In presenting the statement, FAJ President Omar Faruk Osman, said that the African Charter has promised to protect the rights of journalists. However, 40 years after the coming into force of the Charter, African journalists are still being killed, abducted tortured and detained. “Newsrooms have been raided or shut down. Equipment has been seized. Reporters have faced censorship, surveillance, travel bans, online abuse and gender-based violence. Broad laws have been used to punish reporting and criticism. Internet shutdowns have cut people off from information when they need it most”.
Such attacks do not harm journalists alone. “They harm everyone on this continent who depends on independent information to understand events, make decisions and hold those in power to account. They violate the Charter’s protections of life, dignity, liberty, the right to a fair hearing and freedom of expression.”
The FAJ Statement brought to the attention of the participants at the 89th Ordinary Session, the case of Moussa Kaka, a Nigerien journalist, who went “missing” on 31 August. “The government has since confirmed that he is alive and in the custody of the authorities, but he is being held incommunicado without access to his lawyer or family. His place of detention and the legal basis for holding him remain undisclosed. FAJ considers his case an enforced disappearance. We call for his immediate release or, at the very least, access to his family and lawyers and full disclosure of his whereabouts, safety and legal status.”
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FAJ also raised its concern about the situation of the media in Egypt, where six journalists from an independent media platform were arrested in late September. We have been informed that they were tortured and forced to record confessions. Such treatment is cruel and unacceptable. Likewise, FAJ is also deeply concerned about situation of the media in Tunisia where four journalist are still behind bars. Their cases raise serious concerns about trumped-up and fabricated criminal charges being used to punish journalism and peaceful expression.
In the case of Somalia, two journalists have been killed this year. Their deaths underscore a long-running pattern of deadly attacks on journalists and an entrenched culture of impunity for those responsible. Over the past 40 years, Somalia has recorded more killings of journalists than any other country in Africa. We demand thorough investigations and accountability to end crimes against journalists.
In Sudan, amid the ongoing deadly war, journalists have been killed, forced from their homes and newsrooms, detained or disappeared. These cases demonstrate the grave risks journalists face and the urgent need for investigations, accountability and protection.
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In Lesotho, a journalist was reportedly abducted from his home, questioned about his work, assaulted and threatened with death. He was later found seriously injured. Meanwhile in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) journalists have been detained after reporting on the effects of mining or sharing material critical of a politician.
FAJ strongly emphasised that repressive laws used to silence the media which are not in line with the African Charter, must be repealed or fundamentally amended. Journalists must be free and safe to report without fear of arrest, violence or retaliation and the public must be able to receive information freely. Media freedom is not a privilege for journalists. It is a right for the African peoples. Let these 40 years be remembered not only for the Charter’s promise, but also for the action taken to make that promise a reality.
For more Information, please contact the IFJ – Africa Office
1st Floor, Maison de la Presse, 5 Rue X Corniche, Medina,
BP 64257, Dakar, Senegal
Tel: +221- 33 867 95 86/87; Fax: +221- 33 827 02