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News > World

Media Watchdog: Increased Persecution of African Journalists

  • AMI called on African governments to create an environment more favorable for journalism.

    AMI called on African governments to create an environment more favorable for journalism. | Photo: Reuters FILE

Published 21 November 2018
Opinion

Countries such as Cameroon, Sudan, Egypt and Tanzania have seen increased persecution of journalists, says Africa Media Initiative (AMI).

On Wednesday, the Africa Media Initiative (AMI) reported that journalists in Cameroon, Sudan, Egypt and Tanzania are facing increased persecution.

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In a statement released Tuesday, AMI said that in Cameroon alone, four journalists have been “intimidated, arrested or tried before military courts across the country over allegations of 'propagating false information' or undermining of the state under the anti-terror law,” according to the Nation Online.

Egypt recently enacted a law which requires online newspapers to pay fees of up to US$30,000 to register websites and “up to five times that amount for non-compliance,” according to the Sierra Leone Telegraph.

In Sudan, a specialized Press Court in the capital of Khartoum sentenced Zine El Abeen Al-A’Jab, the former editor of a newspaper to a one-and-a-half month prison sentence or a fine of US$104 for alleged “dissemination of false information.”

The situation for journalists in Tanzania is under a microscope as rights groups and media advocates have recently expressed concerns about the freedom of expression in the country. Since the election three years ago, Tanzania’s President John Magufuli's government cracked down on independent media and close down critical newspapers, according to the National.

The AMI called on African governments to create an environment more favorable for journalism, demanded the release of detained journalists, the cessation of intimidation, internet cuts, media closure, censorships and trials of journalists before military tribunals, among other issues.

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