Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Laurent Gbagbo’s government in Côte d’Ivoire has launched a crackdown on the media, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). The leadership of the National Press Council (CNP), which regulates the print media, has just been replaced by Gbagbo’s supporters. The UN radio station, Onuci FM, has had its permit withdrawn. And many journalists are still exposed to...

Two journalists employed by Télévision Notre Patrie (TVNP) – a pirate TV station based in the northern city of Bouaké that supports the former rebel New Force – were arrested on their arrival in Abidjan on January 28, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). The two journalists – Sanogo Aboubakar, aka Abou Sanogo, and Kangbé Yayoro Charles Lopez, aka Gnahoré...

A pro-Gbagbo Notre Voie newspaper correspondent in Korhogo, a town located about 600km north of Abidjan, fled the town after persistent threats against his life by New Forces, an armed group in Côte d'Ivoire supporting Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized president of the country. The Media Foundation for West Africa's (MFWA) correspondent in Côte d'Ivoire reported that Silué Kanigui...

Acts of intimidation and violence against journalists continue in Côte d’Ivoire, as the political crisis resulting from the November 28 presidential election drags on with no sign of a resolution in sight, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). “We deplore the climate of fear in Abidjan for journalists trying to cover developments,” RSF secretary-general Jean...

La Première, the leading TV channel of Côte d’Ivoire’s state-owned broadcaster Radio-Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI), has since December 24 not been available in France or in neighbouring African countries, where it is normally carried by the Canal + Horizon satellite service, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). It would seem this is because its signal has...

Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has expressed concern over the consequences for journalists of the fight for control of state television and the media in general being waged by the supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and the ones of Alassane Ouattara. “We are very worried about the situation in Côte d’Ivoire,” RSF said in a statement. “The violent dispersal of yesterday’s...

A climate of hostility towards the French news media is being encouraged by Côte d’Ivoire’s state-owned radio and TV stations and certain privately-owned newspapers in Abidjan that support President Laurent Gbagbo, such as Le Temps and Notre Voie, Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. “Our priority is respect for the safety of journalists,” RSF secretary...

Ivorian authorities imposed Thursday a ban on France-based news broadcasters covering the contested presidential election, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported. The National Council of Audiovisual Communication (CNCA) ordered the local affiliate of France-based satellite television operator Canal+ to suspend all international news channels offered on subscription...

Ivorian authorities have expressed the determination to ensure that all candidates in this month’s presidential election have fair access to the public media during the campaign. Prime Minister Guillaume Soro stressed this point at a meeting with state media executives and media regulatory officials four days ago, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). “The...

A one-year jail sentence and fine of 5 million CFA francs has been slapped by an Abidjan criminal court on Traoré Médandjé, a leading reporter for the daily L'Intelligent d'Abidjan, on charges of defaming and trying to blackmail a former health ministry official. The case was prompted by an article headlined “Vavoua's illegal boutique clinics,” published on September 4, 2009, in which Médjandé...