Amnesty condemns attacks on journalists in East and Southern Africa

Authorities in eastern and southern Africa continued to impose severe restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and media freedom in 2023, Amnesty International (AI) reported this Thursday.

The NGO’s complaint was outlined in a statement to mark World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated on Friday.

The human rights organization has documented widespread intimidation, harassment and arrests of journalists in countries in the region.

Authorities continue to harass and “severely repress” those who dare to report allegations of corruption and human rights abuses, AI said.

“Speaking out against government policies, actions or inactions, or publicly disseminating information considered harmful to the government, carries the risk of arrest, arbitrary detention or death,” said Tigere Chaguta, Amnesty’s regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa. in the statement.

AI has also documented the rise of deliberate internet shutdowns and the adoption of strict cybersecurity laws aimed at silencing the media and controlling the spread of information.

Across Eastern and Southern Africa, authorities have used national security laws, including counter-terrorism and cybersecurity laws, to undermine the right to freedom of expression, punish journalists, and suppress media freedom.

As an example, Amnesty cites what happened in Madagascar, where the Cybercrime Code and Communications Code forced journalists to self-censor for fear of reprisal.

“Broad and vaguely defined provisions of the laws such as ‘attacking public security’, ‘defamation’, ‘spreading false news’ and ‘inciting hatred’ are used to intimidate, harass and victimize journalists,” he adds. organization.

In Mozambique, “where journalists regularly face intimidation, harassment, death threats, violence and even murder,” editor Joao Fernando Chamus was murdered at his home in Maputo in December 2023.

Joao Fernando Chamousse was the editor of the newspaper Ponto por Ponto and a commentator on TV Sucesso, which has become the target of growing intimidation, with its chief executive Gabriel Junior recently receiving death threats.

In February, Zimbabwean authorities banned two journalists from covering government events in the Midlands province.

Back in Zimbabwe, the Criminal Law, an amendment to the Criminal Law known as the Patriot Act, came into force in May and threatens media freedom by criminalizing willful harm to Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and national interests.

Under this legislation, journalists participating in a meeting where there is “reason to believe” that its purpose is to “consider or plan armed intervention” can be charged, even if they attend solely for the purpose of reporting events.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities have continued “their relentless attacks on the rights to freedom of expression and press freedom” amid general elections in December 2023, intercommunal violence in some regions and an escalation of military forces in the country’s eastern provinces.

In 2023, authorities in Kinshasa arbitrarily shut down a dozen social networks and programs on charges ranging from “spreading false rumors” to “inciting rebellion against the existing authorities” and “defamation.”

In September 2023, journalist Stanis Buyakera was arrested and prosecuted for “spreading false rumors” and “falsification” after Wife Africom published an article implicating security services in the murder of politician Cherubin Okende.

Budjakera was sentenced to six months in prison last March, despite authorities failing to prove any wrongdoing or liability in the case.

The journalist was eventually released from prison after already being detained for more than six months, and at least three more journalists are currently in custody across the country on trumped-up charges.

“Amnesty International reiterates its call on authorities in East and Southern Africa to release illegally detained journalists, stop persecuting the press for simply doing their job, and end the abuse of the justice system to silence journalists and critics and suppress media freedom,” the statement says. Tigere Chaguta.