Journaliste en danger (JED)

Civil society groups mark the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attack by calling on governments worldwide to fulfill their obligation to protect freedom of expression.

Barely a week after having published its annual report calling for the Congolese authorities to put an end to impunity for attacks on the press, Journaliste en danger has registered four cases of flagrant attacks against journalists.

DRC Information Minister Lambert Mendé has banned a documentary about Denis Mukwege, a Congolese surgeon specializing in treating women who have been raped in the course of years of fighting in the eastern province of Sud-Kivu. Mendé insists that the film “defames” the Congolese armed forces.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Journaliste in Danger (JED) are worried about a decline in the environment for journalists as Democratic Republic of Congo holds local elections, starts early campaigning for national elections, and overhauls its system of government.

On 13 July 2015, police officers in Kinshasa harassed newspaper vendors and arrested two workers at a printing house, before sealing off the premises itself.

Radio Télé Boma, Radio Associative Kisalu, and Radio Télé Communautaire de Moanda – the only radio stations broadcasting in Moanda – were arbitrarily closed on verbal orders given by the National Information Agency.

Charged under the Sedition Act in Malaysia, internationally known political cartoonist Zunar could face 43 years in jail for a tweet.

In the months leading up to local elections in DRC there have been weeks of internet outages, social media blocks and closures of media outlets.