On June 16, Togo’s regulatory High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) suspended the two outlets, which are subsidiaries of the French government-owned France Médias Monde citing “repeated failures” in “impartiality, rigor and fact-checking.” It said the outlets had aired statements that were “inaccurate, biased, or even contrary to established facts, undermining the stability of republican institutions and the image of the country,” without providing further details.

“It is unfortunate that Togo is following a worrying trend across West Africa of censoring RFI and France 24 for their local reporting, depriving citizens of important sources of information,” said CPJ Francophone Africa Representative Moussa Ngom. “Togolese regulatory authorities must allow RFI and France 24 to resume broadcasting.”

In a statement, RFI and France 24 said they were “surprised” to learn of their suspension “without notice” and that their teams delivered “verified, impartial, and balanced information” in compliance with a licensing agreement between the HAAC and France Médias Monde, which is in charge of French international broadcasting.

In early June, protests erupted calling for President Faure Gnassingbé to resign, following the arrest of local musician Aamron, who had called for demonstrations. Gnassingbé has been in power since his father died in 2005 and could rule for life due to recent constitutional changes.

On June 6, Flore Monteau, a correspondent with the French public broadcaster TV5 Monde, was briefly detained and forced to delete videos of the protests.

Over the last three years, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have also suspended France 24 and RFI indefinitely.

CPJ’s calls and email to request comment from the HAAC went unanswered.

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

“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.

The post LSU Summarily Suspended Me With No Basis: Here’s Why That was Cruel appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Ken Levy.

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.

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Alexandria Ehlert has pursued a college education hoping to become a park ranger or climate scientist. Now she’s wondering whether she’ll ever finish her studies at College of Menominee Nation.

The scholarship that kept her afloat at the tribal college in Wisconsin vanished in recent weeks, and with it her optimism about completing her degrees there and continuing her studies at a four-year institution.

Ehlert is one of about 20 College of Menominee Nation students who rely on scholarships funded through a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. The Trump administration suspended the grant amid widespread cost-cutting efforts. Unless other money can be found, Ehlert and the other scholarship students are in their final weeks on campus.

“It’s leaving me without a lot of hope,” said Ehlert, a member of the Oneida nation. “Maybe I should just get a warehouse job and drop school entirely.”

Many staff and students at the country’s 37 tribal colleges and universities, which rely heavily on federal dollars, have been alarmed by the suspension of crucial grants early in Donald Trump’s second presidency.

Even before he retook office, the schools essentially lived paycheck to paycheck. A 1978 law promised them a basic funding level, but Congress hasn’t come close to fulfilling that obligation in decades. Today, the colleges get a quarter-billion dollars less per year than they should, when accounting for inflation, and receive almost nothing to build and maintain their campuses. Water pipes break frequently, roofs leak, ventilation systems fail and buildings crumble. Other than minuscule amounts of state funding in some cases and a smattering of private donations, tribal colleges that lose any federal funding have few other sources of income.

“You freeze our funding and ask us to wait six months to see how it shakes out, and we close,” said Ahniwake Rose, president of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, which lobbies for tribal colleges in Washington, D.C. “That’s incredibly concerning.”

At least $7 million in USDA grants to tribal colleges and universities have been suspended, Rose said. The schools’ concerns have been magnified by a lack of communication from federal agencies, which she attributed partly to many federal workers being laid off as the Trump administration has made across-the-board cuts to the federal bureaucracy.

Staff at the College of Menominee Nation were seeking reimbursement for $50,000 spent on research and other work conducted in January, when a federal website indicated a grant from the USDA had been suspended. It was a technical issue, they were told when they first reached someone at the agency, and they needed to contact technical support. But that didn’t solve the problem. Then a few days later the department told the college to halt all grant activity, including Ehlert’s scholarship, without explaining why or for how long.

The frozen grants are administered by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA. They stem from a 1994 law, the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act, which designated the tribal colleges as land-grant institutions. Congress created the land-grant system in the 19th century to provide more funding for agricultural and vocational degrees.

The 1994 addition of tribal colleges to the list of land-grant institutions gave the schools access to more funding for specific projects, mostly focused on food and agriculture. Many grants funded food research and projects to increase the availability of food, which is particularly important in rural areas with fewer grocery stores and restaurants.

“It’s really precarious for tribal colleges,” said Twyla Baker, president of Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College in North Dakota. Her college also lost access to NIFA funds that were paying for food research and a program that connects Indigenous farmers, ranchers and gardeners to each other. “We don’t have large endowments to fall back on.”

Several other college presidents said they were preparing for the worst. Red Lake Nation College in Minnesota was freezing salaries, travel and hiring, said President Dan King. So was United Tribes Technical College in North Dakota, which paused renovation of a dormitory originally built as military barracks in 1900. ProPublica reported in October that tribal colleges need more than half a billion dollars to catch up on campus maintenance.

“We’re hoping to get started soon, because we have a short construction season here,” said Leander McDonald, president of the United Tribes college.

At Blackfeet Community College in northern Montana, a NIFA grant is helping to create a program to train workers for the Blackfeet tribe’s new slaughterhouse. The college has started construction on a new building, but President Brad Hall worries that without access to promised federal funds, he might have to pause the project.

Like other tribal college leaders, Hall hasn’t been able to get clear answers from the USDA. Unlike some other schools, his college has been able to access federal funds, but he wonders for how long.

“Without the clarity and without the communication, it’s very hard to make decisions right now,” he said. “We’re in a holding pattern, combined with a situation where the questions aren’t being answered to our satisfaction.”

USDA spokespeople declined to answer questions. The agency emailed a written statement noting that “NIFA programs are currently under review,” but did not provide details on which grants have been suspended or for how long. The agency did not respond to requests for clarification.

Some tribal college leaders theorized they were targeted partly because of the formal name of the 1994 land-grant law: the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act. The Trump administration has laid waste to federal spending on programs with “diversity,” “equity” or “inclusion” in the names.

While “equity” often refers to fairness in relation to race or sex, in the 1994 bill, Congress used the word to highlight that tribal colleges would finally have access to the same funds that 19th-century laws had made available to other land-grant colleges and universities. A spokesperson for the organization that represents nontribal land-grant institutions, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, said he was not aware of any USDA funds to nontribal colleges being suspended.

Tribal colleges argue their funding is protected by treaties and the federal trust responsibility, a legal obligation requiring the United States to protect Indigenous resources, rights and assets. Cutting off funding to the tribal colleges is illegal, several university presidents said.

“We were promised education and health care and basic needs,” said King at Red Lake Nation College. “The fact that we’re being lumped in with these other programs — well, we’re not like them.”

The College of Menominee Nation was only a year into its game-changing $9 million USDA grant, which was funding workforce development, training students in local trades such as forestry, and improving food access for Indigenous people. The five-year grant was a “once-in-a-lifetime award,” said college President Christopher Caldwell.

“We want our students to graduate and have healthy job opportunities,” Caldwell said. “Now it just kind of got cut off at the knees.”

This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by by Matt Krupnick for ProPublica.

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 Wednesday, a court in the Russian capital, Moscow, gave Kuznetsov, a reporter with the independent news website RusNews who has been in detention since September 2021, a suspended sentence, rather than the four-and-a-half-year prison sentence that prosecutors had requested, according to media reports and his outlet.

But the journalist will remain behind bars because he is also being tried for allegedly inciting mass disturbances in group chats on Telegram, for which a prosecutor in December requested a nine-year jail sentence, those sources said.

“Russian authorities have held journalist Igor Kuznetsov for over two-and-a-half-years on a range of spurious charges aimed at silencing him and his outlet. Correspondents of RusNews are some of the last remaining independent reporters in President Vladimir Putin’s Russia,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should drop all the charges against Kuznetsov, release him immediately, and stop jailing independent voices.”

The court also banned Kuznetsov from managing websites, working in media, and organizing mass and public events for four years, and sentenced him to one year of restricted freedom, those sources said.

Restriction of freedom involves not being allowed to leave home at certain times of day, not visiting certain places, not participating in certain activities, not leaving the territory of a specific municipality, and not changing your place of residence.

Russian authorities accused Kuznetsov of being connected to the Left Resistance, an anti-war movement created in 2017, which authorities have labeled as extremist. RusNews chief editor Sergey Aynbinder told CPJ that Kuznetsov denied being an “extremist.”

In addition to Kuznetsov, Russia has jailed two other RusNews journalists.

Maria Ponomarenko was given a six-year sentence in 2023 for spreading “fake” information about the Russian army and could face an additional five years in jail in a second criminal case where she is being tried on allegations of using violence against prison staff.

In March, Roman Ivanov was sentenced to seven years in jail on the same charge of spreading fake information about the army.

Russia was the world’s fourth worst jailer of journalists—with 22 behind bars, including Kuznetsov, Ponomarenko, and Ivanov—on December 1, 2023, when CPJ conducted its latest annual prison census.

CPJ’s email to Moscow’s Meshansky District Court requesting comment on Kuznetsov’s sentence did not receive any response.

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

In November, Columbia University students staged a protest against Israel’s war on Gaza. There was a “die-in,” an art installation, and a list of demands, among them that the school administration publicly call for a ceasefire and divest from companies implicated in Israel’s violence. The protest concluded with students singing “We Shall Overcome.”

A day later, Columbia suspended two of the student groups who had co-sponsored the demonstration. Senior Executive Vice President Gerald Rosberg called it an “unauthorized event” that “proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation.”

Now, those groups have sued the school. On Tuesday, the New York Civil Liberties Union and Palestine Legal filed a lawsuit against Columbia University, “for the unlawful suspension of its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) for engaging in peaceful protest.” The groups seek reinstatement and a declaration that the school violated state law in carrying out the suspensions.

The suit — brought on behalf of the SJP and JVP chapters, as well as one Palestinian and one Jewish student — notes that the November 9 protest was “sponsored by a coalition comprised of over 20 groups,” and that nevertheless, the “two groups were given no notice of the planned suspensions and no opportunity to respond to the charges or to contest them. None of the other groups involved in the event faced disciplinary action.”

The plaintiffs draw attention to a “Special Committee on Campus Safety,” created in the aftermath of Hamas’s attack on October 7, which carried out the suspensions (Rosberg is its chair). They say that the suspended student groups, the university senate, and broader school community only learned of the committee’s existence after it took action. The suit adds “the Petitioner students had previously been warned by their student advisor about a so-called ‘protest-shutting-down committee’ that had been regularly meeting and purportedly waiting for SJP, especially, to make a wrong move.”

