Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)

Civil society groups express concern over the potential for overbroad anti-extremism practices to limit free expression

The president of Ghana has responded to a petition by the Media Foundation for West Africa and 155 Ghanaian journalists seeking disciplinary action against a senior presidential staffer, Stan Dogbe, following Dogbe’s attack on a journalist.

Organised by the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX), the workshop aims to deepen participants’ knowledge of online advocacy and develop strategies to create an Internet environment that fosters innovation, information sharing and development.

IFEX members call on the Government of Bahrain to stop the judicial harassment of Sheikh Maytham Al-Salman, and to allow human rights defenders to exercise their right to freedom of expression.

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.

In what appears to be an emerging pattern of censorship and restrictions on critical reporting, journalists in West Africa are facing parliamentary and judicial enquiries, arbitrary arrests and detentions.

The Frivolous Petitions Bill demands that persons seeking to petition state authorities on the conduct of another person must swear an affidavit. Persons who publish petitions not supported by an affidavit “shall be deemed to have committed an offence and upon conviction, shall be liable to imprisonment for six months without the option of a fine.”

In light of attacks on anti-slavery demonstrators and journalists covering slavery issues, including instances of self-censorship, over the last five years, the MFWA demands Mauritania to reform its stance on free expression rights.