New US Justice Department guidelines on source protection ‘an important step to protect press freedom’
On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the revision of the Justice Department’s regulations to restrict federal prosecutors’ ability to obtain journalists’ phone and email records in government leak investigations with narrow exceptions. The Department of Justice said this decision codifies Garland’s July 2021 policy change to extend the protections. “This is an important…
#EndImpunity: Maltese court sentences hitmen to 40 years each for role in assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia
A Maltese court sentenced brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio to 40 years each on October 14, following their guilty plea for their role as hitmen in the assassination of Malta’s leading investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017. Representatives from CPJ, Article 19 Europe, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, the European Federation…
Zero-click surveillance and press freedom: When spyware turns phones into weapons
It’s The Torch’s fourth anniversary! Sign up here to get the newsletter in your inbox. CPJ released a new report Thursday, “Zero-click Spyware: Enemy of the press,” about how zero-click surveillance threatens reporters, sources, and global press freedom. The report explains the insidious nature of spyware, its existential threat to journalists, and how it has…
#MahsaAmini: Iranian security forces step up arrests of journalists as anti-state protests spread
In Iran, at least 11 journalists were taken into custody this week as clashes between security forces and protesters have left many dead, CPJ has learned from reliable sources inside Iran. Details of those arrested are sparse amid a near-total internet blackout and reports of major disruptions to phone networks and social media networks. The…
Police charge local official with murder of Las Vegas investigative journalist Jeff German
On the morning of Saturday, September 3, Jeff German, a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper who covered organized crime and political corruption, was found dead outside his home in Las Vegas with multiple stab wounds. On Wednesday, September 7, police arrested Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles on suspicion of murder and later charged him with…
Deadliest country for journalists in Western Hemisphere: Killings continue unabated in Mexico amid a climate of impunity
At least 13 journalists were killed in Mexico in the first eight months of 2022, the highest number CPJ has ever documented in the country in a single year. In a country characterized by corruption and organized crime, it’s unclear how many were targeted directly because of their work. “That is a crisis of press freedom that…
CPJ calls for US to pursue accountability in Shireen Abu Akleh killing
On July 4, the U.S. State Department released a statement concerning the shooting death of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. It said that while Israeli forces were “likely responsible” for shooting and killing Abu Akleh, there was “no reason to believe that this was intentional.” On Twitter, Abu Akleh’s family condemned that statement, reiterating…
CPJ Insider: July 2022 edition
CPJ opens the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Press Freedom Center in New York In early June, CPJ held its grand opening of The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Press Freedom Center, the site of our global headquarters in New York. The new space will serve as a convening hub for…
Human remains found in search for missing journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira in Brazil
CPJ is deeply saddened by reports indicating that British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were killed while working in the Amazon and urges Brazilian authorities to ensure a timely forensic analysis and, if their deaths are confirmed, bring all those responsible to justice. “Their loved ones, colleagues, and the public deserve to…
Ukrainian journalist Mykola Pastukh seriously injured by shelling in eastern Ukraine
Paris, June 2, 2022 — Russian and Ukrainian authorities must ensure the safety of journalists reporting on the war in Ukraine and investigate the shelling that seriously injured Ukrainian fixer and documentarian Mykola Pastukh, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On May 28, Russian forces shelled the eastern city of Lysychansk, in the Luhansk…