The suit notes that Rosberg told SJP and JVP in a November 30 meeting — also attended by other administrators, university senators, and faculty members — that they had not been suspended for a violation of the university code of conduct. According to the students, he did not specify what exactly accounted for the decision, or why it was conducted in such a public manner. “When pressed to specify which of the student groups’ actions constituted ‘threatening rhetoric and intimidation,’ VP Rosberg proffered that protestors’ accusations that Israel was ‘a racist state committing genocide’ and ‘is an apartheid state’ could upset some people and ‘seem … like an incitement of violence,’” the suit reads. (In December, students confronted Rosberg, asking him, “Are Palestinians human?” He responded, “I refuse to be intimidated.”)

“Clearly, Columbia has the capacity to act quickly to enact unilateral policy changes and take extreme actions, but only insofar as they can preserve the interests of their investments in Israel and their donors.”

Columbia declined to comment on the pending litigation. The university still has an open investigation into a January protest on campus where pro-Palestinian students were attacked with chemicals. Students maintained to The Intercept that the university had disregarded their complaints about the attack at the protest. The demonstration had also been labeled “unsanctioned.”

“It was incredibly frustrating to see a ‘Special Committee on Campus Safety’ weaponize the notion of safety to restrict dissent when, in doing so, they in fact compromised the safety of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students,” one of the plaintiffs, Maryam Alwan, told The Intercept. “Clearly, Columbia has the capacity to act quickly to enact unilateral policy changes and take extreme actions, but only insofar as they can preserve the interests of their investments in Israel and their donors — not when it comes to the physical safety of pro-Palestinian students.”

Penn Sued to Block “Witch Hunt”

At the University of Pennsylvania, meanwhile, campus affiliates are also taking their school to court. Penn Faculty for Justice in Palestine — made up of professors, staff, and graduate students — filed a legal complaint on Saturday pressing the university to not hand over teaching files, emails, and other documents to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. (Penn did not respond to a request for comment on the complaint.)

The committee is investigating what it claims is “rampant antisemitism” on college campuses, namely Ivy League schools like Penn and Harvard University, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It’s the same committee — with Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., at the helm — that held hearings in December that led to the resignation of Penn President Elizabeth Magill and Harvard’s Claudine Gay.

The Penn faculty group said, “The Committee is engaged in a partisan witch hunt by seeking syllabi, academic papers, and other material from Penn faculty of all ranks, with the search highlighting keywords like Jew, Israel, antisemitism, Palestine, Gaza, resistance, settler colonialism and diversity, equity and inclusion, to name most of their criteria.”

The “would-be McCarthyesque House of Representatives is behaving as if it never heard of the First Amendment,” the complaint continues. The faculty members cited the passage of House Resolution 894 — which equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism — and the fact that the committee is seeking to obtain student information deemed confidential under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Plaintiff Eve Troutt Powell, a professor of Middle Eastern history at Penn, told The Intercept that the university was in a difficult position, being under attack from Congress and donor pressure, but that the school should have stood firm. “We have been doxxed and we have been harassed and the university has promised it would protect us,” she said, “but we now understand that the university has been giving over documents, perhaps in hopes that this congressional committee will not subpoena the university, and we don’t accept it.”

Troutt Powell noted that Penn faculty and students are already feeling pressure after Magill’s resignation and from statements by Marc Rowan, the billionaire CEO of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, who is chair of the board of advisers of the university’s Wharton School of Business.

Rowan has advanced an assault on academic freedom at Penn, all while smearing its students for their views on Israel. He suggested the university eliminate certain departments — including the arts and sciences school — and revise policies surrounding hiring and campus speech. He has derided students as antisemitic for using the phrase “from the river to the sea,” while at the same time calling them ignorant: “If you ask these kids what river and what sea, they don’t know. Who lives between the river and the sea? They don’t know. How did they get there? They don’t know,” he said at the Economic Club of Washington last month.

Rowan is also among the “critical Penn donors” who shelled out tens of thousands of dollars in January to Foxx, the Virginia House member, after her crusade against colleges including Penn began.

“We’re not hearing enough of a response” from the school administration, Troutt Powell said. “I feel like I wouldn’t tell a graduate student to come here if you’re going to work on Middle East stuff. I’m worried about my junior colleagues very much and I’ve never seen a university go from safe to unsafe so quickly.”

A week after Magill’s resignation in December, and in response to comments by Rowan, over 900 school faculty signed a letter railing against “attempts by trustees, donors, and other external actors to interfere with our academic policies and to undermine academic freedom.”

The lawsuit takes this a step further, asking a judge to issue an injunction to stop the university from cooperating with the House investigation.

Faculty for Justice in Palestine said, “Penn FJP hopes that this lawsuit will encourage Penn to … protect its faculty from a committee that forced the resignation of former president M. Liz Magill — for the first time in both the House Congressional Committee’s history and that of the university.”

This content originally appeared on The Intercept and was authored by Prem Thakker.

Legal and academic experts said that cases of suspended death sentences for espionage crimes are rare in China, but they believed it was Beijing’s move to “punish one as an example to scare others.”

Yang’s friend, Feng Chongyi, associate professor of Chinese studies at the University of Technology Sydney, told Radio Free Asia that a Beijing court publicly announced the verdict on Monday.

“The verdict was announced at the Beijing Second People’s Court at nine or ten o'clock today [Feb. 5]. Yang Hengjun attended the court in person to hear the verdict,” Feng said.

“Yang’s wife, Australian consulate personnel, the ambassador to China, counselors, and his lawyers were all present.”

According to the verdict, the court found Yang guilty of providing intelligence to Taiwan’s intelligence agency while working in Hong Kong in 1994, sentencing him to death, convertible to life imprisonment after two years, and depriving him of all his personal property.

The 58-year-old Yang, detained since January 2019, is understood to have worked at China’s foreign ministry and the Hainan provincial government. He was transferred to a state-owned enterprise in Hong Kong in the 1990s, and then relocated to the United States. 

In 2000, he emigrated to Australia and obtained citizenship. He is also a writer and commentator. He was detained five years ago after arriving in Guangzhou on a flight from the United States.

Yang’s friend, Feng, lambasted the espionage charge as “absurd.” 

“In fact, what he really did was write articles online to promote democracy, freedom and the rule of law,” he said. 

“If you commit a crime, you would run, let alone return [to China]? Logically, you should appeal because this is an unjust case, but he is currently in very poor health. We hope that after he is transferred to prison, he will have a greater chance of applying for medical parole.”

It is unknown at this point if Yang, who had a cyst in his kidney during his detention, will appeal.

Warning to others

Feng described the sentence as having “no bottom line,” but it was slapped on Yang because of his past public criticism of China on social media, intended to “kill the chicken to scare the monkeys” – alluding to the Chinese idiom of punishing one as an example to scare others.

Zhang Dongshuo, a criminal lawyer in Beijing, pointed out that suspended death sentences for espionage cases are rare.

“In recent years, very few people have been sentenced to death or suspended death for such a crime,” Zhang said. 

“This verdict would be the most severe in recent years. The crime must endanger national security, and the circumstances must be very serious, the damage enormous to warrant this sentence. For example, he stole and provided a lot of national secret information, top secret information, and confidential information to the outside world.”

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Monday that the government was appalled by the decision and had summoned the Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian to lodge its objection in the strongest terms.

Wong said they had repeatedly raised Yang’s case with China in different high-level meetings, requesting that Yang be treated humanely and that the case be heard fairly and impartially. 

But Feng criticized the Australian government for putting economic and trade interests above safeguarding citizens’ rights.

“The Australian government should have responded very strongly. It cannot just do business as usual,” he said.

In its regular press conference on Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the court fully protected Yang’s litigation rights, respected and implemented Australia’s consular rights such as visitation and notification.

Translated by RFA staff. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Gu Ting for RFA Mandarin.

Tran Thi Ngoc Trinh, 34, was freed shortly after receiving her sentence from the Ho Chi Minh City Court Thursday morning. 

Police arrested her for her viral video clips of herself lying down on a motorcycle, kneeling on the seat, driving hands-free and placing both legs on one side of the vehicle, Vietnamese media reported.

Legal experts told RFA that the charges against her were unfounded, especially because she wasn’t driving on a street, and was not in any way criticizing the government.

During the trial, Trinh testified that she had been training with a teacher, Tran Xuan Dong, to get a driver’s license for a large-displacement motorbike.  She asked Dong to teach her some driving stunts and she imitated other video clips posted online.

Dong was sentenced to one-and-a-half years for “disrupting social order” and “using fake documents” on the same day.

“In my opinion, the verdict of one-year suspension is appropriate and humane,” a Hanoi lawyer, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA Vietnamese.

“However, her act should have not led to arrest, and the media that ran her photos should have blurred her face so as not to affect her personal image.”

He said that through this case, authorities wanted to warn people who have large followings on social media.

“The judges should observe the law, not follow someone else’s instructions,” he said. 

Prior to the trial, Trinh published an apology video clip filmed at the Police Station and advised others not to follow her actions.

 Translated by An Nguyen. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Vietnamese.

The United States continued to expressed outrage and vow a response to the deaths of American service members in Jordan following a drone attack it blamed on Iranian-backed militias, while Washington and London in a separate move stepped up pressure on Tehran with a new set of coordinated sanctions.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on January 29 doubled down on earlier vows by President Joe Biden to hold responsible those behind the drone attack, which also injured dozens of personnel, many of whom are being treated for traumatic brain injuries, according to the Pentagon.

"Let me start with my outrage and sorrow [for] the deaths of three brave U.S. troops in Jordan and for the other troops who were wounded," Austin told a Pentagon briefing.

"The president and I will not tolerate attacks on U.S. forces and we will take all necessary actions to defend the U.S. and our troops."

Later, White House national-security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that "we are not looking for a war with Iran."

He added, though, that drone attack "was escalatory, make no mistake about it, and it requires a response."

A day earlier, Biden said U.S. officials had assessed that one of several Iranian-backed groups was responsible for the attack and vowed to respond at a time of Washington’s choosing.

"While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq," Biden said.

"We will carry on their commitment to fight terrorism. And have no doubt -- we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing," Biden said in a separate statement.

Details of the attack remained unclear on January 29, but a U.S. official said the enemy drone may have been confused with a U.S.-launched drone returning to the military site near the Syrian border and was therefore not shot down.

The official, who requested anonymity, said preliminary reports indicate the enemy drone was flying at a low level at the same time a U.S. drone was returning to the base, known as Tower 22.

Iran on January 29 denied it had any link with the attack, with the Foreign Ministry in Tehran calling the accusations "baseless."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that "resistance groups" in the region do not take orders from Tehran, though Western nations accuse the country of helping arm, train, and fund such groups.

Earlier, Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said, "Iran had no connection and had nothing to do with the attack on the U.S. base."

Jordan condemned what it called a "terrorist attack" on a military site, saying it was cooperating with the United States to fortify its border defenses.

The attacks are certain to intensify political pressure in the United States on Biden -- who is in an election year -- to retaliate against Iranian interests in the region, possibly in Iraq or Syria, analysts say.

