Americas

Rio de Janeiro, January 10, 2020 — Brazilian authorities must promptly investigate alleged police harassment and attacks against journalists covering protests in São Paulo, and ensure that reporters can safely cover demonstrations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, January 7, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the release of Venezuelan freelance photojournalist Jesús Medina after more than 16 months of arbitrary detention, and called for Venezuelan authorities to drop all charges against him.

Like the first responders who rushed to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, thoughts of personal safety were far from the minds of the journalists who covered the largest terror attack on U.S. soil.

Miami, December 23, 2019 — British Virgin Islands Governor Augustus Jaspert should reject cybercrime legislation recently approved by the territory’s legislature, or require revisions to the bill to protect press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On November 26, 2019, at around 8 p.m., unidentified demonstrators broke into the headquarters of Chilean newspaper El Líder, in the commune of San Antonio, Valparaíso, started fires, and vandalized the newspaper’s offices, according to news reports and a statement from the National Press Association, an independent association of Chilean media outlets.

In a complaint filed in the California Superior Court of Orange County on October 24, 2019, the City of Fullerton, California accused a community blog and two contributors of violating anti-hacking laws for accessing confidential files city employees posted online, according to their lawyer Kelly Aviles and court documents reviewed by CPJ. Aviles told CPJ…

Rio de Janeiro, December 20, 2019 — Brazilian authorities must quickly resume the trial of the alleged killers of radio journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira and ensure that justice is served without further delays, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Bogotá, December 20, 2019 — Venezuelan authorities must immediately allow local news outlets Telecaribe and Venepress to resume their work informing the public and cease their harassment of independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Mariana Belloso, a Salvadoran journalist and radio presenter, was home after work with her family on June 30 when she was retweeted by the president, she told CPJ in October. Then the abuse began.

Journalists crossing U.S. borders face a particular set of challenges, as CPJ has reported extensively. The U.S. government claims sweeping authority to interrogate travelers and search electronic devices without a warrant under what is known as the “border search exception.” CPJ has called this a chilling prospect for reporters in transit—especially those working with confidential…