Statements

New York, August 29, 2025–Ahead of National Press Freedom Day in the Philippines on August 30, the Committee to Protect Journalists and partners have called on the country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and his administration to immediately release journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio as her trial nears its conclusion.  The 26-year-old journalist has been held in prison for more than…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined an amicus brief on August 25, 2025, authored by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) in support of Tufts University PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk in her appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Also joined by PEN America, Reporters Without Borders, and the…

New York, August 28, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an independent investigation into Monday’s killing of five journalists by multiple Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza. A preliminary Israeli military report said “it appears” that a Hamas camera was the target of the attack and named six “terrorists who were…

Washington, D.C., August 21, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists filed a declaration of support on August 20, 2025, in the case of reporter Mario Guevara, as part of the American Civil Liberties Union’s habeas petition that demands U.S. federal authorities provide justification for Guevara’s ongoing detention.   In the declaration, CPJ expressed alarm that Guevara remains in…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined seven other civil society organizations in calling on Sri Lankan authorities to immediately end the harassment of Tamil photojournalist Kanapathipillai Kumanan and withdraw the counterterrorism police summons for questioning on August 17. The Counter Terrorism Investigation Department did not state the reason for the summons, although the journalist, who…

New York, August 13, 2025—As closing arguments are set to begin on August 14 in the national security trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against the 77-year-old publisher and release him immediately and unconditionally. Lai, whose…

New York, August 10, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled by Israel’s killing in Gaza on Sunday of four Al Jazeera staff — correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal —  and two freelancers, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammad al-Khaldi. The six journalists were killed and two others were injured by a targeted…

August 5, 2025—Press freedom organizations Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcome the corruption conviction of former Palawan governor Joel T. Reyes – the alleged mastermind behind the 2011 murder of journalist Gerry Ortega – handed down last week by the Sandiganbayan, the Philippines’ anti-graft court in Quezon City.  Reyes…

New York, July 31, 2025—Ahead of Friday’s expected verdict in the trial of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 13 other media and human rights groups called on Georgian authorities to drop the charge against her and release her. Amaglobeli, founder and director of award-winning independent news outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, has…

July 29, 2025, marks 1,095 days since the beginning of the arbitrary detention of journalist Jose Rubén Zamora, founder of elPeriódico and one of the most prominent voices in journalism in Guatemala and Latin America.   Zamora was arrested in 2022 following a raid in which he was not informed of the charges against him. In less than 72…