The Commitee to Protect Journalists and Amnesty International reported that Algeria sentenced Ihsane el-Khadi to five years imprisonment- also closing down a local independent broadcaster and newspaper there. Two years of the sentence has been suspended and relates to El-Khadi allegedly receiving funds for “political propaganda” and “to harm the security of the state.” Shortly before his arrest on December 24, 2022 he published an analysis about the next presidential elections in Algeria in 2024 which was critical of the role of the Algerian army.

In Ethiopia, two journalists, Getenet Ahagre and Aragaw Sisay were arrested on March 26, 2023 in Addis Ababa. Sisay is the founder and chief editor of the privately-owned YouTube-based news outlet Roha News, and Ahagre is the chief editor of the YouTube-based broadcaster The Voice of Amhara.

While in Burkina Faso, two French journalists, Le Monde Afrique correspondent Sophie Douce and Liberation correspondent Agnes Faivre were expelled on April 2, 2023.

The number of journalists jailed around the world has reached a record-breaking figure.

A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found that 363 reporters were deprived of their freedom as of December 1, 2022 – a new global high that overtakes previous year’s record by 20%.

According to the report, at least 56 journalists were imprisoned across Africa in 2022 with Egypt being the top jailer.

“Egypt remains the top jailer of journalists across Africa, despite some releases under international pressure. Eritrea is one of the most censored countries in the world. The majority of the journalists imprisoned there have been detained without trial for 21 years, since the crackdown on the independent press in 2001,” the report reads.