To finally solve the Hrant Dink murder, Turkey must ‘face itself’
After nearly 14 years and multiple court cases, the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, remains largely unsolved even as the extended main trial appears to be set to draw to a close. Dink’s teenage killer and his immediate accomplices are behind bars, but prosecutors in the retrial, ordered by Turkey’s supreme court in 2013, have yet…
Uzbek parliament moves to criminalize ‘dissemination of false information’
New York, December 21, 2020 – Uzbek authorities should halt attempts to criminalize sharing allegedly false information and ensure that journalists can operate freely without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 15, deputies of the lower chamber of Uzbekistan’s parliament, the Oliy Majlis, approved amendments to the country’s criminal…
Record number of journalists jailed worldwide
Editor’s note: In 2019, CPJ published a new database of attacks on the press. Numbers for each subsequent prison census are liable to adjust yearly as CPJ learns of arrests, releases, or deaths in prison. For the most recent data, see cpj.org/data/imprisoned/. The number of journalists jailed globally because of their work hit a new high in 2020…
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,…
CPJ joins calls for accountability, ending of crackdown in Belarus
New York, December 10, 2020 – Today, on International Human Rights Day, the Committee to Protect Journalists and eight other civil society groups issued a joint statement expressing deep concern about the violation of human rights and press freedom in Belarus in the wake of the August 9 presidential election, and calling Belarusian authorities to…
Greek police detain, question journalist Antonis Rigopoulos for allegedly wearing incorrect mask at protest
On November 17, 2020, traffic police in Athens stopped Greek journalist Antonis Rigopoulos while he was covering a protest, and proceeded to detain him and question him about his work, according to a report by his employer, the news website Documento, and Rigopoulos, who communicated with CPJ via email. Rigopoulos was using his cellphone to…
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…
Two men threaten to kill journalists at Croatian outlet over coverage of wedding amid coronavirus
Berlin, December 8, 2020 — Croatian authorities must quickly and thoroughly investigate the threats made to journalists at the Zadarski.hr website and Slobodna Dalmacija newspaper, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about noon on December 1, in the coastal city of Zadar, two men wearing surgical masks…
Turkish journalist Ayşegül Doğan sentenced to 6 years, 3 months in prison
Istanbul, December 7, 2020 – Turkish authorities should not contest journalist Ayşegül Doğan’s appeal, and should cease filing terrorism charges against members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, the Ninth Court of Serious Crimes, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, convicted Doğan of membership in a terrorist organization, and sentenced…
CPJ welcomes European Democracy Action Plan, calls for EU member state support
Brussels, December 3, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes important measures to strengthen media freedom and pluralism in the European Democracy Action Plan published by the European Commission today. The plan says the Commission will issue a recommendation on the safety of journalists and establish a structured dialogue with member states regarding its implementation, according…