Cameroon 🇨🇲 using 'anti-terror' law to silence media: CPJ

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.

The report said that the crackdown on the press has left journalists too scared to cover politics.

With elections due to take place next year in Cameroon, journalists are steering away from sensitive issues in fear of reprisals, the CPJ said.

UCJ, UNILORIN.