Journalists jailed for social media “terrorism” highlight content moderation challenges
A journalist in China uploaded a video to YouTube criticizing the Chinese government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. Another, in Vietnam, left a state-owned newspaper but continued posting stories they wouldn’t let her cover on Facebook. In Egypt, a freelance photographer streamed an anti-government protest from his balcony on Facebook Live. In Iran,…
BBC correspondent describes staying safe, finding journalistic camaraderie during Nagorno-Karabakh’s 6-week war
Journalists who covered the recent six-week-long conflict between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh faced violence to get the story of the region’s latest bloody chapter to the world. At least six journalists were injured in shelling attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh and two were assaulted when a mob descended on a broadcaster in Armenia to oppose its reporting on…
Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov sentenced to 16 years on treason charges
New York, November 16, 2020 – The Grave Crimes Court in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, today sentenced Polad Aslanov, the chief editor of the independent news websites Xeberman and Press-az, to 16 years in jail on the charge of high treason, his wife Gulmira Aslanova told the Committee to Protect Journalists via messaging app and the…
Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadygov sentenced to seven years in prison
New York, November 4, 2020 – Azerbaijani authorities should release journalist Afgan Sadygov and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, Baku Grave Crimes Court sentenced Sadygov, chief editor of the independent news website Azel.tv, to seven years in prison, according to news reports, his wife Sevinch Sadygova, and his lawyer Elchin Sadygov, both…
Shelling injures 2 Russian journalists in Nagorno-Karabakh; Armenian government revokes journalist’s accreditation
New York, October 8, 2020 — Authorities in Armenia and Azerbaijan must ensure the safety of journalists covering the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and allow them to report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yuriy Kotenok, chief editor of the conservative Russian news website Segodnia.ru, and Levon Arzanov, a correspondent from the Russian state-run…
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
Updated October 9, 2020 Hostilities erupted once again on September 27, 2020, between the forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. As of October 9, over 300 people had been killed, according to news reports. Major population centers such as Stepanakert, the region’s capital, and Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second-largest city, have been…
At least 4 journalists injured covering Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
New York, October 1, 2020 – Authorities in Armenia and Azerbaijan must ensure the safety of journalists reporting on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At least four journalists were injured today in a shelling attack in the town of Khojavend, known locally as Martuni, in the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region…
Hackers delete social media content of independent Azerbaijani news outlet Meydan TV
On June 18, 2020, anonymous hackers deleted nearly all of the content from the Azeri-language Facebook page of Meydan TV, an independent Germany-based news outlet that covers Azerbaijan, according to Matthew Kasper, the outlet’s project head, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. The hackers deleted all of Meydan TV’s Facebook posts since 2018,…
Journalist Afgan Sadygov detained since May in Azerbaijan
New York, June 17, 2020 – Azerbaijani authorities should release journalist Afgan Sadygov and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The journalist has been jailed for his work at least three times in three years, according to CPJ research. At about 3 p.m. on May 13, Sadygov, chief editor…
Journalist Afgan Mukhtarli: ‘Azerbaijani prisoners are facing death under coronavirus quarantine’
Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli was released from prison on March 17, 2020, after nearly three years in jail, and flown to Berlin, where he was reunited with his wife and daughter. He served half of his six-year sentence on charges that Azerbaijani authorities brought in retaliation for his investigative reporting, as CPJ research shows.