Committee to Protect Journalists - Comoros tag:cpj.org,2008-09-16://1 2011-03-14T21:21:35Z Movable Type 4.34-en Two Comoros journalists charged over presidential coverage tag:cpj.org,2011://1.16942 2011-03-14T21:15:05Z 2011-03-14T21:21:35Z Committee to Protect Journalists Ali Moindjié in his newsroom. (Abidina Mschinda)

New York, March 14, 2011--Two Comorian journalists charged today with "publishing false news" in their coverage of the formal handover of power between President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi and President-elect Ikililou Dhoinine could face up to six months in prison if convicted, according to local journalists and news reports.

]]> Attacks on the Press 2007: Africa Snapshots tag:cpj.org,2008://1.6721 2008-02-05T16:59:20Z 2009-04-07T17:36:46Z Committee to Protect Journalists Attacks & developments throughout the region]]> Comoros Islands: Journalist goes into hiding tag:216.139.245.96,2007://1.5866 2007-12-17T17:00:00Z 2007-12-17T17:00:00Z New York, December 17, 2007—The manager of the former local branch of the national Comoros Islands broadcaster Radio Télévision des Comores went into hiding on December 1, fearing for his safety. Journalist Kamal Ali Yahoudha told CPJ in a phone interview that he fled from his house in Mutsamudu, the... Committee to Protect Journalists New York, December 17, 2007—The manager of the former local branch of the national Comoros Islands broadcaster Radio Télévision des Comores went into hiding on December 1, fearing for his safety. Journalist Kamal Ali Yahoudha told CPJ in a phone interview that he fled from his house in Mutsamudu, the capital of the separatist island of Anjouan, an hour before a group of armed military police came to arrest him, according to his family. He was informed by a government source and had time to flee, Yahoudha

]]> In Comoros, government targets critical TV station tag:216.139.245.96,2007://1.5858 2007-08-03T16:00:00Z 2007-08-03T16:00:00Z New York, August 3, 2007—Journalists in Africa’s Comoros islands say they were prevented from traveling to the separatist island of Anjouan to cover Independence Day celebrations Friday. Local reporters say travel agencies refused to sell them airline tickets. Editor Ibrahim Ali Saïd Félix and cameraman Ismael Kassim of Djabal Télévision,... Committee to Protect Journalists New York, August 3, 2007—Journalists in Africa’s Comoros islands say they were prevented from traveling to the separatist island of Anjouan to cover Independence Day celebrations Friday. Local reporters say travel agencies refused to sell them airline tickets.

Editor Ibrahim Ali Saïd Félix and cameraman Ismael Kassim of Djabal Télévision, a private station based on the main volcanic island of Grande Comore, were unable to board a flight to Anjouan after travel agencies refused to sell them tickets until Monday, Djabal TV director Mmadi Moindjié told CPJ. Moindjié and Félix  allege that Comores Aviation and Air Service Comores, two private travel agencies that exclusively provide inter-island trips from the capital, Moroni, linked the move to government pressure in connection with Djabal TV’s coverage of Anjouan authorities.

]]> Attacks on the Press 2006: Africa Snapshots tag:216.139.245.96,2007://1.6796 2007-02-05T16:46:58Z 2009-04-07T18:14:35Z Committee to Protect Journalists Attacks & developments throughout the region

]]> Radio stations attacked ahead of general election tag:216.139.245.96,2006://1.5127 2006-05-09T16:00:00Z 2006-05-09T16:00:00Z New York, May 9, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by attacks on radio stations in the Comoros in the run-up to May 14 federal elections in the Indian Ocean state. Unidentified assailants armed with machetes stormed two radio stations on the island of Grande Comore on May 5,... Committee to Protect Journalists New York, May 9, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by attacks on radio stations in the Comoros in the run-up to May 14 federal elections in the Indian Ocean state. Unidentified assailants armed with machetes stormed two radio stations on the island of Grande Comore on May 5, forcing them off the air for 24 hours. The army shut down a radio station on the island of Mohéli more than a week ago, and it has not resumed broadcasting, local journalists told CPJ.
]]> Director of independent weekly detained tag:216.139.245.96,2006:/cases//9.354 2006-03-25T17:00:00Z 2006-03-25T17:00:00Z MARCH 25, 2006 Posted April 19, 2006 Aboubacar Mchangama, L’Archipel IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION Mchangama, director of the independent weekly L’Archipel, was detained by paramilitary police, or gendarmes, for two days in the capital, Moroni, over an article detailing discontent among army officers. He was charged with “divulging military secrets,” according... Committee to Protect Journalists MARCH 25, 2006
Posted April 19, 2006

Aboubacar Mchangama, L’Archipel
IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION

Mchangama, director of the independent weekly L’Archipel, was detained by paramilitary police, or gendarmes, for two days in the capital, Moroni, over an article detailing discontent among army officers. He was charged with “divulging military secrets,” according to the Panapress news agency.
]]> CPJ calls on government to lift news ban tag:216.139.245.96,2005://1.1986 2005-02-01T17:00:00Z 2008-09-17T19:22:50Z Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by an ongoing government ban on news programming on Radio Dzialandzé Mutsamudu (RDM), a popular, privately owned station based in Mutsamudu, capital of the semi-autonomous island of Anjouan. Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by an ongoing government ban on news programming on Radio Dzialandzé Mutsamudu (RDM), a popular, privately owned station based in Mutsamudu, capital of the semi-autonomous island of Anjouan.

Interior and Information Minister Djanffar Salim ordered the station on January 13 to suspend its news broadcasts indefinitely.

