Nicaragua’s Miguel Mendoza on his bittersweet deportation from his ‘kidnapped’ country
Miguel Ángel Mendoza Urbina, a veteran sports journalist with over 30 years of experience, made a life-changing decision on April 19, 2018, when anti-government protests erupted in Nicaragua. He realized he could not just focus on sports while his country was in turmoil. Mendoza used his Twitter and Facebook accounts, with a combined following of…
Forensic tools open new front for using phone data to prosecute journalists
On April 13, police in Russia’s Khakassiya republic arrested Mikhail Afanasyev and seized his digital devices. Afanasyev, chief editor of the online magazine Novy Fokus, was detained based on an article about riot police in southern Siberia refusing to serve in Ukraine. He faces a possible 10-year prison sentence for spreading “false” information. It’s not surprising for…
CPJ joins call urging U.S. Senate to advance the PRESS Act
The Committee to Protect Journalists Monday joined nearly 40 other press freedom and civil liberty organizations in a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging him to advance the PRESS Act in a 2022 end-of-year omnibus bill. The legislation would create a federal shield law that would protect journalists from being forced to…
CPJ joins letter calling on incoming Brazilian government to address press freedom concerns
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined this week eight civil society groups and press freedom organizations in a letter to the communications working group of the Brazilian transitional government, urging the incoming federal administration to adopt measures to protect press freedom and the safety of journalists. In a meeting with representatives of the working group…
The legal battle to protect slain reporter Jeff German’s electronic devices–and why it’s so concerning for press freedom
A district judge last week barred police from accessing electronic devices used by Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German before his fatal stabbing in September – but only for a while. The measure was a preliminary injunction against searching German’s cellphone, hard drive, and computers, but a further ruling expected this week could authorize a…
For Mexican journalists, President López Obrador’s pledge to curb spyware rings hollow
“Practically nothing.” RíoDoce magazine editor Andrés Villarreal spoke with a sigh and a hint of resignation as he described what came of Mexico’s investigation into the attempted hacking of his cell phone. “The federal authorities never contacted me personally. They told us informally that it wasn’t them, but that’s it.” Over five years have passed…
David Kaye: Here’s what world leaders must do about spyware
In late June, the general counsel of NSO Group, the Israeli company responsible for the deeply intrusive spyware tool, Pegasus, appeared before a committee established by members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Called the PEGA Committee colloquially, the Parliament established it to investigate allegations that EU member states and others have used “Pegasus and equivalent…
‘To persecute any critical voice’: Jailed Guatemalan journalist Zamora’s son on his father’s arrest
When Guatemalan police arrested José Rubén Zamora in July 2022, it marked the latest salvo in a decades-long campaign of harassment against the pioneering Guatemalan investigative journalist, who won CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award in 1995. Zamora, who founded elPeriódico in 1996 and still serves as president of the newspaper, was arrested on July 29….
CPJ submits report on Brazil to United Nations Universal Periodic Review
Brazil’s human rights record is under review by the United Nations Human Rights Council through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This U.N. mechanism is a peer-review process that surveys the human rights performance of member states, monitoring progress from previous review cycles, and presents a list of recommendations on how a country can better fulfill…
US reporters wary of online, legal threats in the wake of the overturn of Roe v. Wade
In May, editors at the pro-abortion rights news website Rewire took the extraordinary step of removing reporters’ biographies from the web site. The move was a safety precaution: After the leak of a draft of a majority Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, reporters at Rewire grew concerned about…