Human Rights Watch - The African Mirror

May

24

2024

Tunisia sentences two journalists to one year in prison

MEDIA FREEDOM

A Tunisian court sentenced two journalists to one year in prison on charges of publishing false news that harms public security, a judicial official said, amid growing fears of a crackdown targeting all critical voices. Mourad Zghidi and Borhan Bsaiss, both journalists with IFM radio, were detained this month over political comments made on the radio. Tunisia has now imprisoned a total of six journalists, including Zghidi and Bsaiss, while dozens of others face judicial prosecution, according to the journalists' syndicate, which is the country's main union for journalists. In May, police arrested 10 people, including journalists, lawyers and officials of civil society groups, in what…

May

20

2024

By The African Mirror

Hundreds of Tunisian president’s supporters protest against ‘foreign interference’

NEWS

HUNDREDS of people demonstrated in Tunis in support of President Kais Saied amid widespread criticism at home and abroad after a wave of arrests that included journalists, activists and lawyers. The European Union, France and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern at the arrests and at a police raid on the headquarters of the bar association this month in which two lawyers critical of the president were detained. Police this month arrested 10 people, including journalists, lawyers and officials of civil society groups, in what was described as a crackdown by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which called on…

May

19

2024

By The African Mirror

Tunisian rights groups say freedoms threatened under Saied’s rule

NEWS

FREEDOMS in Tunisia are being threatened under the rule of President Kais Saied and the authorities are using the judiciary and police to punish their opponents, 10 local rights groups said at a joint conference. Police this month arrested 10 people, including lawyers, activists, journalists and officials of civil society groups, in what was described as a crackdown by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who called on the authorities to respect Tunisians' right to free speech and civil liberties. And last week thousands of lawyers took strike action after police for a second time raided the Bar Association's headquarters and arrested two…

Apr

30

2024

By The African Mirror

Burkina Faso suspends more foreign media over killings coverage

NEWS

BURKINA FASO has suspended several Western and African media over their coverage of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accusing the army of extrajudicial killings, its communications authority said. The move follows similar suspensions of BBC Africa and the U.S.-funded Voice of America for reporting on the HRW investigation that alleged the Burkinabe military executed about 223 villagers in February as part of a campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with jihadist militants. The junta-led West African country's communications council said French television network TV5Monde's broadcasts would be suspended for two weeks, while access to its website would be blocked. The websites of German…

Apr

29

2024

By The African Mirror

Burkina Faso says it is investigating northern killings

NEWS

BURKINA FASO is investigating killings in two northern villages in February, a government spokesperson said, dismissing a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report about the Burkinabe army's alleged execution of 223 people there. Citing telephone interviews with witnesses, civil society and others, the HRW report on Thursday accused the military of executing residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with jihadist militants. Government spokesperson Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo rejected HRW's allegations as "peremptory" and denied that the ruling junta was unwilling to look into the alleged atrocities. "The killings in…

Apr

27

2024

By The African Mirror

Burkina Faso suspends BBC, VOA radio broadcasts over killings coverage

NEWS

BURKINA Faso has suspended the radio broadcasts of BBC Africa and the U.S-funded Voice of America (VOA) for two weeks over their coverage of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accusing the army of extrajudicial killings, authorities said late. In the report based on its own investigation, the rights watchdog said the West African country's military summarily executed about 223 villagers, including at least 56 children, in February as part of a campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with jihadist militants. HRW said the Burkinabe army has repeatedly committed mass atrocities against civilians in the name of fighting terrorism, and it called…

Jul

11

2023

By ELIAS BIRYABAREMA

Uganda: Oil pipeline “devastates livelihoods”

NEWS

A planned oil pipeline to help Uganda export its crude to international markets has "devastated" the lives of thousands of people who have experienced delayed or inadequate compensation for their land, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. The rights group also said the project, in which TotalEnergies has a 62% stake, is a disaster for the planet as it will add emissions that exacerbate climate change. France's TotalEnergies rejected HRW's accusations, saying it was respecting all the rights of affected people. Planned to cost $3.5 billion, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) will carry crude from the oilfields in Uganda's west…

Jul

08

2023

By TAREK AMARA

Rights group urges Tunisia to halt collective expulsions of African migrants

NEWS

TUNISIA should halt collective expulsions of sub-Saharan African migrants and urgently enable access to humanitarian services for those the government sent to a dangerous area of the Tunisia-Libya border, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. Tunisia has removed hundreds of the migrants to a desolate area along the border, a Tunisian rights group and a lawmaker said on Wednesday, with witnesses reporting dozens more put on outbound trains following days of violence. Disturbances between migrants and residents went on for a week in the port of Sfax, and one Tunisian was killed. Residents complained of disorderly behaviour by migrants and migrants complained of racist…

Jun

16

2023

By The African Mirror

Mass graves found in east Congo village after M23 rebel retreat, HRW says

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo's M23 rebels allegedly executed scores of villagers and militia members between November and April and buried their bodies in mass graves, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said, accusing Rwanda of backing the group. The Tutsi-led M23 staged a major offensive in Congo's restive east last year, triggering an armed response from local and regional forces. Hundreds of thousands have fled fighting near the borders with Rwanda and Uganda. Last year, the United Nations accused the group of executing at least 131 people in November in retaliation for clashes between M23 and rival armed groups. The U.N.'s human rights office…

Mar

22

2023

By The African Mirror

Uganda passes tough anti-gay law

LGBTQIA+

UGANDA'S parliament passed a law that criminalises identifying as LGBTQ, handing authorities broad powers to target Ugandans who already face legal discrimination and mob violence. More than 30 African countries, including Uganda, already ban same-sex relations. The new law appears to be the first to outlaw merely identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ), according to the rights group Human Rights Watch. Supporters of the new law say it is needed to punish a broader array of LGBTQ activities, which they say threaten traditional values in the conservative and religious East African nation. In addition to same-sex intercourse, the law…