Gregory Brew, a historian and an analyst with the geopolitical risk firm Eurasia Group, told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that the attack in Jordan represented a "major escalation -- and the U.S. is bound to respond forcefully and promptly."

"The response is likely to come through more intense U.S. action against Iran-backed militias in either Syria or Iraq. It's unclear if this was an intentional escalation by Iran and its allies, but the genie is out of the bottle," he added.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a vocal critic of Biden, a Democrat, on January 28 said the "only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces.... Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward."

Many observers have expressed fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East after war broke out in Gaza following the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which has been deemed a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. At least 1,200 were killed in those assaults, leading to Israel's retaliatory actions that, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, have killed more than 26,000 Palestinians.

Because of its support for Israel, U.S. forces have been the target of Islamist groups in the Middle East, including Iranian-backed Huthi rebels based in Yemen and militia groups in Iraq who are also supported by Tehran.

In another incident that will likely intensify such fears of a wider conflict, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights -- which has extensive contacts inside Syria -- said an Israeli air strike against an Iranian-linked site in Damascus killed seven people, including fighters of Tehran-backed militias.

The Tasnim news agency, which is close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), attributed the attack to Israel, writing that "two civilians" had been killed, while Syrian state television said "a number of Iranian advisers" had been killed at the "Iranian Advisory Center" in Damascus.

However, Iran’s ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, denied the Iranian center had been targeted or that "any Iranian citizens or advisers" had been killed.

Meanwhile, the United States and Britain announced a set of coordinated sanctions against 11 officials with the IRGC for alleged connections to a criminal network that has targeted foreign dissidents and Iranian regime opponents for "numerous assassinations and kidnapping" at the behest of the Iranian Intelligence and Security Ministry.

A statement by the British Foreign Office said the sanctions are designed "to tackle the domestic threat posed by the Iranian regime, which seeks to export repression, harassment, and coercion against journalists and human rights defenders" in Britain, the United States, and elsewhere.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the latest sanctions packages "exposes the roles of the Iranian officials and gangs involved in activity aimed to undermine, silence, and disrupt the democratic freedoms we value in the U.K."

"The U.K. and U.S. have sent a clear message: We will not tolerate this threat," he added.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Reuters, and AP

This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

The 1^st Tatvan Court of First Instance in the eastern province of Bitlis found Aygül, chief editor of the privately owned local news website Bitlis News and chair of the local trade group Bitlis Journalists Society, guilty of “insulting” two men who attacked him in June 2023 and sentenced the journalist to two months and five days in prison on Wednesday. The 2^nd Tatvan Court of Serious Crimes imposed suspended sentences on the two on Thursday, according to local news reports. The attackers, Yücel Baysal and Engin Kaplan, both bodyguards for Tatvan Mayor Mehmet Emin Geylani of the ruling Justice and Development Party, were released from jail pending trial in September. The mayor has denied involvement in the attack.

“Yesterday, a court in Turkey sentenced journalist Sinan Aygül to prison time for allegedly insulting the men who assaulted and hospitalized him last year. Today, another court let these two men walk free with suspended sentences. This is beyond impunity; this is criminalizing the victim,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative, on Thursday. “Turkish authorities should stop impunity for physical attacks on journalists and ensure justice is done for Aygül, who is the real victim here.”

According to the local news reports, Baysali, who beat the journalist in an attack recorded on camera, and Kaplan, who blocked people trying to stop the beating, were both found guilty of “intentional injury” and each sentenced to 17 months and 15 days in prison. Kaplan was also found guilty of “threatening [someone] with a gun” on two counts and was sentenced to 20 months for each. Under Turkish law, the execution of all the sentences were suspended and will be dropped unless the defendants commit other crimes in the next five years.

Aygül told CPJ by phone after Thursday’s hearing that he was shocked and concerned about the outcome. “This verdict is a threat to our security of life. I’m speaking openly: we have no security of life because the killers now know that they won’t be punished when we are killed,” he said.

Aygül’s lawyers plan to file separate appeals against his conviction and the sentences imposed on his attackers, but they are not hopeful that the appeals will succeed, he told CPJ.

CPJ emailed the Bitlis chief prosecutor’s office but didn’t receive any reply.

CPJ was unable to contact the legal representatives for Baysal and Kaplan.

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

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

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

"Japan is determined to support Ukraine so that peace can return to Ukraine," Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said during a surprise visit to Kyiv, becoming the first official foreign visitor for 2024.

"I can feel how tense the situation in Ukraine is now," she told a news conference -- held in a shelter due to an air-raid alert in the capital at the time -- alongside her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

"I once again strongly condemn Russia's missile and drone attacks, particularly on New Year's Day," she added, while also saying Japan would provide an additional $37 million to a NATO trust fund to help purchase drone-detection systems.

The Japanese diplomat also visited Bucha, the Kyiv suburb where Russian forces are blamed for a civilian massacre in 2022, stating she was "shocked" by what occurred there.

In a Telegram post, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal thanked "Japan for its comprehensive support, as well as significant humanitarian and financial assistance."

In particular, he cited Tokyo's "decision to allocate $1 billion for humanitarian projects and reconstruction with its readiness to increase this amount to $4.5 billion through the mechanisms of international institutions."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Meanwhile, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told a Stockholm defense conference that the main goal of the country’s foreign policy efforts in the coming years will be to support Kyiv.

“Sweden’s military, political, and economic support for Ukraine remains the Swedish government’s main foreign policy task in the coming years,” he posted on social media during the event.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking via video link, told the conference that the battlefield in his country was currently stable but that he remained confident Russia could be defeated.

"Even Russia can be brought back within the framework of international law. Its aggression can be defeated," he said.

Ukraine’s much-anticipated counteroffensive last summer largely failed to shift the front line, giving confidence to the Kremlin’s forces, especially as further Western aid is in question.

Ukraine has pleaded with its Western allies to keep supplying it with air defense weapons, along with other weapons necessary to defeat the invasion that began in February 2022.

U.S. President Joe Biden has proposed a national-security spending bill that includes $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, but it has been blocked by Republican lawmakers who insist Biden and his fellow Democrats in Congress address border security.

Zelenskiy also urged fellow European nations to join Ukraine in developing joint weapons-production capabilities so that the continent is able to "preserve itself" in the face of any future crises.

"Two years of this war have proven that Europe needs its own sufficient arsenal for the defense of freedom, its own capabilities to ensure defense," he said.

Overnight, Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 28 drones and three cruise missiles, and 12 people were wounded by a drone attack in the central city of Dnipro.

Though smaller in scale than other recent assaults, the January 7 aerial attack was the latest indication that Russia has no intention of stopping its targeting of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, often far from the front lines.

In a post to Telegram, Ukraine’s air force claimed that air defenses destroyed 21 of the 28 drones, which mainly targeted locations in the south and east of Ukraine.

"The enemy is shifting the focus of attack to the frontline territories: the Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions were attacked by drones," air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian TV.

Russia made no immediate comment on the attack.

In the southern city of Kherson, meanwhile, Russian shelling from across the Dnieper River left at least two people dead, officials said.

In the past few months, Ukrainian forces have moved across the Dnieper, setting up a small bridgehead in villages on the river's eastern banks, upriver from Kherson. The effort to establish a larger foothold there, however, has faltered, with Russian troops pinning the Ukrainians down, and keeping them from moving heavier equipment over.

Over the past two weeks, Russia has fired nearly 300 missiles and more than 200 drones at targets in Ukraine, as part of an effort to terrorize the civilian population and undermine morale. On December 29, more than 120 Russian missiles were launched at cities across Ukraine, killing at least 44 people, including 30 in Kyiv alone.

Ukraine’s air defenses have improved markedly since the months following Russia’s mass invasion in February 2022. At least five Western-supplied Patriot missile batteries, along with smaller systems like German-made Gepard and the French-manufactured SAMP/T, have also improved Ukraine’s ability to repel Russian drones and missiles.

Last week, U.S. officials said that Russia had begun using North Korean-supplied ballistic missiles as part of its aerial attacks on Ukrainian sites.

Inside Russia, authorities in Belgorod said dozens of residents have been evacuated to areas farther from the Ukrainian border.

“On behalf of regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, we met the first Belgorod residents who decided to move to a safer place. More than 100 people were placed in our temporary accommodation centers,” Andrei Chesnokov, head of the Stary Oskol district, about 115 kilometers from Belgorod, wrote in Telegram post.

With reporting by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, Reuters, and AP

This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

As Israel threatens to continue its assault on Gaza for “many months,” we look at growing Israeli civil opposition to the war. This week, 18-year-old Israeli Tal Mitnick became the first conscientious objector since October 7. We speak with Aida Touma-Sliman, an Palestinian Arab member of the left-wing party Hadash who was suspended from the Knesset last month for criticizing Israel’s assault. She was punished for a social media post she made condemning Israel’s attack on al-Shifa Hospital, and decries the “extreme right-wing government” and its suppression of critical voices in Israel.

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

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.

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

Concerns over alleged political interference in the command and control of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force are among the grounds that will be pursued by the suspended Chief of Defence, Major-General Mark Goina, if the court grants him leave to appeal.

Goina seeks leave to review the decision of the National Executive Council (NEC) that suspended him from his substantive role as the major-gene­r­al of the PNGDF on August 17, 2023, and appointed Commodore Philip Polewara as acting commander of the PNGDF.

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

The rail policy was a key component of a proposal by the company New Fortress to build a massive new liquified gas export terminal in Gibbstown, NJ, right along the Delaware River. In April, DOT denied the company a special permit to transport liquified gas by rail, and today’s suspension of the federal rule is another blow to the project.

The Trump administration regulation had been challenged in court by several environmental advocacy groups and a coalition of states, due to the massive risks to public health and safety that would be presented by a gas-by-rail scheme.

Over the past two years, communities across the region have come together to oppose the New Fortress bomb trains scheme, which would pose the risk of catastrophic damage to dozens of communities in South Jersey and Pennsylvania.

In response to today’s news, Food & Water Watch New Jersey State Director Matt Smith issued the following response:

“Suspending the outrageously dangerous Trump bomb train rule is a welcome relief to the communities that would be turned into sacrifice zones for a billionaire hedge fund tycoon to bet big on dirty gas exports. The victory goes to the powerful grassroots movement fighting back against the dangerous New Fortress export scheme and the enormous climate threat associated with the expansion of fracking and LNG.”

“This victory can, and must, go deeper. The Biden administration should take action to eliminate the threat of fracked gas bomb trains entirely, and it must do more to stop new fossil fuel projects across the country. Likewise, the Murphy administration must do more to stop the dirty energy projects that are being proposed across the state. If our political leaders believe their own rhetoric about the climate crisis, then they must take appropriate action – and that begins by stopping new fossil fuel proposals immediately.”

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.

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.

Monowar, 24, was studying for a Master’s in English at Comilla University in eastern Bangladesh while also working as a campus correspondent for the Dhaka-based Jaijaidin national daily since 2019.

