Articles by Journaliste en danger (JED)
Three human rights activists and one CNTV cameraman arrested for attempting to organise peaceful march
(JED/IFEX) – Journaliste en danger (JED) demands the unconditional release of Floribert Chebeya Bahizire, executive director of the organisation Voix des Sans Voix (Voice of the Voiceless) and assistant director Dolly Ibefo Mbunga, as well as Donat Tshikaya, member of Réseau National des Droits de l’Homme en RD Congo (RENADHOC, a national human rights network) […]
Three independent radio and television stations in Likasi face closure following mayor’s orders
(JED/IFEX) – On 11 March 2009, the mayor of Likasi, Denis Kalondji Ngoy, ordered the closure of Community Radio of Katanga (RCK) and Radiotélévision Likasi 4 (RTL4). The mayor’s decision was supported by the provincial authorities of Katanga. On 12 March, journalists from the two independent media outlets, who had been threatened and pressured for […]
RTNC journalist acquitted on charges of “making damaging allegations” against former director of the broadcaster
(JED/IFEX) – JED applauds the 19 February 2009 release of Bwamputu Akienzin Zéphyrin, a correspondent for the public broadcaster RTNC in Bandundu province, western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Zéphyrin had been facing charges of making damaging allegations against a former RTNC director. A Bandundu court declared the charges pending against the journalist unfounded, acquitting […]
Journalist Bienvenu Yay sentenced to six-month imprisonment for defaming former governor
(JED/IFEX) – On 20 February 2009, Bienvenu Yay, an independent journalist and the Mbandaka correspondent for the Kinshasa-based, private television station Congoweb TV, was handed down a six-month sentence and ordered to pay US$2,500 in damages for slandering José Makila, deposed governor of Équateur province. Mbandaka is located in the northeastern province of Équateur. Yay […]
Head of telecommunications service in Bukavu issues communiqué forbidding radio and television stations from broadcasting “subversive” messages
(JED/IFEX) – In a 17 February 2009 letter to Paul Kabingwa Bundya Musombo, director of the Bukavu provincial division of the Postal, Telephone and Telecommunications Service (PTT), JED expressed “total disapproval” of a 16 February 2009 communiqué addressed by the director to the heads of radio and television stations in Bukavu and denounced the “absurd” […]
Taïna Community Radio pillaged, burned down in midst of military conflict
(JED/IFEX) – On 11 February 2009, Taïna Community Radio was pillaged and burned down between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. (local time) during clashes between the Armed Forces of the DRC (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo, FARDC) and sections of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Other than the […]
Newspaper editor released after serving 10-month sentence for “insulting the head of state”
(JED/IFEX) – Nsimba Embete Ponte, editor of the Kinshasa-based bi-weekly “L’Interprète”, was released from prison on 7 January 2009 after serving a 10-month sentence. Kinshasa’s N’Djili court sentenced Ponte to 10 months in jail on 27 November 2008, after he was found guilty of “insulting a head of state”. Taking into consideration the time already […]
Censorship, self-censorship greatest threats to press freedom in 2008, says JED
(JED/IFEX) – The following is an abridged 23 December 2008 JED press release: JED releases 2008 report on press freedom in DR Congo Censorship, self-censorship greatest threats to press freedom Amid commemorative ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as its own 10th anniversary, JED released its 2008 […]