Journalist Alex Braga attacked, threatened in Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, July 30, 2020 – Brazilian authorities must promptly and thoroughly investigate the attack on journalist Alex Braga, bring those responsible to justice, and ensure he can work safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Shortly after 9 p.m. on July 23, unidentified men drove a car into Braga’s vehicle while he…
Colombian vice president files criminal defamation suit against journalist
Bogotá, July 28, 2020 – Colombian Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez should drop her criminal defamation suit against InSight Crime journalist Jeremy McDermott, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 24, the attorney general’s office notified McDermott, a British national who works as co-director and legal representative of the Medellín-based news organization InSight…
Nicaraguan journalist Gerall Chávez and family receive death threats
Managua, July 28, 2020—Nicaraguan authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate the threats sent to journalist Gerall Chávez and his family, and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 25, Chávez, a co-founder of the digital media outlet Nicaragua Actual, who lives in exile in Costa Rica, received threatening messages on…
Amicus briefs support CPJ’s appeal in Khashoggi lawsuit
Nearly three dozen media and press freedom organizations, as well as 10 major human rights organizations and experts, have signed on to amicus briefs in support of CPJ’s appeal in its lawsuit seeking documents on whether U.S. intelligence agencies knew of threats to Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi before his murder by the Saudi government….
NYPD subpoenaed reporter’s phone records in leak case
New York, July 27, 2020 – The New York City Police Department should refrain from subpoenaing journalists’ phone records or other information that could reveal sourcing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 14, a New York-based freelance journalist who works for the Daily Mail received a letter stating that their phone records…
US federal law officers attack journalists covering protests in Portland
New York, July 24, 2020 – U.S. federal law enforcement agencies must ensure that journalists can cover protests freely, and must refrain from attacking members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. “All law enforcement agencies must stop using aggressive tactics against journalists covering protests in the United States,” said CPJ Program…
Paraguayan soldiers assault, detain journalist Roberto Esquivel
Miami, July 23, 2020 – Paraguayan authorities must thoroughly investigate the detention and assault of journalist Roberto Esquivel and ensure those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 18, Paraguayan soldiers detained Esquivel, a local freelance journalist, in the city of Bella Vista Norte, near the Brazilian border,…
Christiane Amanpour ‘deeply troubled’ by US press freedom developments, she tells Helsinki Commission
New York, July 23, 2020— Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor and a senior adviser to CPJ, today called on Congress to protect independent media and press freedom in the United States, saying, “Your democratic legitimacy depends on it.” In prepared remarks for a hearing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, better…
Journalist Julia Gavarrete’s home robbed, laptop stolen in El Salvador
On July 2, 2020, between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m., unidentified individuals broke into journalist Julia Gavarrete’s home in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, and stole her laptop, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. Gavarrete, a reporter for the independent news website Gato Encerrado, told…
Canadian private investigative firm compiled reports on journalists
Information and Systems Networks Corporation (ISN), a Canadian private investigative firm, conducted background checks on two journalists at the behest of a law firm, according to one of the journalists, Jesse Brown, the publisher of the Canadaland news website and podcast, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview and shared one page of the…