On July 31, he published a story in Jaijaidin titled “Corruption prompts development in Bangladesh,” quoting from a speech that the university’s vice-chancellor AFM Abdul Moyeen made at a university event earlier that day.

On August 2, the university sent Monowar a suspension order, reviewed by CPJ, saying that he had distorted the vice-chancellor’s statement and damaged the university’s reputation.

Monowar told CPJ that he was suspended without any due process or a show-cause letter, allowing him to explain why the suspension should not be made, and that the university had not sought any correction from the newspaper prior to taking action.

The journalist said he stood by his reporting and he had an audio recording of the speech.

Monowar’s suspension prompted a protest on August 5 led by former campus reporters. The Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media, a local press freedom group, demanded the withdrawal of the order, saying the decision was “unacceptable” and it had sent a “chilling message” to hundreds of other campus journalists.

Moyeen did not immediately respond to CPJ’s email request for comment.

A university official said the suspension order would remain in place until a probe report on the incident was submitted, according to local media.

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

Monowar, 24, was studying for a Master’s in English at Comilla University in eastern Bangladesh while also working as a campus correspondent for the Dhaka-based Jaijaidin national daily since 2019.

On July 31, he published a story in Jaijaidin titled “Corruption prompts development in Bangladesh,” quoting from a speech that the university’s vice-chancellor AFM Abdul Moyeen made at a university event earlier that day.

On August 2, the university sent Monowar a suspension order, reviewed by CPJ, saying that he had distorted the vice-chancellor’s statement and damaged the university’s reputation.

Monowar told CPJ that he was suspended without any due process or a show-cause letter, allowing him to explain why the suspension should not be made, and that the university had not sought any correction from the newspaper prior to taking action.

The journalist said he stood by his reporting and he had an audio recording of the speech.

Monowar’s suspension prompted a protest on August 5 led by former campus reporters. The Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media, a local press freedom group, demanded the withdrawal of the order, saying the decision was “unacceptable” and it had sent a “chilling message” to hundreds of other campus journalists.

Moyeen did not immediately respond to CPJ’s email request for comment.

A university official said the suspension order would remain in place until a probe report on the incident was submitted, according to local media.

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

“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.

Later, in a more aggressive move, he offered to buy the company at $44 billion, his ‘best and final’ offer. Over the next few days, Musk and Twitter reached a deal. However, on May 13, Musk tweeted that the deal had been put on hold over concerns related to the prevalence of bot and spam accounts on the platform. A few hours later, he tweeted that he was “still committed to the acquisition”.

The acquisition was eventually completed in late October. But the drama leading up to the actual acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk was like a precursor to what the Musk-led platform had to offer — bizarre policy moves, claims of free speech and actions wholly detrimental to the cause, and random moves that either stayed or got rolled back at Elon’s whims, to name a few.

The Moderation Council That Never Was

One of the first tweets by Elon Musk after the acquisition was a video of himself walking into the Twitter headquarters carrying a sink. The same day, he penned an open letter to advertisers. it said, “It is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence. There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.”

On October, 28, Musk announced that Twitter would have a moderation council and that “no major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.” Ironically, one of the first directives made by Musk after he took over was the reinstatement of Babylon Bee, a satirical site that had been suspended for an anti-trans tweet. A month later, Babylon Bee, former US President Donald Trump, and various other figures were welcomed back to the platform.

Meanwhile, the promised moderation council never happened. While responding to a tweet, Musk said that the moderation council was based on the fact that a ‘coalition of political/activist’ groups had agreed not to encourage advertisers to leave the platform. Musk claimed that the group had broken the deal hence the council never took off. Speaking to CNBC, various members of this coalition denied having such a deal.

Perhaps, Musk’s understanding of content moderation became clear when he suspended the account of Ye (formerly known as Kanye West). The account of the musician was suspended after he shared an image of a swastika combined with the Star of David. Responding to a user, Elon wrote, “I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.”

According to two former employees who spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity, Ye’s tweet would have violated Twitter’s rules on hateful content, not incitement to violence. In the same week, Musk announced that Twitter would reinstate all suspended accounts based on a Twitter poll.

A few weeks later, when Musk did a poll asking whether he should step down as CEO, his ardent supporters suggested that Twitter polls could be swarmed by ‘bots’ and that only Twitter blue subscribers should be allowed to vote in policy-related decisions. Interestingly, the fact that Twitter polls are prone to manipulation was already raised by former employees and researchers. It is just that these concerns did not matter as long as polls were yielding favourable results.

While Elon Musk was busy organizing polls, on November 18 in India, editor-in-chief of the pro-BJP propaganda channel Sudarshan News Suresh Chavhanke tweeted to his 6,00,000 followers an invitation card for a wedding reception of an interfaith couple, thus revealing the venue of the event and putting the couple and their families at risk of physical violence — a clear case of violation of Twitter’s policy.

This wedding event was eventually cancelled. This tweet continues to be available on the platform even today. Suresh Chavhanke never faced any consequences. Interestingly, almost a month later, Twitter temporarily suspended the accounts of multiple journalists because they ‘doxxed’ the real-time location of Elon Musk by reporting or sharing about the popular jet tracking account @ElonJet.

Amplify Misinformation, Hate and Threats, All at ₹650 per month

It was clear from the beginning that very few prominent Twitter users would succumb to the pressure of subscribing to Twitter Blue. The flip-flops on the feature has been the butt of jokes on the platform since Musk took over. Recently, it became clear that half of all the Twitter Blue subscribers had less than 1,000 followers (this data is before the legacy blue tick purge of April 20, 2023). Not only that, there has been an uptick of hateful content, conspiracy theories and even denialism on the platform. (Reports can be found here, here and here).

Alt News checked close to two dozen Twitter Blue subscriber accounts which have more than 10,000 followers and predominantly engage in content related to India. We found that these accounts not only amplified dangerous communal misinformation but also regularly participated in trolling, amplifying political propaganda, doxxing and sharing content that stereotyped marginalized communities. Some of these accounts have been reinstated on the platform because of the ‘general amnesty’ that was granted based on a Twitter poll last year.

One of the accounts called ‘@MrSinha_‘ that was reinstated by Twitter on December 26 had amplified dangerous communal misinformation within four days of being active on the platform. On December 30, when Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant met with a near-fatal car crash, @MrSinha_ tweeted that the cricketer had met with an accident in a Rohingya-dominated area and that instead of helping him, the locals looted all his belongings and ran away.

This was entirely false as police clarified in a video statement. In fact, Pant was saved by Haryana Roadways Bus operators Sushil Kumar and Paramjeet Nain. The two had contacted the police, saved Pant’s life and handed his valuables to him while the paramedics were taking him away.

This user has amplified communal and political misinformation on multiple occasions since being reinstated (here, here, here and here).

In March this year, when a migrant crisis in Tamil Nadu was fueled by misinformation, verified Twitter Blue user Mohammed Tanvir was among the prominent enablers of panic on social media. This user shared three graphic videos claiming that they were visuals from Tamil Nadu where Bihari migrant workers were being lynched. Alt News independently debunked two of the three clips shared by Tanvir. The Tamil Nadu Police also issued a statement debunking these claims.

Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante from Haryana, who has been accused of the murder of two Muslim individuals and is apparently on the run was also a verified Twitter Blue user until things blew out of proportion and his alleged deeds came under the spotlight. This is in stark contrast to what happened in the case of Suresh Chavhanke, who tweeted the address of an interfaith wedding reception. The tweet was simply never removed because it never caught the attention of international media.

Ritesh Jha, who rose to fame in the spring of 2021 for doing a YouTube live stream in which the channel’s audience ‘rated’ Pakistani women, ‘auctioned’ them off to each other, and posted sexually charged comments on their looks and clothes, is also a verified Twitter Blue user. Jha who goes by the pseudonym ‘Liberal Doge’, has been at it for over two years and was the inspiration for the GitHub apps ‘Bulli Bai’ and ‘Sulli Deals’, which did a similar auction of Twitter accounts of Indian Muslim women.

Below is a collage of some of the tweets and replies made by Ritesh Jha alias Liberal Doge as a Twitter Blue subscriber.

He also shared a clip recently in which a minor can be seen being sexually assaulted. The clip has a text superimposed on it that reads, “Lessons being taught in madrasa”. Jha also used his Twitter to amplify the false claim that a recent chemical blast in Bulandshahr took place at a Muslim individual’s house, a claim categorically refuted by police.

Another account called Megh Updates, which attempts to position itself as a news aggregator, was reinstated on January 12. Since then, this account has spread false information at least 10 times.

The activities of these accounts are not just limited to spreading misinformation. They are also involved in trolling, harassing and attempting to intimidate journalists and politicians by sending items to their addresses. On at least three separate occasions, a paid verified user called ‘@Cyber_Huntss’ has put up tweets in which he says he is sending grocery items to his targets. Among his targets were Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. (Archive 1, 2 and 3).

Tweets by these accounts targeted Dr BR Ambedkar, journalist Danish Siddiqui who was killed by the Taliban, and shared AI-generated images of Prophet Muhammad and Aisha.

One account even shared the false claim that Dr BR Ambedkar was ‘the first rapist of independent India’. The basis of this claim is a medium post and nothing else. (Archive)

Attacks on Journalists in India

Journalists have always been a target of abuses on Twitter, especially those hailing from minority communities. In 2018, Amnesty International looked at 778 women journalists and politicians in the US and UK and found that 7.1% of tweets sent to them were abusive or problematic. In 2020, Amnesty International released a report in which they analyzed 114,716 tweets mentioning 95 Indian women politicians in a three-month period. It found that 13.8% of the tweets that mentioned 95 women politicians in the study were either ‘problematic’ or ‘abusive’. The study also found that Muslim women politicians received 94.1% more ethnic or religious slurs than women politicians from other religions.

The issue of inappropriate and abusive content existed in the old regime, but in Musk’s Twitter, these accounts are not only given a verified tick (which looks like a seal of approval) but their engagements are also prioritized as per the claims of the new owner. Below are some of the content produced or reshared by these verified accounts.

Indian Muslim journalists Rana Ayyub, Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Mohammed Zubair, and Sayema, a radio jockey, are among the top favourites for these trolls. Ayyub, who is famous for her investigative reporting and columns, has been a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government. In a recent study, researchers found that “of all the obvious abuse directed at Ayyub, 62% were personal attacks, including sexist, misogynistic, sexually explicit and racist abuse (e.g. ‘presstitute’, ‘ISIS sex slave’, ‘Jihadi Jane’, etc.) and 35% was designed to undermine her credibility as a journalist or commentator.” The research also notes that “nearly 42% of all of Ayyub’s tweets receive at least one abusive reply, a remarkably high rate, and the speed of the abuse is highly unusual – sometimes within seconds of her posting – potentially signalling coordinated campaigns.”

