Algerian state broadcaster suspends two journalists amid reporters’ sit-ins
In April and May 2019, Algeria’s Public Establishment of Television, the state broadcaster, suspended at least two television journalists who sought to cover protests in the country, according to journalists who spoke to CPJ and news reports.
Police open criminal investigation into Indian journalist Vishweshwar Bhat
On May 26, 2019, Bengaluru police opened a criminal investigation into Vishweshwar Bhat, the editor-in-chief of privately owned Kannada-language newspaper Vishwavani, after a complaint was filed against him by a member of the state’s ruling Janata Dal (Secular) party, according to Indian news portal The News Minute.
Croatian journalist Danijel Majić assaulted, harassed in Austria
Danijel Majić, a Croatian journalist working for German daily Frankfurter Rundschau, said he was physically and verbally assaulted by a Croatian TV presenter and members of the crowd in the Austrian city of Bleiburg on May 18, 2019, according to Majić’s newspaper. A Croatian publication later published photographs of Majić alongside other journalists who covered…
Bulgarian reporter Hristo Geshov says he was briefly abducted; news outlets attack him
The Bulgarian freelance investigative journalist Hristo Geshov said he received threats and at least two news outlets published articles attacking him and shared explicit videos and photos of him after he reported on an allegedly illegal water supply and sewage system at the Chiflika resort complex in Troyan, central Bulgaria. He also said that unknown…
Lebanese security forces raid Beirut office of Al-Akhbar newspaper
On May 8, 2019, Lebanese state security forces raided the office of the independent Beirut-based daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, according to news reports, the regional press freedom group Skeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, and a report by Al-Akhbar Deputy Editor Pierre Abi Saab.
Reuters photojournalist Hani Amara shot while covering Libya clashes
On May 12, 2019, Hani Amara, a photographer and videographer for Reuters, was shot in the leg while covering clashes in the Libyan capital Tripoli, according to news reports, social media posts and the Libyan Center for Freedom of the Press, a local press freedom group.
Mexican cameraman shot, journalists threatened in Morelos state
On May 8, 2019, a gunman shot and injured camera operator René Pérez while the journalist was covering a protest march in Cuernavaca, the capital of Mexico’s southern Morelos state, according to news reports. A local businessman and a union leader, the gunman’s targets, were killed in the attack, according to those reports.
Tunisian media regulator shuts down Nessma TV, citing regulatory violation
On April 25, 2019, Tunisian police raided the studios of privately owned television broadcaster Nessma TV and confiscated its broadcasting equipment following a ruling by the High Independent Authority of Audiovisual Communication, the country’s media regulator, stating that the broadcaster did not have proper legal status, according to Reuters and local news reports.