Radio journalist abducted, beaten and left for dead
(WAJA/IFEX) – The following is a WAJA press release: Dakar, 5 July 2005 Malian journalist attacked Dakar – The Mali Journalists’ Union (UNAJOM) has reported that Hamidou Diarra, alias “Dragon”, a journalist with Bamako’s Radio Kélédou, was abducted by a group of unidentified persons while leaving his radio station on Tuesday 5 July 2005, at […]
Radio journalist arrested by police, threatened with expulsion
(IFJ/WAJA/IFEX) – The following is an 11 October 2003 joint IFJ-WAJA press release: Sophie Malibeaux case: an escalation in attacks on press freedom in Senegal A recent action by the Senegalese authorities has raised fears concerning the press’s future and the right to information in a country which until now has been known to respect […]
Several journalists assaulted by police officers in separate incidents
(WAJA/IFEX) – The following is a 22 March 2003 WAJA statement: Police attack journalists in separate incidents Dakar, 22 March – The Senegalese Union of Media and Communications Professionals (Syndicat des Professionnels de l’Information et de la Communication du Sénégal, SYNPICS) and the West African Journalists Association (WAJA) have urged the Senegalese government to condemn […]
Journalist hospitalised following assault by police
(WAJA/IFEX) – On 14 December 2002, Libasse Ndiaye, a cameraman for African Television News (ATN) and Senegal correspondent for the Agence Internationale d’Images de Télévision (AITV) and TV5, was assaulted by security forces at the end of a demonstration. The protest was held by relatives of individuals who perished in a 26 September shipwreck. More […]
Two independent publications closed
(WAJA/IFEX) – Guinea-Bissau’s state prosecutor has just ordered the closure of two independent publicatons, “Diario de Bissau” and “Gazeta de Noticias”. Two independent radio stations, Pindjiguiti and Bombolom, may also be closed shortly. On 29 October 2001, Guinea-Bissau’s journalists’ associations and unions condemned the decision to close the publications at the Press House (Maison de […]
Editor-in-chief of “Le Matin” charged with publishing false information
(WAJA/IFEX) – The editor-in-chief of “Le Matin”, Alioune Fall, was summoned to appear in court by the Dakar court judge on Friday 17 August 2001. Fall’s case was heard in court and he was charged with publishing false information. The journalist has since been freed provisionally. Fall was detained on Tuesday 10 July by the […]
Criminal libel law repealed
(WAJA/IFEX) – On Friday 27 July 2001, Ghana’s parliament unanimously repealed the Criminal Libel and Seditious Laws, which had been used to incarcerate a number of journalists in the past. The repeal follows the passage of the Criminal Code (Repeal of the Criminal and Seditious Laws – Amendment Bill) Act 2001 by a unanimous vote […]
Criminal libel bill enters second stage in parliament
(WAJA/IFEX) – The bill to amend the criminal libel and seditious laws in Ghana entered its second stage in parliament on Tuesday 24 July 2001. The proposed amendment seeks to repeal chapter seven of part two of the 1960 Criminal Code (Act 29), which covers criminal libel. Section 182A of the Criminal Code, which grants […]
Editor-in-chief of “Le Matin” detained by police
(WAJA/IFEX) – On Tuesday 10 July 2001, Alioune Fall, editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Le Matin”, was detained for questioning by the Division of Criminal Investigations (Division des investigations criminelles, DIC). The journalist had written an article about Abatalib Samb’s escape from Reubeus Central Prison in Dakar, the capital. Samb is also known under the alias […]
Liberian journalist missing
(WAJA/IFEX) – The following is a 16 June 2001 WAJA statement: IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES CANNOT LOCATE LIBERIAN JOURNALIST The immigration authorities say they have no idea about the whereabouts of Liberian journalist Ambrose Darrul Nmah days after he was expected to have left the country. He had been asked to leave Ghana for overstaying the period […]
Process to eliminate criminal libel begins
(WAJA/IFEX) – The following is a 15 June 2001 WAJA press release: PROCESS TO ELIMINATE CRIMINAL LIBEL BEGINS IN GHANA The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has confirmed reports that the process to expunge criminal libel from the statute books has begun. The repeal of the law on seditious libel is […]
WAJA congratulates journalists for strides made in sub region
(WAJA/IFEX) – The following is a WAJA press release: STATEMENT BY WEST AFRICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION (WAJA) TO MARK WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY-MAY 3, 2001 On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day which also marks a decade of THE WINDHOEK DECLARATION that called for a pluralistic, independent and free press, the West African Journalists Association, […]
Monitoring violations of media freedom in West Africa
(WAJA/IFJ/IFEX) – The following is a 30 March 2001 joint WAJA, IFJ and National Journalists Union Of Mali (UNAJOM) report: INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS (IFJ) WEST AFRICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION (WAJA) NATIONAL JOURNALISTS UNION OF MALI (UNAJOM) MONITORING VIOLATIONS OF MEDIA FREEDOM IN WEST AFRICA BAMAKO, 29 and 30 March 2001 The delegates of the following […]
Demonstration in memory of journalist Norbert Zongo banned
(WAJA/IFEX) – The following is a 12 December 2000 WAJA press release: On 12 December 2000, in Ouagadougou, the organising committee of the International Festival for Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom in West Africa decided to place the first stone of a memorial pillar in Sapouy, about 100 kilometres south of Ouagadougou, where Norbert […]
Radio station re-opens
(WAJA/IFEX) – On 21 November 2000, Chris FM, a radio station at Berekum, which was closed down by Ghanaian authorities was reopened. The station was closed down on 8 November following allegations that it had broadcast inflammatory statements by an opposition politician. Briefing the press, Donald Adabre, regional minister and chairman of the Regional Security […]
WAJA protests continued harassment of newspaper’s personnel
(WAJA/IFEX) – In a 13 November 2000 letter to President Charles Taylor, WAJA protested the continued harassment of personnel of the “New Democrat” newspaper in Liberia. According to reports, the entire staff of the newspaper has fled the country as a result of intimidation and acts of harassment engaged in by security agents. The newspaper […]