According to local sources, the order stemmed from a recent RDM interview with a doctor who defended a strike by the island's medical personnel. Prior to the interview, Anjouan's Health Minister had criticized the strike in comments aired on Anjouan's official broadcaster, Radio Télévision Anjouan.
]]> COMOROS tag:216.139.245.96,2005:/cases//9.532 2005-01-13T17:00:00Z 2005-01-13T17:00:00Z JANUARY 13, 2005 Posted: February 4, 2005 Radio Dzialandzé Mutsamudu CENSORED Interior and Information Minister Djanffar Salim ordered the suspension of all news broadcasts on Radio Dzialandzé Mutsamudu (RDM), a popular, privately owned station based in Mutsamudu, capital of the semi-autonomous island of Anjouan.... Committee to Protect Journalists JANUARY 13, 2005
Posted: February 4, 2005

Radio Dzialandzé Mutsamudu
CENSORED
Interior and Information Minister Djanffar Salim ordered the suspension of all news broadcasts on Radio Dzialandzé Mutsamudu (RDM), a popular, privately owned station based in Mutsamudu, capital of the semi-autonomous island of Anjouan.
 ]]> Attacks on the Press 2001: Africa Analysis tag:216.139.245.96,2002://1.7301 2002-03-26T17:12:05Z 2009-04-23T17:54:16Z Silence reigned supreme in Eritrea, where the entire independent press was under a government ban and 11 journalists languished in jail at year's end. Clamorous, deadly power struggles raged in Zimbabwe over land and access to information, and in Burundi over ethnicity and control of state resources. South Africa, Senegal,... Yves Sorokobi

Silence reigned supreme in Eritrea, where the entire independent press was under a government ban and 11 journalists languished in jail at year's end. Clamorous, deadly power struggles raged in Zimbabwe over land and access to information, and in Burundi over ethnicity and control of state resources. South Africa, Senegal, and Benin remained relatively liberal from a press freedom perspective, while corruption and fear pervaded newsrooms in Mozambique and Togo.

]]> Attacks on the Press 2001: Comoros tag:216.139.245.96,2002://1.7312 2002-03-26T17:09:10Z 2009-04-15T18:29:21Z Mediators from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) tried to broker a peace plan for the three-island Islamic republic starting in January, after members of the self-styled parliament of the breakaway island of Anjouan asked Colonel Said Abeid, the island's military leader, to relinquish power. Anxious to prevent bloodletting, OAU... Committee to Protect Journalists Mediators from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) tried to broker a peace plan for the three-island Islamic republic starting in January, after members of the self-styled parliament of the breakaway island of Anjouan asked Colonel Said Abeid, the island's military leader, to relinquish power.


Anxious to prevent bloodletting, OAU mediators brokered a unity agreement that military rulers and politicians signed on February 17. The signatories agreed to draft a new constitution that would include the rights to free speech and freedom of the press.

]]> Attacks on the Press 2001: Journalists in Prison tag:216.139.245.96,2002://1.7403 2002-03-26T17:00:00Z 2009-04-27T13:45:13Z There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.... Committee to Protect Journalists There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.

]]> Radio journalist jailed over controversial talk show tag:216.139.245.96,2002://1.1654 2002-03-25T17:00:00Z 2008-10-02T19:53:49Z Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Comoran authorities continue to hold a respected independent journalist in jail for his work. On November 10, 2001, Izdine Abdou Salam, a host and director of programming for the private station Radio Karthala, was detained and interrogated by police officers in the capital, Moroni. Committee to Protect Journalists March 25, 2002
His Excellency Col. Azali Assoumani
President of the Federal and Islamic Republic of the Comoros
c/o the Mission of the Federal and Islamic Republic
of the Comoros to the United Nations
New York, NY 10022

Fax: 212-983-4712
Your Excellency:
 ]]> Attacks on the Press 2000: Comoros tag:216.139.245.96,2001://1.7458 2001-03-19T17:08:10Z 2009-04-14T17:47:23Z INSTABILITY PLAGUED THE THREE-ISLAND ISLAMIC REPUBLIC after the military government of Col. Azali Assoumani tried unsuccessfully to reintegrate the island of Anjouan, which had seceded from the federation in 1997. There were several attacks on journalists after a January referendum in which Anjouan rejected a settlement brokered by the Organization... Committee to Protect Journalists
There were several attacks on journalists after a January referendum in which Anjouan rejected a settlement brokered by the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Violent crackdowns on the political opposition and the media were also reported from Grand Comore and the country's third island, Moheli.
]]> Attacks on the Press in 2000: Journalists in Prison tag:216.139.245.96,2001://1.7541 2001-03-19T17:00:00Z 2009-04-27T13:46:40Z EIGHTY-ONE JOURNALISTS WERE IN PRISON AROUND THE WORLD at the end of 2000, jailed for practicing their profession. The number is down slightly from the previous year, when 87 were in jail, and represents a significant decline from 1998, when 118 journalists were imprisoned. While jailing journalists can be an... Committee to Protect Journalists EIGHTY-ONE JOURNALISTS WERE IN PRISON AROUND THE WORLD at the end of 2000, jailed for practicing their profession. The number is down slightly from the previous year, when 87 were in jail, and represents a significant decline from 1998, when 118 journalists were imprisoned.

While jailing journalists can be an effective means of stifling bad press at home, it is very costly in terms of a country's international image. Particularly in Eastern Europe and Latin America, many countries use more subtle methods to control the press--punitive tax laws, expensive libel suits, and advertising boycotts. States that routinely jail journalists, on the other hand, are often impervious to international criticism.

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