Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC)

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) is appalled by the endorsement, by the Somali Council of Ministers, of a repressive media bill that severely restricts media operations and content.

“Ask Your Government” website provides Ugandans with unprecedented right to publicly request information.

The chairman of Shabelle Media Network and the director of SkyFM have been detained in the National Intelligence and Security Agency’s underground prison, a place where suspected terrorists are being kept.

IFEX members and partners from around the world urge the UN to include access to information in the Agenda for the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

It’s been 20 years since Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh overthrew the Gambian government and proclaimed himself President of the Republic. Some of the human rights violations recorded over the last 20 years include the killing of 14 protesters in April 2000 and the killing of journalist Deyda Hydara in 2004.

This week, a resolution on the importance of protecting human rights online was discussed at the 26th UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva. Read the oral statement on this resolution led by ARTICLE 19 and supported by several IFEX members.

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.