Ayyub told the researchers that she was not only being attacked for her journalism but due to her faith as well, so she had to defend herself ‘as a Muslim journalist’. The amount of abuse faced by journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani and RJ Sayema is almost on a par with Rana Ayyub. In February this year, right-wing influencers attempted to create a ruckus over Arfa allegedly being a speaker at the Harvard India Conference, by sharing a poster of the list of speakers from 2020. Arfa did not take part in the 2023 conference. Even Right Wing outlets debunked the claim. (Archive)

Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair is among the few Muslim male journalists who are relentlessly trolled. There are verified accounts which unfailingly manage to abuse or send threats on almost all of his tweets. Zubair spent 23 days in jail last year after Delhi police had arrested him over a 2018 tweet that an anonymous complainant found ‘objectionable’. At the beginning of March, Zubair received a series of online threats from pro-Hindutva influencers after Alt News debunked a disinformation campaign about murderous attacks on migrant Bihari workers in Tamil Nadu. Below are screenshots of the relentless trolling of the above-mentioned journalists done by some verified Twitter Blue users.

A clear line of communication is also missing since Twitter now automatically responds to media queries with a poop emoji. Other factors also make it evident that a very small team has been looking into day-to-day moderation and there is virtually no direct communication until it causes an uproar.

Recently, when the news agency ANI was locked by Twitter, the editor of the organisation made a Tweet announcing the same while tagging Musk. The same evening NDTV was ‘blocked’ by Twitter and they too announced it while tagging Musk. Both handles were restored within a few hours. This came across as quite unusual, as social media companies have a person of contact to quickly rectify an error like this. In Twitter 2.0, grievances can be directly addressed by tagging the owner, giving an advantage only to those accounts having a large number of mass followers.

When Musk took over Twitter last year, he started using his personal account to respond to complaints. At one point, he changed his Twitter bio to ‘Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator‘, normalizing the practice. In the previous regime, users raised issues about Twitter by tagging the Twitter Support account and/or some prominent employees. At the present moment, that systematic approach has been dismantled. India has the third largest Twitter users globally and it is surprising that Musk himself is the de-facto point of contact for such a huge user base. Such a carefree approach for a market like India only accentuates the policy paralysis in Musk’s Twitter.

A Twitter Blue user with 1 million plus followers uploaded two movies back to back on Sunday, April 30. It took Twitter three hours to take down the first movie and the second movie remained on the platform for up to seven hours, making it evident that Twitter currently is surprisingly slow at detecting and taking down illegal content. Twitter under Musk is also struggling to curb child abuse content despite it being one of the top priorities promised by him. Even a network of AI spam bots using ChatGPT to tweet politics in Southeast Asia and cryptocurrency remained under the radar until it was flagged by a researcher earlier this month.

Free Speech Absolutism — A Sham From The Start

Post-acquisition, Elon gave access to internal documents of Twitter to a handful of journalists who published what they called the ‘Twitter Files’, which apparently revealed partisanship, government interferences and censorship happening on the platform. Based on these publications, Musk openly criticised the policies of the platform that existed under the previous leadership. Around the same time, Musk took the opportunity on multiple occasions, to explain his position when it comes to ‘censorship’. In fact, during the talks about the acquisition of Twitter, Musk said that by free speech he simply meant speech which complied with the law. It was clear from the beginning that his understanding of content moderation was rather naive and more importantly, he would simply comply with any government requests without ever challenging it.

My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022

In January this year, when the BBC aired its two-part documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ in the UK, which looked into the role of Narendra Modi during the 2002 Gujarat violence, it quickly gained attention among Indian viewers due to unauthorised circulation of clips of the documentary on social media platforms.

The Indian government invoked an emergency law and issued orders to YouTube and Twitter demanding that they block any content related to the documentary from being published on their platforms. Complying with this, Twitter blocked dozens of tweets that provided links to the documentary. When prompted about this by a user, Elon replied by saying that “It is not possible for me to fix every aspect of Twitter worldwide overnight, while still running Tesla and SpaceX, among other things”.

Then almost a month and a half later, Twitter blocked 122 accounts belonging to journalists, authors, and politicians in India based on legal requests from the Indian government. Additional 23 accounts were blocked by Twitter on March 23 based on legal demands. On March 28, BBC’s Punjabi news service was ‘withheld’ in India for a few hours based on a government request. On April 7, investigative journalist Saurav Das tweeted that one of his tweets about home minister Amit Shah had been withheld globally. The move was an apparent first for Twitter as the platform generally tended to block tweets only in the region whose government had made the legal request.

My tweets have been withheld not just in India, but worldwide. I don’t remember the context of tweeting this, can anyone figure out? pic.twitter.com/lUwCfV1870

— Saurav Das (@OfficialSauravD) April 7, 2023

It was not unusual for Twitter even under the previous leadership to comply with requests made by the government. But the blanket compliance appears to contradict not only Elon’s commitment to ‘free speech’ but also the culture that was established by the previous system. For instance, in July 2022, about three months before Musk took over, Twitter took the Indian government to court for a judicial review of the content it had asked to be blocked in the country. On April 12, 2023, during an interview with BBC, it became apparent that Musk’s Twitter had no interest in taking the same path. He said that India’s rules for social media platforms were ‘quite strict’ and that he would rather comply with the government’s blocking orders than risk sending Twitter employees to jail.

Amid all these developments, Musk followed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter on April 10, 2023.

Elon Musk is now following Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)

— ELON ALERTS (@elon_alerts) April 10, 2023

To Verify or Not to Verify, That is the Question

A consistent vision also appears to be missing from the beginning of the takeover, other than the obvious obsession with metrics and labels. The very first product launched by Twitter under Musk, a paid-for blue verification mark, had to be paused immediately after launch due to the swarming of fake verified accounts spreading misinformation. Next, Twitter removed labels indicating a device from which a tweet was sent because according to him it was a “waste of screen space & compute”. Then eventually came the ‘view count‘ button, while they experimented with the position of the retweet and like buttons. He also introduced colour-coded check marks, in which yellow check marks indicate corporate accounts, while the grey check marks denote the accounts of government officials. An additional label called “Official” was introduced at some point and killed within hours before the very first Twitter Blue launch which gave users the option to apply for a paid blue check mark.

I just killed it

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2022

Musk’s takeover of Twitter in October last year was rejoiced by Right Wing figures globally. Many prominent Russian and Chinese personalities challenged Musk to live up to his commitment towards free speech by removing labels on their accounts and rolling back policies limiting their visibility and reach on the platform. Their wishful remarks started coming to fruition in April of this year when Musk’s Twitter labelled the National Public Radio (NPR) as ‘state-affiliated media’, which was later changed to ‘Government Funded’ after a long email exchange between NPR tech reporter Bobby Allyn and Elon Musk. During this period, the platform also stopped enforcing policies designed to limit the reach of Chinese and Russian propaganda.

New: while Twitter slapped a state-affiliated label on NPR, it’s stopped enforcing policies designed to limit the reach of Chinese and Russian propaganda https://t.co/nbxfDH2cUj

— Louise Matsakis (@lmatsakis) April 5, 2023

Twitter continued to globally label several accounts as ‘Government Funded’ based on a Wikipedia list, among which was the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The organisation argued that it was ‘less than 70% government funded’, after which Twitter labelled it as ‘69% Government Funded’. Both NPR and CBC have stopped using Twitter over the false label.

Canadian Broadcasting Corp said they’re “less than 70% government-funded”, so we corrected the label pic.twitter.com/lU1EWf76Zu

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2023

As of April 21, Twitter has removed labels from all accounts, including those belonging to Russia and China. Upon being enquired, Musk told reporters that all media labels were dropped based on a suggestion by Walter Isaacson, the former president and CEO of the Aspen Institute.

The page where Twitter explained its policies for state-backed media has been deleted pic.twitter.com/2avxZtgUgi

— Louise Matsakis (@lmatsakis) April 21, 2023

The news of state-controlled media experiencing sudden Twitter gains without any announcement of the change in platform policy was confirmed by DFR Lab’s research. Twitter removed all legacy verified accounts on April 20, 2023. Taking advantage of this change, within a few hours, a fake account subscribed to Twitter Blue claiming to represent the paramilitary group fighting for control of Sudan falsely claimed its leader had died in the fighting. A verified Twitter Blue account also tweeted that Turkish President Erdogan was poisoned while meeting a Russian official without providing any reliable citations, as pointed out by Twitter Community Notes volunteers.

Recently, Twitter also announced an update about its ‘enforcement philosophy’, wherein it was said that based on the existing policy of visibility filtering, additional details would be provided via publicly visible labels to tweets that are in violation of Twitter’s policy on ‘Hateful Conduct’. Twitter refers to this move as “Freedom of speech, not reach“. It took Twitter less than 10 days to fail at enforcing this policy. When civil rights attorney and clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo posted a collage of screenshots of verified accounts calling for the execution of trans people and their allies, Twitter not only removed those tweets by verified handles but also took action on the tweet of Caraballo, which now only shows a blank panel. The tweet by Caraballo does not have any labels that indicate it has been limited.

We’re at the calling for executions of trans folks and the people that support them stage. This isn’t actually asking a question, this is incitement, especially when all the blue check replies are gleefully replying they want to execute trans people. pic.twitter.com/xqWwqx93bG

— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) April 26, 2023

It has also been reported that Twitter will not be publishing a transparency report for the year 2022 and has “also chosen to stop publishing routine disclosures of copyright and government takedown requests on the Lumen Database — Twitter doesn’t appear to have disclosed any Indian takedown requests since April 9, and even copyright request disclosures globally haven’t been forthcoming since April 15”. Since Musk took over, Twitter has complied with 971 requests from governments and courts. In fact, in its self-reports, Twitter under Musk shows that it did not challenge even one single request made by courts and governments. More importantly, the compliance rate in the year before the acquisition hovered around 50%. At present, the figure has jumped to 83%. When Twitter fails to challenge such take-down requests in countries like India, it becomes virtually impossible for the end user to legally challenge these take-downs.

As of April 15th, 2023, Twitter has not submitted copies of any of the takedown notices it receives to Lumen.
According to Lumen’s persons of contact there, Twitter’s 3rd party data sharing policies are under review, and they will update Lumen once there is more information.

— Lumen (@lumendatabase) April 27, 2023

To sum up, with the reinstatement of deplatformed accounts & a policy muddle at its worst, Musk’s Twitter has become exactly what he promised it won’t —  a ‘free-for-all hellscape’. Below is a list of additional developments that happened in the last few weeks:

• Twitter said it would not exempt public safety accounts from its new limited API plans.
• Twitter permanently suspended the account of journalist Dell Cameron because of ‘violations’ of its hacked materials policy.
• Twitter removed legacy checkmarks and suspended the @BlockTheBlue Twitter account, a campaign started by powerful Twitter users to block all users paying for Twitter Blue.
• Twitter falsely labelled that celebrity accounts paid for Twitter Blue.
• Twitter added verified check marks to the accounts of dead celebrities, making them look like paid Twitter Blue subscribers.

