Sarata Jabbi-Dibba is a powerful inspiration to us at Radio Free Africa.

On September 3, 2009, Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, vice president of the Gambia Press Union and reporter for the independent newspaper, The Point, was granted a presidential pardon and released from prison. Dibba, along with six other journalists, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for defaming President Jammeh. The sedition charges stemmed from an incident in which the GPU issued a statement criticizing the president for slandering the memory of the late Deyda Hydara, editor of The Point, who was brutally murdered in 2004.

At the time of the arrest June 15, 2009 Dibba was still nursing her 7 month old son. She was allowed to have her son with her the first three days. Prison officials took him away on the third day. Dibba and her lawyer went to the prison director. The director relented and allowed family members to bring her son to the prison for breast-feeding.

Since her release, Dibba has resumed writing her column, “She, She, She”, which addresses women’s issues. It was her late editor, Deyda Hydara, who supported Dibba when she started the column. Dibba attributes Hydara as her reason for going into journalism.

In a country where journalists are under serious threats and subject to an array of human rights abuses, the courage displayed by Dibba and her colleagues is laudable. Their fallen comrade, Deyda Hydara lost his life fighting for press freedom. Hydara was killed one day after publishing an article railing against two new Gambian laws that infringed upon freedom of expression. His killers were never found. The six journalists remain committed to his memory even if it means losing their own freedom.

New York, December 8, 2009—In its annual census of imprisoned journalists, released today, The Committee to Protect Journalists found a total of 136 reporters, editors, and photojournalists behind bars on December 1, an increase of 11 from the 2008 tally. A massive crackdown in Iran, where 23 journalists are now in jail, fueled the worldwide increase.

A total of 25 journalists were imprisoned in Sub-Saharan Africa in retaliation for their journalism, and nearly 90 percent of these journalists were detained without charges in secret detention facilities, according to an annual census of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Countries as wide ranging as Eritrea, Iran, and the United States were on the list of nations who had imprisoned journalists without charge.

Eritrea by far leads the list of shame of African nations that imprison journalists, with at least 19 members of the media held incommunicado in its secret prisons. Eritrea was the fourth leading jailer of journalists worldwide, trailing only China, Iran and Cuba. Eritrea’s neighbor, Ethiopia ranked second among African nations whose prisons held the most journalists.

Early this year, to take one example, the following Radio Bana journalists were banned in Eritrea:
Bereket Misguina, Radio Bana
Mulubruhan Weldegebriel, Radio Bana
Ghirmai Abraham, Radio Bana
Issak Abraham, Radio Bana
Meles Nguse, Radio Bana
Yirgalem Fesseha, Radio Bana

Detailed accounts of all imprisoned journalists and a statistical breakdown are at http://www.cpj.org/imprisoned/2009.php

Thanks to CPJ’s Mohamed Keita for forwarding this post.

[REPOSTED from CPJ.ORG]
New York, October 15, 2009—The editor-in-chief of Zambia’s largest newspaper was criminally charged for the second time on Wednesday after running an op-ed critical of controversial pornography charges against a journalist, according to local journalists and news reports.

Magistrate David Simusamba charged Fred M’membe,1995 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, and the daily Post with contempt of court over an August op-ed on the ongoing trial of Post News Editor Chansa Kabwela, according to defense lawyer Remmy Mainsa. Contempt of court charges may be used against authors of opinion pieces that comment on ongoing trials, according to Zambian law. (more…)

Benin City – October 27, 2009

Students at Irrua Special Teaching Hospital

As reported by Patrick Ochoga of Leadership Nigeria , Journalists who hadgone to cover the press briefing by resident doctors at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) were rough-handled by the security personnel attached to the hospital.

Many of the medical staff at the hospital had gone on strike to protest inadequate training and treatment of staff as compared with management.

See additional details on this story from AllAfrica.com

(Thanks to Gina Robbins for locating this story)

[Reposted from the UN News Centre]

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom

Ohu, a 45-year-old assistant news editor at influential private daily The Guardian, was shot dead September 20 by unidentified gunmen as he answered a knock at the front door of his house in a northern suburb of Lagos.

today condemned the recent killing of a Nigerian news editor, and called on authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Bayo Ohu, the assistant news editor of the Nigerian daily newspaper, The Guardian, was shot dead in his home on 20 September as he was preparing to attend church, according to a news release issued by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

“The shooters removed the victim’s laptop and mobile phone from the house, leading to speculation that the killing may have been linked to his work as a journalist, according to the International Press Institute (IPI),” the news release added.

UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura spoke out against the killing, stating that freedom of expression is a basic human right and its corollary, press freedom, is essential for democracy and rule of law.

Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO

“Therefore, I trust that the authorities, in the interest of the whole of Nigerian society, will do all they can to bring the culprits of this crime to justice,” Mr. Matsuura said.

See the latest news on Bayo Ohu

(Thanks to Gina Robbins)