In Ethiopia, newspaper distributor Fikre Gudu was released on 23 August, after four days in detention. Gudu was arrested in connection to an interview he gave to the Amharic-language weekly "Asqual" about a one-month prison sentence he served in June. During the four-day imprisonment, police accused Gudu of using the interview to spread false information and defame the police and prison system.

  In Ivory Coast, Major-General Philippe Mangou, the Chief of Staff of the Defence and Security Forces of the national army, on 24 August reportedly threatened to ban newspapers from the newsstands whose articles "pose a threat to peace and undermine the cohesion of the Army". Mangou also allegedly declared that he might place a ban on news from sources which do not work in the interest of the nation and which may undermine the return to peace in the country.

  In Nigeria, a presidential committee investigating a recent jail-break in Delta State barred journalists from covering its proceedings on 22 August. According to reports, Senator Stella Omu, the chair of the committee, said journalists were being barred from the venue where the committee is meeting because the proceedings were not yet meant for media coverage. She claimed that the presence of journalists at this stage of proceedings could prevent some witnesses from coming forward voluntarily, which would jeopardise the committee’s work. Also in Nigeria, State Security Service raided the offices of privately-owned weekly "The Exclusive" on 19 August. The security officers reportedly also threatened to deter street vendors from selling its latest issue.

  In Togo, the High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), suspended the broadcasting licence of TV Zion, a religious television station, for 15 days on 12 August. According to reports, the station’s director, Luc Kodjo Adjaho, issued numerous statements on live television discrediting the managing editors of the Togolese "Forum de la semaine" and "Tingo Tingo" newspapers.

  In Tunisia, the recently formed Tunisian Journalists Syndicate (SJT) has been the target of continued harassment from the government. According to reports, security officials in Tunis interrogated SJT head Lotfi Hajji for five hours on 17 August. Security authorities have summoned Hajji for questioning twice before. The interrogations took place in May after the release of an SJT report about attacks on the press in Tunisia.

Sources for the alerts:
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association (EFJA), Addis Ababa
Human Rights Watch (HRW), United States International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), Canada
International Press Institute (IPI), Vienna, Austria
Journaliste En Danger (JED), Democratic Republic of Congo
Media Foundation of West Africa (MFWA), Ghana
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Namibia
Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Nigeria
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), France