The post Return of suspended accounts, policy muddle make Musk’s Twitter a ‘free-for-all hellscape’ appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Kalim Ahmed.

On March 20, the National Investigation Agency, India’s counterterrorism body, arrested freelance journalist Irfan Mehraj under sections of the penal code and anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, according to multiple news reports. He was arrested after responding to a summons for questioning at the NIA’s Srinagar office in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. 

In a March 21 press release, the NIA stated that Mehraj’s arrest concerned an investigation opened in October 2020 into non-governmental organizations allegedly funding terrorism. The press release alleged that Mehraj was working with the Kashmir-based human rights group Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society and was a close associate of human rights defender and JKCCS coordinator Khurram Parvez, who has been imprisoned since November 2021. 

Prior to his arrest, Mehraj was investigating the installation of surveillance cameras in Srinagar and the resilience of the Kashmiri Hindu community, according to a journalist familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ by phone on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal. Mehraj remained in prison as of April 19, 2023. CPJ is continuing to investigate whether his arrest was connected to his reporting.

Mehraj has produced reporting critical of the impact of Indian government policies in Kashmir, including reports on extrajudicial killings, heroin addiction, and the plight of Kashmiri Hindus. He is also a part-time copy editor at the TwoCircle.net news website, which reports on issues throughout India, including caste discrimination, violence against Muslims, and right-wing Hindu groups.

CPJ’s email to the NIA did not receive a response. 

Beginning on March 2, Mohammad Zubair, co-founder of Alt News, an independent fact-checking website based in Bengaluru, the capital of southwest Karnataka state, received an onslaught of threats from Hindu right-wing influencers on Twitter, according to news website The Wire and Zubair, who communicated with CPJ via messaging app.

The threats came after an Alt News report about a disinformation campaign about attacks on northern Indian migrant workers in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. They included demands for someone to attack Zubair and “extrajudicial steps” against Zubair and lasted for three days.

In June 2022, Zubair, who uses social media to fact-check false news, was arrested over a tweet allegedly “hurting religious sentiments.” He was released on bail in July following a Supreme Court order.

CPJ’s email to Praveen Sood, director general of the Karnataka police, did not receive a response. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Pratap Reddy told The Wire, “If Zubair approaches us, we will consider giving security based on the case.”

Beginning in mid-March, Twitter withheld in India the handles of BBC News Punjabi and at least three journalists based in Punjab state amid a government crackdown in which authorities shut down the internet while searching for Sikh separatist leader Amritpal Singh Sandhu, according to multiple news reports.

BBC News Punjabi’s handle was suspended in India early March 28 and was restored around six hours later. Indian officials said the government had not asked Twitter to suspend the outlet, but it was due to user reports.

The three journalists–Gagandeep Singh, bureau chief of the Punjabi-language broadcaster Pro Punjab TV; Kamaldeep Singh Brar, a journalist with the Indian Express newspaper; and freelance journalist Sandeep Singh–were reporting on the crackdown on Twitter before their handles were withheld in India. The journalists’ handles had not been restored as of April 19, according to CPJ’s review.

An independent journalist, speaking to technology news website Rest of the World on the condition of anonymity, that they received an email from Twitter indicating that their handle was withheld in the country following a “legal removal demand from the Government of India” for violating the Information Technology Act of 2000.

In January 2023, the Indian government ordered YouTube and Twitter to take down the first episode of the two-part BBC documentary investigating Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

CPJ’s calls, emails, and app messages to those journalists and to Alkesh Kumar Sharma, secretary of India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, did not receive any response. Twitter responded to CPJ’s emailed request for comment with a poop emoji.

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.

“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.

Former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho appeared before Suva Magistrates Court judge Justice Seini Puamau today and pleaded not guilty to abuse of office charges laid against them.

Justice Puamau stood down the case for 11am as she told the prosecution to provide “substantial evidence” to support the bail conditions it has made.

The conditions set by prosecution include a 8pm to 5am curfew as it has concerns of “high level of interference” with witnesses.

• READ MORE: Former Fiji PM Bainimarama and suspended police chief charged
• Bainimarama and Qiliho plead not guilty
• Director of Public Prosecutions sanctions charges against Bainimarama and Qiliho

Bainimarama and Brigadier-General Qiliho were charged with one count each of abuse of office after being summoned to the Criminal Investigations Department yesterday afternoon and kept overnight at Totogo Police Station to appear in court today.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Christopher Pryde said the charges were for allegedly terminating an active police investigation in relation to the University of the South Pacific in July, 2019, were laid following a review of the police evidence docket which the DPP received on February 17, 2023.

“The former prime minister, Voreqe Bainimarama and the suspended police commissioner, Sitiveni Qiliho, are alleged to have arbitrarily and in abuse of the authority of their respective offices, terminated an active police investigation,” Pryde said.

“The charges relate to a complaint laid with the police by the University of the South Pacific in July, 2019 in relation to the activities of former staff members of the university.

“The police have also been requested to undertake further investigations into other matters arising from this case and more charges may be laid against other suspects in due course.”

Meri Radinibaravi is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

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

Fiji’s top prosecutor has sanctioned charges of abuse of office against former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and the suspended Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho.

In a statement today, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said the charges relate to a complaint filed by the University of the South Pacific in July 2019.

The complaint concerned the actions of former staff members of the regional university.

• READ MORE: Director of Public Prosecutions sanctions charges against Bainimarama and Qiliho

Public Prosecutions director Christopher Pryde said both men were alleged to have arbitrarily abused their powers and stopped an active police investigation.

Police have been ordered to further investigate other issues as a result of Bainimarama and Qiliho’s alleged interference and more charges are expected to be laid.

Meanwhile, both men were taken in today for further questioning by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

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

Kept in custody
Fijivillage News reports that Bainimarama and Qiliho have both been formally charged with abuse of office and will be kept in custody tonight.

Former PM Bainimarama and suspended Commissioner of Police Qiliho are again being questioned by Police pic.twitter.com/YT3OFyaHNq

— Stanley Ian Simpson (@stansimpsonfj) March 9, 2023

The CID chief and Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Sakeo Raikaci told a media conference tonight they would appear in the Suva Magistrates Court at 8am tomorrow.

Acting ACP Raikaci said that given the seriousness of the charge, the pair could not be granted bail as it was not a bailable offence.

Additional security will be provided for the special court sitting tomorrow.

The maximum penalty for abuse of office is 10 years imprisonment.

The Crimes Act states that if the act is done or directed to be done for gain, then the maximum penalty is 17 years imprisonment.

Republished with permission.

Voreqe Bainimarama and Sitiveni Qiliho formally charged. Video: Fijivillage News

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

“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.

Fiji’s opposition leader Voreqe Bainimarama has been suspended for three years as an MP for breaching parliamentary privilege.

It comes after the ex-prime minister said the President, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, had failed to protect the constitution and the rule of law in his opening statement for the 2023 parliamentary session on Monday.

The FijiFirst leader will be out of Parliament until 17 February 2026, after a midnight vote as both sides of the House clashed over Bainimarama’s suspension.

Leader of government business Lynda Tabuya said Bainimarama’s words “denigrated” the head of state when he uttered “seditious words”.

“Matters of offensive conduct towards Parliament must be taken seriously. It is even more important that members of Parliament uphold the required standard of behaviour in Parliament,” she said.

“In particular, the prohibition against speaking words that are disrespectful to our head of state as well as seditious words that breach the standing orders.”

The Parliamentary Privileges Committee had recommended that Bainimarama be immediately suspended for three years; that he provide a written apology to the President within 14 days; and issue apology to public within 48 hours.

It also recommended that he not be allowed to enter Parliament during the period of suspension; and if he fails to comply then necessary enforcement measures will be implemented.

Co-deputy Prime Ministers Viliame Gavoka and Professor Biman Prasad supported the former PM’s exclusion.

Gavoka said Bainimarama’s comments were an “insult” to President Katonivere and his “ignorant comments can destroy confidence” in the office of the head of state.

He urged all MPs to “defend the values” of Parliament and “denounce the ignorance” of the leader of opposition.

Professor Prasad said Bainimarama was a “repeat offender of parliamentary assault” and his words were “utterly pathetic”.

But Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka appealed to the Speaker Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu and the parliamentarians as the “lone voice” from the government side for Bainimarama to be forgiven and he receive a lenient suspension.

Rabuka’s plea resulted in the government side amending their motion to reduce Bainimarama’s suspension to 18 months.

However, the opposition side still not did not support the amendment late into Friday night.

“You cannot apologise if you have done nothing wrong,” FijiFirst MP Jone Usamate said as he defended Bainimarama’s political fate.

While another opposition member, Faiyaz Koya, said they “did not find any guilt” in what their party leader said.

Bainimarama becomes the fifth MP to be suspended from the House after breaching privilege.

Previously:

• The current Speaker Ratu Lalabalavu was suspended for two years in 2015 as a Sodelpa MP;
• Former National Federation Party MP Tupou Draunidalo was suspended in June 2016 for the remainder of her term;
• Another Sodelpa MP, Ratu Isoa Tikoca, was suspended for two years in September 2016; and
• Current Home Minister Pio Tikoduadua was suspended for 6 months in 2019.

RNZ Pacific has contacted Bainimarama for comment.

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.

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.

On January 11, a criminal court judge in the southern city of Concepción convicted Soto, editor of the independent news website Resumen, of defaming public official Rodrigo Daroch, according to news reports and Soto, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

On January 18, the court sentenced Soto to a suspended 61-day prison term and a fine of 680,000 Chilean pesos (US$847). The journalist is required to report his whereabouts to the police every month for the next year, he told CPJ.

The lawsuit stemmed from a July 5, 2022, article in Resumen alleging that Daroch, who heads the fish and aquaculture unit of the Bío Bío state government, was earning excessive pay while working for the state as well as local town governments.

Soto said his lawyer had appealed the verdict.

“Chilean authorities should not contest journalist Felipe Soto Cortés’ appeal and must stop using outdated criminal defamation laws to threaten members of the press with prison time for their work,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director, in New York. “Defamation should never be handled as a criminal matter, and such laws have no place in a democracy.”

Soto told CPJ that Daroch refused to respond to his article or offer a rebuttal, and instead filed the criminal defamation suit against him. The article states that its conclusions were based on a report by the Bío Bío unit of the federal comptroller general’s office.

CPJ emailed Daroch and texted the Bío Bío state government for comment, but did not immediately receive any replies.

“This is judicial bullying,” Soto told CPJ. “I’m going to keep reporting, but a criminal conviction is very intimidating.”

