Journalist Sentenced in Absentia for an Online Article

Journalist Sentenced in Absentia for an Online Article

By CPJ

In June 2011, Jean Bosco Gasasira, the exiled editor of Umuvugizi, was sentenced to two and half years in jail for civil disobedience and insulting President Paul Kagame in the online version of his newspaper. In April of the previous year, the print publication of the same newspaper had been suspended for six months for allegedly inciting violence and criticizing the head of state. The MHC ordered that the website be blocked, arguing that the ban on the newspaper had to apply online as well. Umuvugizi was unblocked after the sixmonth suspension period had expired, though it reportedly experienced periodic filtering throughout 2011.

Read more at CPJ.

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