Number of jailed journalists spikes to new global record
The number of journalists jailed around the world set yet another record in 2022. In a year marked by conflict and repression, authoritarian leaders doubled down on their criminalization of independent reporting, deploying increasing cruelty to stifle dissenting voices and undermine press freedom. Published December 14, 2022 By Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director Worst Offenders |…
After 20 years in prison, Turkish journalist Hatice Duman says she has no hope of release
Hatice Duman is Turkey’s longest-serving jailed journalist. Now 50, she has been behind bars since April 9, 2003, 20 years into a life sentence on charges including propaganda and being a member of the banned Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP). Duman, a former editor for the socialist Turkish weekly Atılım, has denied the charges and…
Russian journalist Valery Badmayev charged with ‘discrediting’ the army
Paris, December 13, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalist Valery Badmayev and stop harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On December 9, officials with the Russian Investigative Committee detained Badmayev, editor-in-chief of the Sovremennaya Kalmykia newspaper in Elista, the capital of the southern Republic…
Tajikistan authorities sentence 2 journalists to lengthy prison terms
New York, December 13, 2022 – Tajik authorities should immediately release journalists Khushruz Jumayev and Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, and stop imprisoning members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. The Tajikistan Supreme Court recently convicted Jumayev, a journalist and blogger who works under the name Khushom Gulyam, of membership in…
French intelligence agency summons 3 journalists for questioning
Berlin, December 12, 2022 — The General Directorate for Internal Security, France’s domestic intelligence agency, should immediately withdraw summonses issued to journalists Benoît Collombat, Jacques Monin, and Geoffrey Livolsi, and refrain from questioning members of the press over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On December 7, the agency issued summonses for…
Former Belsat TV contributor Larysa Shchyrakova detained in Belarus on undisclosed charges
Paris, December 9, 2022 — Belarusian authorities should publicly disclose the reason for former Belsat TV journalist Larysa Shchyrakova’s arrest or release her immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Tuesday, December 6, authorities in the southeastern city of Homel detained Shchyrakova, a former journalist with the banned Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV,…
Latvian regulator cancels broadcasting permit for exiled Russian broadcaster Dozhd TV
Paris, December 8, 2022 — Latvian authorities must reverse their decision to cancel the broadcasting permit of independent broadcaster Dozhd TV (TV Rain), the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday, December 6, the Latvian National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), the country’s media regulator, canceled the outlet’s broadcasting authorization “due to a threat…
Cypriot journalist Başaran Düzgün denied entry into Turkey
On November 16, 2022, Cypriot journalist Başaran Düzgün, chief editor for the Cyprus newspaper Havadis, was denied entry to Turkey, reports said. Düzgün told CPJ via messaging app on November 21 that he had been stopped at customs at the Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul by the passport police, who told him that he was…
Belarusian journalist Dzmitry Luksha sentenced to 4 years in prison
Paris, December 2, 2022 — In response to a Belarusian court’s sentencing of journalist Dzmitry Luksha to four years in prison on Friday, December 2, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “The four-year prison sentence imposed on Dzmitry Luksha, just for doing his job as a journalist, shows that Belarusian…
CPJ joint mission finds press freedom concerns in Kosovo and Albania
Between November 15 and 18, 2022, CPJ joined a delegation of press freedom groups on missions to Kosovo and Albania to meet with members of the media and officials. In Kosovo, the delegation found that political interference in press coverage and physical safety are the main concerns for journalists. In Albania, the delegation found that the climate for free…