Speaking to CPJ via messaging app, Javier Garcia, president of the Observatory for Communication Rights, a press freedom group based in the capital city of Santiago, denounced the conviction and said public officials must be tolerant of scrutiny from the news media.

In a statement, Chile’s Association of Journalists called the conviction “a profound regression for press freedom in Chile.”

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

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.

Responding to news reports that Twitter had suspended the accounts of at least six U.S.-based journalists who cover the platform,  Ginsberg said: “We are deeply alarmed by Twitter’s seemingly arbitrary suspension of reporters. If Twitter owner Elon Musk truly wants to foster a platform that allows free speech for all, it makes no sense to remove journalists from the platform. If confirmed as retaliation for their work, this would be a serious violation of journalists’ right to report the news without fear of reprisal. Twitter should immediately restore these reporters’ accounts.” 

Ginsberg added that Twitter users often cite access to news and information about current affairs  –  particularly on local issues like road closures, weather warnings, and health crises – as one of their prime reasons for using the platform. “Casting doubt on journalists’ credibility not only creates a hostile environment that could put them in physical danger, it also threatens the public’s right to access important information about events that affect our everyday lives,” she said.  

Those suspended included reporters for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Voice of America and other publications, according to the same reports.

News of the suspension has generated a global outcry, with Vera Jourova, European Commission vice president, tweeting that the EU’s Digital Services and Media Freedom acts required “respect” of media freedom. “There are red lines. And sanctions, soon,” she said.

In a post that asked his followers to adjudicate the duration of the suspension, Musk said on Twitter that the reporters had “doxxed [his] exact location in real-time,” violating the platform’s new rules on posting publicly available data showing the flight path of private jets. A handful of Twitter accounts, including one that tracked the flight patterns of Musk’s aircraft, were shuttered this week. 

Some of the journalists whose accounts were suspended had posted about the new policy, but at least one told The Associated Press that he had not shared location data. 

The development follows the abrupt dissolution on Monday of Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council, an advisory group to improve platform safety and address issues like hate speech. CPJ, which was a member of the group, has not received a response to its email asking Twitter for comment on the suspensions.

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

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.

Ukrainian climate activist Svitlana Romanko joins us after she was suspended from the U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, when she accused Russian officials of war crimes and genocide at an event on Wednesday. Romanko is the founder and director of Razom We Stand, an organization demanding a total permanent embargo on Russian oil and gas. “It has been very clear that fossil fuels fund dictatorships all over the world,” says Romanko, who has since left Egypt for her own safety. “We wanted to use our freedom of speaking and freedom of attending public gathering to confront people who came from the country which is in open war and … destroying our people.”

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

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 Changchun Intermediate People's Court in the northeastern province of Jilin handed down a death sentence, commutable to life imprisonment after two years, to Sun Lijun, a former vice minister of public security, for taking bribes, manipulating the stockmarket and illegal possession of firearms.

"After the expiration of the two-years reprieve, his sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment, with no possibility of commutation or parole, according to the court ruling," the CCP-backed Global Times newspaper reported.

From 2001 to April 2020, Sun used the influence accumulated through past positions to seek gains for others and illegally accepted money and property worth 646 million yuan, the paper quoted the court judgment as saying.

In the first half of 2018, Sun manipulated related individuals to engage in stock market dealings, helping certain individuals to avoid losses of 145 million yuan, and was found in possession of two illegal firearms, it said.

Sun, 55, failed to stay true to the party’s ideals, displaying "extremely inflated political ambition and very poor political integrity," making groundless criticisms of the party's policies, and spreading political rumors, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.

"Sun unscrupulously cultivated personal followers and interest groups to obtain personal political gains," it said. "He also seriously undermined party unity and compromised political security."

Sun's sentencing came a day after the same court handed the same sentence to former Beijing police chief Fu Zhenghua, after finding him guilty of "accepting bribes and bending the law for personal gain."

From 2014 to 2015, when served as the director of the Beijing municipal police department, he concealed clues to his younger brother Fu Weihua's alleged serious crimes, and did not deal with them in accordance with the law, enabling his brother to evade prosecution for a long time, the court said.

"The amount of bribes Fu Zhenghua received was particularly large, the circumstances of his crime are particularly serious, and their social impact was particularly bad," the court found. "The interests of the country and the people have suffered particularly heavy losses."

"It was decided that after his death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment upon the expiration of the two-year reprieve, he will be imprisoned for life without commutation or parole," the court judgment said.

Commenting before Sun's sentence had been made public, Xia Ming, professor of political science at New York's City University said the timing of Fu's sentence was no coincidence, and is intended as a warning to Xi's rivals and detractors within the highest echelons of the CCP.

Xi will be seeking an unprecedented third term in office at the CCP 20th National Congress, which opens in Beijing on Oct. 16.

"I believe Xi Jinping still faces a certain amount of resistance within party ranks, because he is trying to break with the past 40 years of political tradition," Xia told RFA.

"He wants [this] to have a political effect at a critical juncture, which is that those who obey him prosper, and those who oppose him fall," he said.

'Atmosphere of fear'

Political commentator Wang Juntao agreed, saying Xi is preempting any political opposition, and hoping to stave off any challngers.

"Xi Jinping is doing this to create an atmosphere of fear in the party's political and legal affairs system [which controls law enforcement]," Wang told RFA.

"It is likely that more senior officials and even Politburo members will lose their jobs, so as to intimidate other party members into staying loyal to Xi."

Also implied is that high-ranking party members must show loyalty to incumbent public security minister and CCP political and legal affairs deputy chief Wang Xiaohong.

"Sentencing those who have challenged Wang Xiaohong is supposed to force the political and legal affairs system to pledge absolute obedience and support for Wang Xiaohong," Wang said.

Fu, along with recently sentenced provincial public security officials Liu Xinyun, Deng Huilin and Gong Daoan, are widely regarded as being in Sun's "faction" of the CCP.

The Changchun court also said the seriousness of Fu's crimes merited an out-an-out death penalty, but it had handed down a suspended sentence because Fu "confessed and repented," as well as actively returning stolen assets and helping with "major clues in other investigations," in a possible reference to the Sun Lijun investigation.

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Tang Yuanyuan for RFA Mandarin.

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.

The post Black Girls are More Than 4 Times as Likely to Get Suspended Than White Girls, But Hiring More Teachers of Color is Only Part of the Solution appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Andrea Joseph-McCatty.

Three Arkansas law enforcement officers were suspended Sunday and a state investigation was launched after the trio was recorded brutally attacking a man who was pinned to the ground.

KARK reports Arkansas State Police special agents are investigating two Crawford County Sheriff's deputies and a Mulberry Police Department (MPD) officer who were recorded earlier Sunday kneeing and punching 27-year-old Randall Worcester of Goose Creek, South Carolina and slamming the man's head into the pavement while holding him down a short distance from a convenience store in Mulberry. Employees at the store had called police after Worcester allegedly spat on and threatened them.

"In reference to the video circulating social media involving two Crawford County Deputies, we have requested that Arkansas State Police conduct the investigation and the deputies have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation," Crawford County Sheriff James Damante said in a statement. "I hold all my employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter."

In a similar statement, MPD said that "the officer is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation."

"The City of Mulberry and the Mulberry Police Department [take] these investigations very seriously and holds all their officers accountable for their actions," the agency added. "We will take the appropriate actions at the conclusion of the investigation."

Local media report the officers in the recording have been identified as Thell Riddle of MPD and Crawford County deputies Levi White and Zack King.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, tweeted Sunday that "the local arrest incident in Crawford County will be investigated pursuant to the video evidence and the request of the prosecuting attorney."

Worcester was transported to an area hospital where he was treated before being released and taken into police custody. He faces charges including battery, assault, and resisting arrest.

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Brett Wilkins.

In the written request to the provincial People's Procuracy and the Investigation Security Agency of Long An Police Department on Tuesday, the group of five lawyers suggested the agencies reconsider their decision to investigate her.

Van was charged with "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals" according to Article 331 of the Criminal Code.

In June, the Investigation Security Agency of Long An province’s Police Department separated Van's case from those of six other church members because of her absence, although the 65-year-old handed herself in to police the following month.

In July the other six members of the Peng Lei Buddhist House were sentenced to a combined 23 years and six months in prison on charges of “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code.

The lawyer’s petition for leniency in Van’s case said "Mrs. Le Thu Van's cancer is in the final stage and her life is only counted in days."

Lawyer Dao Kim Lan, one of a group of five licensed lawyers to defend Ms. Van, told RFA Van’s cancer has spread and she is very weak.

“So our team of lawyers requested [investigators] temporarily suspend the investigation and terminate the case according to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code and the Criminal Code: Those people suffering from a fatal disease will be entitled to temporary suspension of investigation during the investigation phase, temporary suspension of prosecution during the prosecution phase, temporary suspension of trial during the trial phase and temporary suspension of serving prison term after being convicted,” Lan said.

One of the points in clauses of Article 29 of the 2015 Criminal Code on “Basis for exemption from criminal responsibility” states that “A criminal offender might be exempt from criminal responsibility [if] the offender has a fatal disease during the process of investigation, prosecution, or trial and no longer poses a threat to society.”

Cancer is defined as a serious disease that can affect the patient's life according to the definition in a government decree in 2014.

Le Thu Van surrendered to the authorities on the morning of July 28 after going to treatment for rectal cancer. Long An police allowed her to return to Peng Lei Buddhist House Church but banned her from going out.

At a morning meeting on Aug. 16 while Van was being fingerprinted and interrogated, investigator Nguyen Xuan Du made note that the written request had been received and asked the lawyers to provide her medical records, which they handed over the next day.

Talking about the possibility of Long An province authorities suspending the investigation and terminate the case against her, lawyer Dao Kim Lan said:

“The authorities of Long An province will decide what to do depending on their subjective will. They know about Le Thu Van's health condition because the medical records have been in the case file for a long time."

The group of lawyers said that the local police had issued a summons to request their client to be present at 8:00 a.m. on Aug. 16 at the Duc Hoa District Police headquarters. However, she did not have the strength to leave the house to work with the police, the lawyers said in the written request.

State-controlled media quoted police as saying Van used many offensive words, inciting the crowd in front of the Duc Hoa district police station. She was angry that the police were helping the family of a girl called Diem My who left home to join the church against her parents’ wishes in 2019. Police summoned the girl for working illegally and handed her over to the police.

Police accused Van of shouting “Duc Hoa district police abduct people and do not release them!” They also said Van's behavior included trouble-making, illegally filming at police headquarters, using slanderous words, insulting the reputation of the Duc Hoa district police and making video clips to post on social media.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Vietnamese.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s ruling Labour’s caucus has unanimously decided to suspend Hamilton West MP Dr Gaurav Sharma effective immediately in the wake of allegations of bullying of and by MPs.

This morning, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s office confirmed the meeting to discuss allegations of bullying raised by Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma would take place this afternoon.

