Peru mayoral candidate Daniel Urresti acquitted of Hugo Bustíos murder
Medellín, October 4, 2018–Peru’s National Criminal Chamber today acquitted former interior minister and current mayoral candidate Daniel Urresti of murder charges for the 1988 killing of war correspondent Hugo Bustíos, according to news reports. A lawyer for the Bustíos family said they would appeal, the reports said.
CPJ Safety Advisory: Pegasus spyware used to target journalists, civil society
[EDITOR’S NOTE: See CPJ’s updated safety advisory here https://cpj-preprod.go-vip.net/2019/11/cpj-safety-advisory-journalist-targets-of-pegasus-.php.] In a report published on September 18, Citizen Lab said it had detected Pegasus, a spyware created for mobile devices, in over 45 countries. Pegasus, which transforms a cellphone into a mobile surveillance station, could have been deployed against a range of journalists and civil society…
CPJ’s Joel Simon speaks at Press Behind Bars panel
Committee to Protect Journalists Executive Director Joel Simon addressed a panel event at the 73rd session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on September 28, 2018. The event highlighted global press freedom violations and the jailing of journalists in countries around the world, with a specific focus on cases in Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh,…
Live Stream – Press Behind Bars: Undermining Justice and Democracy
Event scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, September 28, 2018. Committee to Protect Journalists Executive Director Joel Simon, Reuters President and CPJ board member Stephen J. Adler, and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who represents the imprisoned Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, speak on a panel at the 73rd…
Gunmen break into radio station in Brazil and shoot commentator in the leg
São Paulo, September 25, 2018–Police in the Brazilian state of Ceará must act quickly to bring the gunmen who injured radio owner and commentator Sandoval Braga to justice and ensure the safety of employees at Radio União FM 96.5, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Online smear campaign targets freelance reporter in Nicaragua
New York, September 25, 2018–Nicaraguan authorities should investigate a targeted online harassment campaign against freelance journalist Carl David Goette-Luciak, find those responsible, and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Mexican journalist gunned down in Chiapas
Mexico City, September 24, 2018–Mexican authorities must immediately undertake a rigorous and credible investigation into the killing of reporter Mario Leonel Gómez Sánchez in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Freelance reporter covering environmental activist’s murder trial threatened in Honduras
New York, September 19, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Honduran authorities to investigate threats against freelance journalist Nina Lakhani–who is in Honduras to cover the high-profile trial of eight men charged in the 2016 murder of indigenous environmental leader Berta Cáceres–and to ensure journalists are able to report safely from the country.
Venezuelan freelance photographer detained, sent to military prison
New York, September 7, 2018–Venezuelan authorities should immediately release and drop all charges against freelance photographer Jesus Medina Ezaine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in the capital Caracas on August 31 ordered Medina to military prison; he was detained August 29 after working on a reporting project at a hospital and…
CPJ calls on Mexico to fund journalist protection mechanism
CPJ is deeply concerned about the imminent gap in financing that threatens the operation of the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, and urges the Mexican federal government to take immediate action to guarantee continued and sufficient funding. The institution provides protective measures to over 700 journalists and human rights defenders.