Abolishing "Insult Laws" in Africa and Setting a Free Press Higher on the Agenda

The present report contains outlines of cases in Africa where the authorities have used 'insult' or criminal defamation laws or other restrictive laws or repressive conduct with the purpose to either censor the media or to prevent access to information.

There are many editors, journalists, publishers, online editors, bloggers and camera operators who have been affected by these incidents.  They face threats of all kinds, including being harassed, assaulted and/or beaten, arrested, detained or imprisoned. This list has been compiled for the period 1 January 2007 to 30 June 2010.

In addition, newspapers, radio stations and online websites have been closed, with some notable recent closures in countries where elections are imminent.

The list is not exhaustive and there are gaps because of poor communication, censorship and fear of the consequences of disclosure. If you have reports or examples, please email Alison Meston, Declaration of Table Mountain Campaign manager, so we can add them to the Annex.

To download the Annex:

Annex to the Declaration of Table Mountain
English version