BBC Radio and Radio France International (RFI) are now off air in Ivory Coast. The government of Laurent Gbagbo denies taking action against the radio stations, but in the past the government has blocked both these stations. Pro- and anti-government media have complained of threats, harassment and attacks.
Turkish police have detained 10 people, many of them journalists, in the latest crackdown on an alleged secularist network, which is accused of conspiring to overthrow the government. This follows February’s high profile raid on the Oda TV news portal. On Monday blog publishing service blogspot.com was banned inside Turkey.
Juan Pedro Mendene, a radio presenter for the Equatorial Guinean broadcaster RTVGE, has been suspended for mentioning the Libyan uprising on his radio show. His live show was halted on the orders of Federico Abaga Ondo, the Secretary of State for Information and Press. The government has imposed a total news blackout on the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East.
Nine independent and anti-government newspapers have suspended publication following harassment from President Laurent Gbagbo supporters. The protesting newspapers also say they are regularly fined by the media regulator. Meanwhile, supporters of Gbagbo’s rival, Alassane Ouattara, attacked the main transmission centre of Radio-Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI), the state-owned broadcaster.