapers, and 442 of the 459 magazines. The statement also said that only 10 websites were accurately registered to operate in the country, and did not offer any further details.

Teixeira Cândido, president of the Syndicate of Angolan Journalists trade union, told CPJ by phone that Record TV Africa, Vida TV, and Zap Viva had been suspended without receiving any warning that they had been allegedly operating without proper registration.

He added that MINTTICS had no legal authority to suspend the channels, saying the laws cited in the statement only applied to companies such as TV subscription service providers, but did not apply to individual content production companies.

Angolan citizens “are now reduced to watching channels that are under direct government control,” Cândido said.

André Mussamo, president of the Angolan chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, a regional press freedom group, told CPJ by phone that Record TV Africa, Vida TV, and Zap Viva had become targets for authorities because of their journalism critical of President João Lourenço’s government.

“Press freedom took a punch with this suspension; diverse and independent news are paramount to a young democracy such as Angola,” he added.

Zap Viva and VIDA TV are owned by Isabel and Welvitcha dos Santos, respectively, the daughters of former president José Eduardo dos Santos; Record TV Africa is owned by private shareholders and by TV Record Europa, a company affiliated with the evangelical Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) headquartered in Brazil, according to media reports.

Under Lourenço’s administration, the dos Santos family and others close to the former president have been accused of corruption and prosecuted, according to media reports. Angolan authorities have accused the UCKG of tax evasion and financial crimes, according to media reports.

In addition to the alleged failure to register as cited in the suspensions of Zap Viva and VIDA TV, MINTTICS also accused Record TV Africa of having a foreign citizen as its executive director and of employing non-accredited foreign journalists, both violations of the press laws, according to the MINTTICS statement and news reports.

On April 30, Record TV Africa appointed Angolan journalist Simeão Mundula to replace Fernando Teixeira, a Brazilian national, as director, according to reports. Before he was replaced, Teixeira told CPJ via messaging app that no foreign journalists were employed by the broadcaster, adding that the suspension order was a political decision, and that Record TV Africa had filed an appeal.

VIDA TV owner Welwitcha dos Santos posted on her Facebook page that she believed the ministry’s order was “another illegality by a government led by a president intent on shutting down all who irritate him.”

Zap Viva’s communication director, Vanessa Berenguel, emailed CPJ a statement in which the company called the suspension “unfair” and an “unjustifiable mistake.” The statement said that Zap Viva had contacted the media regulator repeatedly over the last three years, and had complied with all of its instructions.

When CPJ called DSTV Angola director Glauco Ferreira and Zap HD director José Lourenço, they both declined to comment. TV Cabo director Francisco Ferreira told CPJ that although his company was named in the statement, it simply distributed DSTV and Zap HD’s offerings.

Nuno Albino, Angola’s secretary of state for media, told state broadcaster Televisão Pública de Angola that the suspensions were a “normal administrative action.” When CPJ repeatedly called Albino for comment, he did not answer the calls and replied via text that he could not talk at that time, and then did not respond to subsequent texts.

CPJ emailed MINTTICS for comment at the address listed on its website, but received an error message that the address was not functional.

Last July, the Angolan government nationalized the Media Nova media group, which owned the broadcaster TV Zimbo, newspaper O país, Exame magazine, Radio Mais, and printing company Damer; in August, it also nationalized Interactive Empreendimentos Multimédia (IEM) LDA media group, which produced content for subscription channel TV Palanca and Radio Global, according to news reports from the time.

Prior to its nationalization, Media Nova was owned by Manuel Vicente, the former vice president under dos Santos, as well as two army generals, Leopoldino dos Santos and Kopelipa Dias, and IEM was owned by Manuel Rabelais, the former minister of media under dos Santos, as well as by other former officials affiliated with the ex-president, according to reports.

The government of President Lourenço has accused members of dos Santos’ administration of corruption and of siphoning funds from the state to build media companies, those reports said.  

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.