Washington, DC — Press freedom in Africa declined in 2007 due to a misuse of libel laws and an increase in political conflict, Freedom House, a United States-based organization, wrote in its annual report released Tuesday in Washington, DC.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the press in seven countries was ranked on an index as "free", 18 "partly free", and 23 "not free."
Among the countries listed as not free, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea and Zimbabwe were judged as among the top 10 press freedom abusers in the world. Freedom House researchers described the three countries as places "where authoritarian governments use legal imprisonment, and other forms of harassment to sharply curtail the ability of independent media outlets to report freely."
The status of three sub-Saharan African countries changed in 2007. Benin's rank was changed from "free" to "partly free" because of harassment of journalists through libel cases. Central African Republic and Niger both moved from "partly free" to "not free" due to government restrictions on the ability of the press to cover violent conflicts.
Many other countries saw their scores backtrack, although their status did not change. They included Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Djibouti, Comoros, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Guinea-Bissau and Gambia.
A handful of countries, however, had their scores in the index improve. Tanzania, Nigeria and Cameroon all improved their scores because attacks on journalists declined and the number of private, independent news outlets increased. Sudan's score improved due to an increase in the number of newspapers and radio stations in the south. The improved political situations in Burundi and Cote d'Ivoire also led to more press freedom.
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"For every step forward in press freedom last year, there were two steps back," said Jennifer Windsor, the executive director of Freedom House. "When press freedom is in retreat, it is an ominous sign that restrictions on other freedoms may soon follow. However, journalists in many countries of the world are pushing the boundaries, crossing the red-lines, demonstrating commitment and courage against great odds and we are seeing a greater global flow of information than ever before."
Freedom House uses 23 methodological questions based on three subcategories: legal environment, political environment and economic environment. The index scores countries on a scale from 0 (the best) to 100 (the worst). Countries scoring from 0-30 are "Free", 31-60 are "Partly Free", and 61-100 are "Not Free."
To see the complete rankings, click here
