CPJ to Release Report on Cameroon’s Press Freedom Crackdown
Douala, Cameroon- September 18, 2017-6 AM Local Time (Cameroon News Agency) The Committee to Protect Journalists , CPJ has announced it will release its report, “Journalists Not Terrorists: In Cameroon, anti-terror legislation is used to silence critics and suppress dissent,” on September 20.
According to CPJ, Cameroonian authorities have used a broad anti-terror law, enacted in 2014, to arrest and threaten local journalists who report on the militant group Boko Haram or unrest in the country’s English-speaking regions. Journalists arrested under the act, including Radio France Internationale broadcaster and CPJ International Press Freedom Award honoree Ahmed Abba, face military tribunal and harsh sentences.
CPJ notes that a presidential decree in August 2017 ended legal proceedings against at least four journalists, but the law remains in place. With elections due to take place next year, many of Cameroon’s journalists say they are too scared to cover politics or sensitive issues.
WHAT: Release of “Journalists Not Terrorists: In Cameroon, anti-terror legislation is used to silence critics and suppress dissent.”
WHEN: September 20, 2017, 8 a.m. EST
WHERE: www.cpj.org
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CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide
Note to Editors:
Embargoed copies of the report are available upon request in English and French.
