Features & Analysis

  

Jailed under Digital Security Act, Bangladeshi cartoonist Kabir Kishore says he was tortured

Bangladeshi cartoonist Kabir Kishore’s first stop after he was released from prison on March 4 after 10 months in custody was the hospital, where he was treated for a burst eardrum, leg injuries, diabetes, and other ailments after being taken from his home, jailed, and allegedly tortured.  Days before his release, his colleague Mushtaq Ahmed, a co-accused…

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CPJ, partner organizations call on Council of Europe to take action against SLAPP lawsuits

CPJ has joined over 100 civil society organizations to call on the Council of Europe to issue a recommendation to address strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) in Europe. SLAPPs are abusive lawsuits filed by powerful officials, businesspeople, or corporations against individuals, including critical journalists or news outlets, to restrict or censor critical reporting. They…

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‘I had escaped death’: 64 Tianwang journalist Wang Jing recounts her traumatic imprisonment in China

Most journalists jailed in China are afraid to speak out after their release. In a rare interview, Wang Jing, who is now in the United States seeking asylum, has recounted her imprisonment and alleged torture in China.  Wang was arrested in 2014 when she was reporting on a protest for the now-defunct news outlet 64 Tianwang. In…

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A seated man in a suit speaks into a microphone against a backdrop of the EU flag.

EU adopts new export control rules on surveillance technology

The European Union yesterday adopted a new regulation on exports of dual-use surveillance technology by EU-based companies. The legislation seeks to prevent human rights harm, including in countries where journalists are targeted and under surveillance because of their work.  CPJ joined six other freedom of expression and human rights organizations in a statement welcoming the…

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Journalist Reem Abdellatif on the risks facing female reporters who cover the Gulf

The trolling started after Reem Abdellatif, a prominent Egyptian-American journalist now based in The Netherlands, published her first column in December for the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz. Titled “How I escaped Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom that terrorizes women,” it described the challenges she faced as a female journalist who had previously worked in Saudi Arabia and denounced Saudi…

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A lectern is shown against a backdrop of empty desks set up for a parliamentary meeting.

CPJ joins call to reject draft EU regulation for online terrorist content

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined dozens of civil society organizations today in urging the European Parliament to reject a draft regulation on terrorist content online when it is proposed for a vote in April.  The letter, which was sent to every member of parliament, notes that the draft would allow national authorities to order…

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Kyrgyz journalists on the online ‘fake farms’ that threaten to kill them

“At first, they appeared on my Instagram, then they showed up on my Facebook and YouTube accounts,” Ali Toktakunov told CPJ in a phone interview. The investigative Kyrgyz journalist and founder of Ali Toktakunov’s Media Hub, a foundation for investigative journalism, says he is a frequent target of trolls or fake social media accounts that…

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The Markup’s Nabiha Syed on how the Supreme Court could protect data journalism

At first glance, the connection between data journalism and a Georgia police officer accused of accessing a government database for an improper purpose might seem tenuous. However, journalists and legal experts have highlighted the press freedom implications of a pending Supreme Court decision in the case of the officer, Nathan Van Buren, who is appealing…

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Morocco’s new tactic to punish journalists: charge them with sex crimes

Moroccan journalists Taoufik Bouachrine, Soulaiman Raissouni, and Omar Radi have a lot in common. All three have a nose for corruption, penning op-eds or investigations alleging government abuse. And all three have been charged with or sentenced to prison for sex crimes.  Press freedom advocates and the journalists’ family members told CPJ that Moroccan authorities are using trumped up…

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Turkish social media law consolidates news censorship under ‘right to be forgotten’

In late 2020, a Turkish court ruled that the leftist daily Evrensel should remove a news report alleging that a presidential advisor forged their high school diploma. Evrensel complied, Erdi Tütmez, news editor for the outlet told CPJ by email in January; the report was no longer available when CPJ reviewed the site, though it…

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