Intenational communuty urged to sanction perpetrators of abuses against media

03 Novembre 2017

Kinshasa, DR Congo, November 3 (Infosplusgabon) - Journalist in Danger, a media watchdog, has urged the international community to increase pressure on DR Congo government to sanction perpetrators of abuses against press freedom.

In a report published on Thursday to mark International Day against Impunity, the media watchdog's secretary general, Tshivis Tshivuadi, said there had been steady increase of attacks and violence, as well as impunity against easily identifiable people attacking journalists and media.

"121 attacks against media were documented in 2017 against at least 87 cases in 2016," noted a report intitled "DR Congo: Trivalizing repression."

According to Tshivuadi, the DR Congo authorities were implementing a system aimed at preventing local and foreign journalists from reporting on the authoritarian abuses gradually developing in the country.

Besides these forms of violence, it highlighted the increasing instances of local and foreign media seeing their transmission signals cut or scrambled for addressing topical political or national security issues.

Radio France International's (RFI) signal, for example, was cut on 5 November 2016 throughout DR Congo only to be restored in Kinshasa on 12 August 2017. Radio Okapi's signal, has been scrambled since 5 November 2016 in Kinshasa, it added.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/YHO/GABON 2017

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