{
  "title": "Ladder: insult and defamation laws, in Africa",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/insult_and_defamation_laws?continent=africa",
  "filters": {
    "continent": "africa"
  },
  "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.",
  "tactic": {
    "slug": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
    "name": "Insult and defamation laws",
    "definition": "Laws that make it a crime, not only a civil wrong, to damage a person's reputation, to insult a head of state or a monarch (known as lèse-majesté), or to publish information that a government declares false, including laws against \"fake news\". Convictions can bring fines or prison.",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/insult_and_defamation_laws"
  },
  "focal_case": "US",
  "count": 2,
  "stages": [
    {
      "stage": "punish",
      "name": "Punish",
      "definition": "Legal or physical action against individual journalists or sources: subpoenas and record seizures, prosecutions, arrests, detention, expulsions, visa denials, assault where a government actor is involved.",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "slug": "2023-zimbabwe-patriotic-act-criminalizes-foreign-contact",
          "title": "Zimbabwe's Patriotic Act criminalizes journalists' contact with foreign governments",
          "occurred_on": "2023-07-14",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "punish",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "ZW",
          "country_name": "Zimbabwe",
          "continent": "africa",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 124,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "emmerson-mnangagwa",
          "leader_name": "Emmerson Mnangagwa",
          "what_was_done": "President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the Patriotic Act, which criminalizes meeting foreign governments or officials with intent to harm Zimbabwe's sovereignty, with penalties up to death for advocating armed intervention and up to ten years for supporting sanctions, weeks before the country's 2023 g…",
          "outcome": "sustained",
          "outcome_on": "2023-07-14",
          "outcome_note": "President Mnangagwa signed the bill into law despite CPJ's call for a veto; a court challenge by journalists did not block it.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 2,
          "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws",
          "tactics": [
            "insult_and_defamation_laws",
            "secrets_and_espionage_laws"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-zimbabwe-patriotic-act-criminalizes-foreign-contact"
        },
        {
          "slug": "2025-tunisia-record-journalists-jailed-decree-54",
          "title": "Tunisia's cybercrime decree pushes jailed-journalist count to highest since 1992",
          "occurred_on": "2025-01-16",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "punish",
          "focal_case": false,
          "country": "TN",
          "country_name": "Tunisia",
          "continent": "africa",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 137,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 137th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "kais-saied",
          "leader_name": "Kais Saied",
          "what_was_done": "The Committee to Protect Journalists found at least four journalists imprisoned under Tunisia's 2022 Decree-Law 54 on cybercrime as of January 2025, including radio hosts Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies, pushing the country's jailed-journalist count to its highest since 1992 under President Kais Sa…",
          "outcome": "sustained",
          "outcome_on": null,
          "outcome_note": "Decree-Law 54 remained in force and continued to produce new prosecutions, which CPJ said brought jailed-journalist numbers to a record.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 2,
          "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
          "tactics": [
            "detention_and_violence",
            "insult_and_defamation_laws"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-tunisia-record-journalists-jailed-decree-54"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "downloads": {
    "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/insult_and_defamation_laws?continent=africa&format=csv",
    "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/insult_and_defamation_laws.json?continent=africa",
    "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/insult_and_defamation_laws.md?continent=africa"
  },
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  }
}