West African Journalists Association (WAJA)

Over the past two weeks, Nigerian military and police have detained journalists, confiscated print publications and intercepted vehicles in an attempt to halt the circulation of critical information.

In the resolution, the ACHPR “strongly condemns the serious violations of the right to life committed against journalists and media practitioners” and appeals for “the immediate cessation of harassment and intimidation aimed at independent media organisations” in Somalia.

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange condemns the 27-year sentence imposed on Mohamed Aweys Mudey and notes that the Ethiopian media environment is characterized by the arrest of journalists.

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange, a network of organisations who are also IFEX members, has deplored the current state of attacks, arrests, and harassments meted out to journalists in many countries on the continent, especially in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Somalia.

In a second joint appeal, over 60 IFEX members and partners again call for the release of Moroccan journalist Ali Anouzla, after terrorism-related charges were laid against him.

A petition was calling for Front Page Africa editor Rodney Sieh to be freed after being jailed on a million-dollar libel charge. He was freed in November.

Over 60 organisations signed a joint appeal to Moroccan authorities to free editor Ali Anouzla, jailed on 17 September for posting a link to an Al-Qaeda video on his news website alongside an article critical of the video.

Over 150 IFEX members and partners of ARTICLE 19 appealed to US President Obama to drop charges against whistleblower Edward Snowden, update the Whistleblower Protection Act and pass a media shield law.

Over 30 IFEX members write to President Rafael Correa, calling on him to submit the recently-approved Ecuadorian Communications Law to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for a Consultative Opinion.

People are encouraged to join around 200 organisations supporting the adoption of 13 basic principles applying existing human rights law to modern digital surveillance.

IFEX members sent a joint letter to President Museveni calling for an end to impunity in cases of police violence against the media, after a violent crackdown on a demonstration in May over media closures.

In a letter to Gambian president Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, a group of organization calls for and end to the harassment of Abdoublie John. Since December 2012, The National Intelligence Agency has twice arbitrarily detained John, editor of the online news website Jollof News and a contributor to The Associated Press.

MFWA welcomes the move by Gambian authorities to drop charges against two journalists for seeking permission to peacefully protest the execution of death row inmates, but calls for investigation into death threats against journalists.

Over 40 IFEX members worldwide call for the new President of Somalia to help combat impunity in the killing of journalists, revise media laws and uphold UN and African resolutions to help protect journalists.

UPDATE: The president of IFEX member Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Nabeel Rajab, was re-arrested and sentenced to three years in prison on 16 August. Many other human rights defenders remain in prison, including BCHR’s founder Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, and his daughter, Zainab Al-Khawaja.

An open letter by 44 organisations calls Iraq’s proposed Information Technology Crimes law a threat to the fundamental freedoms necessary for the evolution of free speech and a vibrant press. The law will come to vote in the Iraqi Council of Representatives in April.