Free Press Clampdown in Africa

As a contrast to the big WaPo series, consider the case of the Burundi journalist who is being charged with treason after questioning military readiness.

A journalist has been arrested and charged with treason for publishing an article suggesting that Burundi’s military was not capable of defending the country against terrorist attacks, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. The group condemned the arrest on Saturday of Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, the editor of the online news agency Net Press, for writing in a July 12 article that the Shabab, a militant Islamist insurgency in Somalia, could easily attack Burundi.

By: Brant