In South Africa, The Mail & Guardian, the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), the South African Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-SA) and the South African National Editor’s Forum (SANEF) welcomed the ruling in favor of open justice and media freedom in the Pretoria High Court following an attempt by the State to gag a vital nuclear smuggling case in which two individuals and a linked company are charged with smuggling components to an international syndicate.

At an earlier court hearing on 2 May 2007, the National Prosecuting Authority had applied for virtually the entire trial to be held in camera and for a prohibition of publication of information related to the trial. The State had argued that nuclear technology could fall into rogue hands if the information was made public and that the South African government was obliged to maintain strict control and secrecy on the development and manufacture of weapons of mass destruction in terms of international and African treaties, as well as South Africa’s Criminal Procedure Act, the Nuclear Energy Act and the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act.

  Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the blocking of access to video-sharing website YouTube in Morocco by the Internet server (ISP) Maroc Telecom since 25 May 2007. Users of the smaller privately-owned ISPs Wana and Méditel are still able to access YouTube, which may have been blocked by Maroc Telecom after videos were posted on it of independence demonstrations for Western Sahara.

The ISP failed to respond to several calls made to it by the worldwide press freedom organisation, but a European journalist reported that the firm’s press officer said it was due to a "technical problem." Morocco has blocked access since last year to Google Earth and Livejournal. Websites close to the Western Sahara independence movement Polisario were blocked in December 2005

  On 23 May in Nigeria, the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), a public radio broadcaster in Ibadan, in the southwestern state of Oyo, was ransacked by around 100 supporters of a local politician, and journalists were attacked with machetes. The supporters were angered by an announcement that state elections would go ahead on 24 May. Equipment was smashed and at least 10 journalists were hurt.

  Reporters Without Borders called for the immediate release in Mauritania of Abdel Fettah Ould Ebeidna, managing editor of the daily newspaper Al-Aqsa, who was sent to prison in Nouakchott on 24 May 2007 because of a libel complaint against him by a businessman.

Ebeidna was ordered by a judge, Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Talhata, to report to a police station on 24 May in connection with a libel suit filed by businessman Mohamed Ould Bouammatou. On 16 May, the paper said Bouammatou was involved in a large-scale cocaine racket discovered in the northern town of Nouadhibou on 2 May, along with the son of a former president, a politician, and the sons of several prominent figures.

Under the country’s new 2005-2006 press law, libel and printing "inaccurate news" are no longer punishable by imprisonment and a press and broadcasting regulatory body, HAPPA, has been set up.

  In Zimbabwe, The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called on the Zimbabwean government to end its attacks and harassment of journalists and to stop police harassment of newspaper photographer Boldwill Hungwe.

Hungwe, a photographer with The Standard newspaper, published pictures of attorney Beatrice Mtetwa severely injured after she was abducted and reportedly tortured by police. According to IFJ sources, after the photo was published the police called Hungwe and told him to turn himself in at the police station. Since then, photographer has been in hiding.

  Authorities in the central diamond mining town of Mbuji-Mayi in the Democratic Republic of Congo closed down a private broadcaster on 27 May in connection with comments critical of the provincial governor that were aired on two programs last week, according to local journalists and press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported.

Police sealed the studios of Radio-télévision Debout Kasaï (RTDK), on orders of Governor Ngoyi Kasanji and the DRC’s High Authority on Media (HAM), according to the same sources. In its ruling, HAM suspended the station for seven days on charges of "contempt, threats, and bullying toward the authorities," according to a press release obtained by CPJ. The station denied the allegations. CPJ research did not find any basis to support them.

  In Gambia, Lamin Fatty, a reporter with the banned Banjul-based bi-weekly The Independent, who was standing trial at the Kanifing Magistrate’s Court for publishing "false information," on 21 May 2007 denied ever publishing any "false information."

Fatty told the court that, as a reporter, he only gathered facts and submitted them to the editors who hold the ultimate responsibility for publishing.

Fatty also told the court that he did not write the story "The Independent" published, but that parts of the story he wrote and headlined "An attempted foiled coup," came from a government press release sent to the editor.

Sources of the alerts:

International Freedom of ExChange (IFEX)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)