Tipping the scales: Journalists’ lawyers face retaliation around the globe
The smears began the day Christian Ulate began representing jailed Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora: tweets accusing the lawyer of being a leftist or questioning his legal credentials. He began to fear he was being surveilled. Ulate had taken over the case in August 2022 from two other lawyers, Romeo Montoya García and Mario Castañeda,…
‘Network abuse’: Attacks on 3 media sites involved services of US, UK firms
Cyberattackers used services of technology companies based in the U.S. and U.K. to target media sites from Somalia, Kosovo, and Turkmenistan, Qurium, a nonprofit hosting the sites, said Tuesday. Earlier this month, CPJ reported on how cyberattackers used a Nebraska company, RayoByte, in attempts to knock those same media sites offline, as well as at…
Cyberattackers used US company RayoByte in efforts to crash media sites
The cyberattack against the Somali Journalists Syndicate could not have come at a worse time. A distributed denial-of-service attack, known by its acronym DDoS, flooded the local press freedom group’s website with traffic in early August and knocked it offline. Days later, authorities arrested SJS staff member and Kaab TV editor Mohamed Ibrahim Osman Bulbul…
Uganda’s anti-homosexuality law poses free speech fears for journalists
Kuchu Times was founded eight years ago to give voice to Uganda’s LGBTQ+ community. Now, a new anti-homosexuality law is threatening this mission at a time when LGBTQ+ Ugandans are facing beatings and evictions. “People will tell us their stories and ask us not to put them out there, not until it is safer,” Kuchu…
‘You better shut up’: A Ghana family’s relentless calls for justice
Kamilu Ibrahim Tahidu and his brothers gather every evening outside their family home in Ghana’s capital of Accra. They sit in a circle of plastic chairs and enjoy each others’ company. They pray together. And they never forget that one of them is missing. It’s been over four years since assassins came to their neighborhood,…
CPJ, 14 organizations call on Kenyan authorities to expedite investigations into killing of journalist Arshad Sharif
CPJ and 14 human rights organizations and press associations issued a joint statement on Tuesday, May 2, calling on Kenyan authorities to expedite investigations into the killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif and to ensure accountability in a transparent judicial process. In October 2022, Kenyan police said an officer fatally shot Sharif in Kajiado County…
CPJ, 47 rights organizations call on Ethiopia to end internet shutdowns
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 47 human rights organizations in an April 27 letter calling on Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to ensure unfettered internet and digital communications access. The letter expressed alarm at the weaponization of internet shutdowns in the country, highlighting several recent disruptions, including on April 3 when authorities blocked access…
‘I am dying every day:’ Wife of killed Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif calls for justice
Justice remains elusive six months after the killing of prominent Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya on October 23, 2022. Kenyan authorities claimed Sharif was shot dead by Kenyan police in an incident that shocked Pakistan’s media community and raised questions about whether his death was connected to his work. “This was a targeted killing,”…
CPJ reiterates call for Rwanda to investigate John Williams Ntwali’s death
Nairobi, March 15, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 85 other organizations in reiterating calls for the Rwandan government to allow an independent, impartial investigation into the death of investigative journalist John Williams Ntwali. Authorities said that Ntwali died on January 18 in a road accident in the Rwandan capital Kigali, but CPJ and other…