Hopes of independent press in Rwanda fade as head of media body flees
July 8, 2015 10:40 AM ET
Rwanda's progress towards a more liberal media environment has been short-lived. In May Fred Muvunyi, the head of the Rwanda Media Commission, fled the country for fear of being detained or attacked, and the country's telecommunications regulator suspended the operation agreement for the BBC's Great Lakes radio service indefinitely....
Rwandan journalist arrested in Burundi, charged with spying
June 12, 2015 3:09 PM ET
New York, June 12, 2015--A Rwandan journalist who was arrested in Burundi on Monday has been charged with espionage, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Burundian authorities to release the journalist and drop the charge immediately....
Legacy of Rwanda genocide includes media restrictions, self-censorship
December 8, 2014 12:01 AM ET
Twenty years after massacres, Rwanda stable but its media restricted The Rwandan government has taken great strides in bringing stability to the country since the 1994 genocide that claimed 800,000 lives, but moves to allow greater press freedom have been slow. While government control of the media has loosened, many...
BBC's Rwanda documentary leads to illogical, illegal suspension
October 28, 2014 4:33 PM ET
When the BBC released in early October its televised documentary "Rwanda's Untold Story," which questioned official accounts of the 1994 genocide, a massive outcry inside and outside Rwanda's borders ensued. Locals and foreigners alike protested the documentary's findings, parliamentarians demanded a ban and legal action, and authorities summarily suspended...
20 years after genocide, Rwanda safe, clean, undemocratic
April 7, 2014 12:48 PM ET
"Do not forget the genocide," said the voice of a state broadcast announcer in Kigali crackling through a cheap car radio, referring to the organized slaughter 20 years ago of more than 10 percent of the population. "We are all one now," he said, speaking in Rwanda's common language...
Twitter war shines light on how Rwanda intimidates press
March 24, 2014 5:00 PM ET
"@RFI speak straight up English, frenchie!! U crying? U started not to make sense," was one taunting tweet from a certain prolific Twitter account belonging to "Richard Goldston." The account, since deleted, belonging to a self-proclaimed "anti-imperialist," repeatedly antagonized Radio France Internationale journalist Sonia Rolley for her critical coverage...
Pressure on Journalists Rises Along With Africa's Prospects
February 12, 2014 2:13 AM ET
After a decade of unprecedented growth and development, the insistence on positive news remains a significant threat to press freedom in sub-Saharan Africa. By Mohamed Keita A newspaper displayed in the Ikoyi district of Lagos on September 30, 2013, tells of a deadly attack on a college in northeast Nigeria...
Somalis, Syrians flee violence; Iran crackdown deepens Fifty-five journalists fled their homes in the past year with help from the Committee to Protect Journalists. The most common reason to go into exile was the threat of violence, such as in Somalia and Syria, two of the most deadly countries in...
Rwandan editor, jailed for opinion piece, fails in appeal
March 26, 2013 4:09 PM ET
Nairobi, March 26, 2013--An appellate court judge in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on Monday upheld the criminal conviction of an editor who is serving a one-year prison sentence in connection with an opinion column, according to local journalists....