New York, June 30 – Moroccan journalist Hamid el-Mehdaoui was handed a four-month suspended prison sentence by a Casablanca court on Monday and ordered, along with a co-defendant named in the case, to pay a combined 100,000 Moroccan dirhams ($10,290) in damages for criminal defamation, according to the journalist’s website and other news...
Mbabane – On Tuesday, 30 June 2015, the Supreme Court in Swaziland upheld an appeal brought by human rights lawyer, Thulani Maseko, and magazine editor, Bheki Makhubu against their conviction on two charges of contempt of court and their two year prison sentences. The Court ordered their immediate release from prison. Maseko and...
The government of South Africa recently signed a ‘Plan of Action’ with the People’s Republic of China on “areas of cooperation in Information and Communications Technology (ICT).” A press statement released by the South African government says “the agreement strengthens existing ties between the two countries in the area of Information and Communication...
In Recognition of the One Year Anniversary of Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini’s Arrest on 1 May 2014 1 May 2015 marks one year in detention for Swazi political activists Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini. The Southern Africa Litigation Centre is initiating a Twitter campaign to draw attention to Masuku and Dlamini’s cases and the rule of law crisis...
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum appeal for improved physical protections for journalists, an end to censorship and other pressures facing news media as 3 May, World Press Freedom Day marks yet another tragic year for the profession and reveals growing threats to freedoms from...
By Eric Chinje An important debate on the roles and responsibilities of media is currently taking place in Africa. I believe it is possible to distinguish two, possibly more, but certainly two schools of thought that form the basis of that debate. They speak to the challenges, the constraints (self-imposed or otherwise) and...
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PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | 5 December 2014 Media and human rights organisations are delighted with today’s decision of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the case of Konaté v Burkina Faso to rule that imprisonment for defamation violates the right to freedom of expression,and that criminal defamation laws...
Nairobi, November 24, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists today calls on authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo to stop meddling with radio station broadcasts in the country. The Congolese Information Minister Lambert Mende has called for the shutdown of several radio stations in recent weeks, and a few have gone off the...
Media professionals in Benin have recently joined the DoX campaign after a successful mission to the country. The mission team included representatives from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, WAN-IFRA, the Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ and the Federation of African Journalists/West African Journalists Association FAJ-WAJA. Supported by local partners, the...
