The
Committee to Protect Journalists will release its report, "Journalists
Not Terrorists: In Cameroon, anti-terror legislation is used to silence
critics and suppress dissent," on September 20.
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. 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.
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