Journalist Ariful Islam freed after arrest, beating, and conviction in Bangladesh
In the evening of March 13, 2020, men in paramilitary uniforms accompanied by local administrative officials in Kurigram District, in northern Bangladesh, raided the home of Ariful Islam, the area’s correspondent for the English-language Dhaka Tribune daily, and arrested him after allegedly finding illegal drugs in the house, according to news reports.
Jordan, Oman, Morocco, and Yemen suspend newspaper production, citing COVID-19 fears
Beginning on March 17, 2020, authorities in Jordan, Oman, Morocco, and Yemen issued decrees suspending newspaper printing and distribution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to news reports and government statements.
Gaza police assault journalist Yasser Abu Athara while covering COVID-19 protest
On March 15, 2020, Hamas-controlled security forces in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah assaulted Yasser Abu Athara, a camera operator for the Kan’an News Agency news website, while he was covering a protest against local authorities’ decision to turn two schools into quarantine centers for people infected with COVID-19, according to news reports,…
Jordanian journalist Hiba Abu Taha charged with slander over 2012 interview
On March 14, 2020, Amman Public Prosecutor Hassan al-Sarhan ordered the arrest of freelance Jordanian journalist Hiba Abu Taha on charges of slander and undermining the government, briefly held her in custody, and then released her on bail and told her to return the next day, according to a report by the Skeyes Center for…
Venezuelan authorities arrest, threaten journalists reporting on COVID-19
On March 13, 2020, police in the Venezuelan city of Los Teques arrested Jesús Enrique Torres and Jesús Manuel Castillo, hosts of a news program on local privately owned radio broadcaster La Cima, after they posted a video to Facebook, where they sometimes publish their reporting, about alleged coronavirus cases at a local hospital, according…
Liberian journalists harassed, arrested by security forces
Since February 13, 2020, Liberian security forces have harassed, assaulted, or detained at least four journalists during the course of their work, according to the journalists, who spoke with CPJ, and a petition from the Press Union of Liberia, an independent media workers’ advocacy group.
Nicaraguan journalist Emiliano Chamorro faces police harassment and surveillance
Beginning in 2019, Nicaraguan National Police officers have surveilled and harassed Emiliano Chamorro, director of the digital news outlet El Portavoz Ciudadano and a former reporter at the daily La Prensa, and his family, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.
Hong Kong police attack and detain journalists covering protester vigils
On February 9, 2020, police officers arrested two journalists in Tseung Kwan O New Town, in eastern Hong Kong, while they were covering a vigil for Chow Tsz-lok, a university student who died in November 2019, according to news reports.
AFP photographer Ahmad al-Rubaye shot with pellets while covering protests in Baghdad
On February 21, 2020, Iraqi riot police in Baghdad’s Al-Kilani Square shot Ahmad al-Rubaye, an Iraqi photographer for the French news agency Agence France-Presse, with rubber pellets that hit his back, legs, and right shoulder, according to news reports, a statement by the local press freedom group Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, and the journalist, who spoke…