Authorities across East and Southern Africa continued their campaigns of harassment and arbitrary arrests and detention of independent journalists over the past year, Amnesty International said today ahead of World Press Freedom Day. The organization documented sustained intimidation, harassment, and attacks on independent media in several countries in the region. Amnesty International also documented increased internet blockades or shutdowns and the use of restrictive cyber security laws to restrict media freedom, especially in countries that held elections in 2025 and early 2026. “Across the region, governments and in some instances non-state actors, intensified their crackdowns on the media and journalists through shutdowns and arrests and arbitrary detentions. They weaponized criminal justice systems to target journalists and continued to use broad and vaguely worded laws to silence and intimidate them.…