In the country of Paul Biya, re-elected president in 2005, the situation is simple: draconian laws regularly put journalists behind bars. Five journalists, including an Australian reporter and the Reporters Without Borders' correspondent spent time in prison. In this hostile climate, several quality titles cling on to survival in a country that is mired in corruption. But in both Yaoundé and Douala, there is a profusion of privately-owned newspapers, but this is no guarantee of quality or integrity. The courts, frequently prompted by the powerful or the corrupt acting with complete impunity, strike without distinction at journalists who are courageous, those who are badly trained and some who are simply malicious. Harsh jail sentences are systematically handed down. During the year, Reporters Without Borders tried to persuade the government to de-criminalise press offences to help Cameroonian journalists to become more responsible and professional. This has so far been in vain.

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