&RPPXQLTXp Date: March 8, 2012 Person/ institution: Women Violation/ issue: Other On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Media Institute of Southern Africa salutes and appreciates the efforts all women, especially the journalists, media professionals and media scholars who continue to make immense contributions to the growth and development of journalism and media in the region. We also applaud the courage exhibited by many female journalists who, in their earnest pursuit to expose injustices within the societies they work in, have been harassed, unlawfully arrested and tortured but continue to seek the truth and present it to the public for the betterment of those very same societies. $OHUW Date: March 6, 2012 Person/ institution: Malawian journalists Violation/ issue: Threatened State House has warned Malawian journalists, editors and human rights defenders that they risk facing unspecified action if they continue ‘twisting information’ and in the process discrediting president Bingu wa Mutharika. In a statement issued on Friday, March 9 2012, State House claimed it was aware that some journalists, editors and human rights activists were deliberately distorting statements and actions by president Mutharika with the intention of misinforming the nation thereby stirring unnecessary panic among Malawians and bringing anarchy in the country. $OHUW Date: March 12, 2012 Person/ institution: MISA-Malawi Violation/ issue: Threatened Chairperson of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi Chapter, Anthony Kasunda is receiving threats from yet-unknown people over the chapter’s stance on the Malawi government’s repeated attacks on the media. Kasunda has been receiving threats since Sunday, barely two days after the chapter’s reaction to the statement issued by State House, which warned media and civil society organizations against negative reporting and ‘insulting’ the Head of State, president Bingu Wa Mutharika. 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\"