Cameroon’s anti-terror law is being used by authorities to arrest and threaten local journalists, creating a climate fear among political reporters, according to an international media watchdog.
The legislation was enacted in 2014 to counter the Boko Haram armed group, blamed for a number of deadly attacks near Cameroon’s border with Nigeria over the past few years.
But in a report released on Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the anti-terror law was being used to silence media workers who report on Boko Haram, or on civil unrest in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.