Following our report on the Sri Lankan press crackdown, the office of the president has issued a statement on Tuesday denying the existence of the leaked government “hit-list” that contained 35 journalists, lawyers and activists. One of the top targets on the list, J. C. Weliamuna, the chairperson of Transparency International Sri Lanka, faces imminent arrest this week according to the Asian Human Rights Commission.
The Rwandan director of Human Rights Watch faces deportation from the central African state after her work permit was revoked. Immigration officials claim to have found “anomalies” in Carina Tertsakian’s accreditation documents at a time when relations between president Paul Kagame and the New York-based organisation are strained. Innocent Niyonsenga, communications manager at the Immigration Department, explained that Tertsakian must secure a new visa or measures would be taken to remove her from Rwanda. Human Rights Watch claimed in February that opposition activists are facing increasing threats and harassment ahead of Rwanda’s presidential election in August. President Paul Kagame denied this accusation on Tuesday (16 March) saying that he had a problem with the human rights community commenting on issues from outside the country.
The leader of the youth wing of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has been found guilty of hate speech. Julius Malema has been ordered to apologise for remarks he made last year, which suggested that the women who accused President Jacob Zuma of rape had enjoyed the experience. The prominent South African politician was ordered by the Equality Court to pay 50,000 rand to a shelter for abused women. Zuma was acquitted of rape in 2006 after he insisted that the sex with his accuser was consensual.
Two journalists have been detained in southern Somalia by the Islamist group al-Shabaab. Mohammed Salad Abdulle of the Somali Broadcasting Corporation was arrested in Kismayo, while Mohamed Abdikarim was imprisoned in Baladhawo on 16 March. Al-Shabaab claims to control most of southern and central Somalia and has a history of abducting or killing reporters. Most recently the group arrested Ali Yusuf Adan, a correspondent for Radio Somaliweyn, in the lower Shabelle region.