The meeting addressed Dr Sharma’s status within the party after he took his concerns to the media rather than usual party processes for dealing with disputes.

• READ MORE: Opinion: Labour MP Dr Gaurav Sharma blows whistle on Parliament bullying, takes aim at officials, party whips
• Other reports on diversity in the NZ Parliament

Dr Sharma has complained, however, that using those mechanisms have got him nowhere, saying he had tried dealing with the concerns through the party whip’s office and Parliamentary Service for the past year and a half.

He was not at the caucus meeting this afternoon.

“I note that he did find the time to talk to media,” Ardern said.

“Caucus has determined suspension is the most appropriate response to the repeated breaches of trust from Gaurav over recent days.

No longer in caucus
“This means Gaurav will continue as the MP for Hamilton West and be expected to be present at Parliament. However, he will no longer participate in any caucus events or activities unless caucus’ permission is granted.”

Dr Sharma was emailed, phoned, and text messaged to try to get him to attend the meeting today, she said.

Watch the conference 

Labour’s unanimous decision to suspend MP Dr Sharma. Video: RNZ News

Ardern said she called and tried to message him after the meeting this afternoon, as have others, and she hoped this was not the first he had heard of his suspension.

“We have made efforts to convey this information to him directly.”

The whips directly engaged with Dr Sharma on whether he would attend, she said.

“Originally a range of options were sent and they didn’t receive a response. They then proposed a time and they were told at that time that no, at that time Gaurav had a specific event.

“They then advised that we would set a meeting time at a time that suited Gaurav today, he advised that nearer to 3[pm] would suit so whips suggested 2.30, we then at that point didn’t receive any further engagement.”

All of Labour’s MPs were invited to attend today, she said.

Labour’s caucus has unanimously decided to suspend MP Gaurav Sharma effective immediately https://t.co/qogiWItoxG

— RNZ News (@rnz_news) August 16, 2022

Decision unanimous
She said the decision was unanimous, and the team was clear that to function as a political party in a place where open debate and dialogue was key, members needed to be able to trust their colleagues.

“You need to feel you can speak openly and freely. That sense of trust has been broken by repeated breaches of our caucus rules over the last five days and that made the decision very clear,” she said.

Ardern and party leadership have continued to refer to the allegations — which in particular accuse former whip Kieran McAnulty of bullying and gaslighting — as an employment concern between Dr Sharma and the staff in his office.

RNZ has sought comment from McAnulty repeatedly but he has not responded.

Ardern said, based on the documents she has reviewed, the Labour whip’s office and Parliamentary Service began working with Dr Sharma to address concerns raised about his staff management. He was then asked to work with a mentor, which he objected to.

“Finally agreement was reached at the end of last year. Further issues were later raised by additional staff members including those in his direct employment, This resulted in another pause on hirinig and again coaching, mentoring and temporary staff in the meantime.

“Gaurav again objected to this intervention and the need for his future hiring of staff or undertakings on his part. A protracted process ensued.”

No other concerns
Ardern said she still had heard no concerns raised by any other MPs about McAnulty.

She said she did not recall Dr Sharma ever raising his concerns with her and she had gone through records of events and text messages after hearing about his concerns last week.

“I have not gone through everything but from what I can see he is a member who I’ve had less engagement with than most, that is fair to say … he’s never raised the issue directly with me, and that is an expectation I would have because it’s set out in our rules.

“First if there’s an issue you go to the whips. If you’re unable to get resolution you go to either the Labour leader or to someone the Labour leader nominates. And if it’s still unresolved you go to caucus. That didn’t happen.

“He did raise them with my chief-of-staff at the end of last year. He told me about that and he also told me the resolution that was reached between them and I’ve seen the messages that demonstrate that. Neither of us heard anything after that until the events that led to this.”

After he published his column in The New Zealand Herald last Thursday, she called him and he did not pick up, she said. She then sent a text to ask about his welfare, rather than relitigating issues.

“I received one message in response, I won’t go into the details on that but it was essentially setting out his perspective on these issues.”

Bullying not widespread problem
She has consistently refused suggestions that bullying is a widespread problem within the party.

One of his allegations was found to have no basis, she said, but he has continued to make them.

“I am equally concerned that staff members have been implicated by the level of detail that’s been shared … we considered whether or not for transparency we should release some of the communications to demonstrate our perspective on what has occurred here but again that runs the risk of exposing staff.”

She said Dr Sharma’s status would be reviewed in December, to allow a chance for a return to caucus if trust with him was able to be restored.

“But in making the decision to suspend, caucus were clear that the team retains the right to revisit the decision at any time if the rules continue to be broken. To be clear, the caucus’ decision was squarely focused on actions over the last few days. What gave rise to those actions also deserves some reflection.”

Ardern said there were grounds for expulsion under the caucus rules, but the team wanted to send a message that while their trust had been lost and they considered the situation very egregious, they were a team that wanted to give second chances.

“If he does that there’s a pathway back, if he doesn’t then he will be expelled.”

She said the exact date in December for revisiting the decision had not been decided upon.

Options at that time could include continued suspension, a return to caucus, or expulsion. At this point, the possibility of sending a letter to the Speaker to request his removal from Parliament under the waka jumping law has not been discussed.

Informal caucus meeting last night
As the meeting started this afternoon, Dr Sharma contacted RNZ claiming an earlier meeting involving some Labour MPs was held last night, without his knowledge.

Ardern said the outcome today was not predetermined at a meeting last night. She said one of the issues of misconduct was that Sharma had been sharing the contents of meetings publicly, which meant people felt they were unable to raise questions or discuss issues.

The reason Sharma was not informed of the meeting last night was “because people did not feel they could have an open conversation with him”.

Sharma claimed he had an image sent to him, a screenshot of the meeting.

“You’d note that probably if someone were deliberately sharing that message it would be more likely a gallery view,” Ardern said.

“I also knew who took that screenshot, it was intended they were trying to capture something else on their phone, the meeting was occurring in the corner at the same time, they accidentally sent it to someone they shouldn’t.

“What they sent was a screenshot of the conversation trying to set a caucus meeting time, it just so happened that they were multitasking … they’re somewhat embarrassed over the situation.”

The meeting last night was not a formal caucus meeting, she said, and she was also clear there would not be a predetermined outcome.

“Natural justice is very important to our team.”

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.

This content originally appeared on openDemocracy RSS and was authored by Darcey Edkins.

The Zaw Ti Ka pipeline, owned by Thai energy giant PTTEP, runs through the Kan Pauk area of Yay Phyu township in Thaninntharyi region.

The pipeline exploded on the night of July 30 and again at around 3 a.m. on Aug. 1, according to one Kan Pauk resident, who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. 

“The gas pipeline exploded twice," the resident said. “But it was not clear whether it was a gas explosion or a bomb blast.”

Some residents claimed it was an attack by the local People’s Defense Force, but RFA was unable to verify their claims and there has been no comment from the PDF.

 “The pipeline of the Zaw Ti Ka natural gas project in Myanmar had a leak on August 1, therefore gas transmission to Thailand has been temporarily suspended,” read a statement by Thai government subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production Public Co., Ltd., (PTTEP).

"The initial investigation has not found either an explosion or burning but other investigations will follow," said the statement from PTTEP’s Yangon office, adding that repairs are likely to take about two weeks.

The Zaw Ti Ka oil and gas project is based in the Gulf of Muttama and the pipeline runs through Mon state and Thanintharyi region.

Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise and PTTEP signed an agreement on August 8, 2014, to invest at least $72 million in three Myanmar natural gas projects: Yadanar, Ye Ta Gon and Zaw Ti Ka.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

“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.

French Polynesia’s pro-independence leader and mayor of Faa’a, Oscar Temaru, has been held for questioning over the funding of his defence in a 2019 trial.

Tahiti-infos reports that he and deputy mayor Robert Maker were questioned for six hours.

This comes amid an investigation into alleged abuse of public funds because the Faa’a Council had paid for Temaru’s defence.

• READ MORE: The judgment of Tahiti’s Oscar Temaru – a neocolonial sense of déjà-vu — Ena Manuireva
• Other Oscar Temaru reports

He had been convicted of exerting undue influence and was given a suspended prison sentence as well as a US$50,000 fine.

The conviction will be appealed and is due to be heard in court in August.

As part of the probe into the defence spending in 2020, the prosecution ordered the seizure of Temaru’s personal savings of US$100,000.

The investigation is now under the control of a special trans-regional jurisdiction in Paris specialising in financial fraud, since the start of 2022, due to the complexity of the case.

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.

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.

During a broadcast of “With Mulla Talal” on Monday, April 4, presenter Ahmad Mulla Talal and Iraqi actor Ayad al-Tayee, dressed as a military general, hosted a satirical discussion on the alleged sale of top posts in the country’s military and the misappropriation of government funds.

The following day, the Communications and Media Commission state regulator suspended “With Mulla Talal” indefinitely for “insulting the military,” according to news reports, that suspension order, and statements by UTV and Talal.

The program has been off the air since receiving that order, UTV tweeted.

“Iraqi authorities should recognize that journalists and media outlets have the right to air critical coverage of the country’s military,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “The Communications and Media Commission should drop its suspension of the ‘With Mulla Talal’ talk show and ensure that journalists can discuss newsworthy topics without fear of reprisal.”

On Monday, the Iraqi Defense Ministry published a Facebook post saying that the satirical segment “harms the reputation of the entire Iraqi army and erases all their sacrifices,” and accused al-Tayee of impersonating a soldier. That post also said that the channel failed to add a disclaimer that the satirical segment was separate from its journalist work, “to prevent viewers’ confusion that the person being interviewed is a real officer in the Iraqi army.”

The suspension order, issued after the Defense Ministry filed a complaint, called the segment “a clear insult to the Iraqi army and all its members” which posed a threat to the army’s cohesion, and constituted “incitement and hate speech against the army.” The order also asked that the segment be removed from UTV’s social media platforms, and that UTV issue an apology to the military.

As of April 6, the episode no longer appeared on the outlet’s website and social media pages.

Talal wrote in a Facebook post that he would not apologize, and said that Iraq had “moved from the stage of corruption and failure to that of corruption, failure, muzzling, and dictatorship, and what is coming is worse.”

UTV is owned by the son of politician Khamis al-Khanjar, according to reports. “With Mulla Talal” is a weekly program that frequently features interviews with politicians and analysts to discuss daily news and Iraqi politics, and has aired daily episodes including the satirical show featuring al-Tayee during Ramadan.

In a statement published on April 5, UTV said it was a mistake not to better separate the satirical segment from the other programming on the talk show, but called the suspension “arbitrary and unacceptable professionally,” saying that the program “didn’t incite violence and hatred but was critical and satirical,” and “did not broadcast false news.”

CPJ emailed the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission and the Ministry of Defense for comment, 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.