CPJ condemns grenade attack on offices of Pakistani broadcaster
New York, January 13, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a grenade attack on the Islamabad offices of Pakistani broadcaster ARY News today. A video editor, Umar Hayat, was wounded in the attack, and windows at the front of the building were damaged when two men on motorcycles threw a grenade at the offices, Ammad…
Turkey releases VICE News journalist Mohammed Ismael Rasool on bail
New York, January 5, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release on bail today of VICE News journalist Mohammed Ismael Rasool, and calls on authorities in Turkey to drop the terrorism charges he faces. Rasool, who was arrested in August, is banned from leaving Turkey and must report to a local police station twice…
CPJ calls on Democratic Republic of Congo to not extradite Burundian journalist
New York, December 31, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo not to extradite Egide Mwemero, an exiled Burundian radio journalist who has been in custody since October 13, according to reports. Bob Rugurika, director of independent Burundian station Radio Publique Africaine where Mwemero also worked, told CPJ…
CPJ welcomes convictions in 2013 murder of Bangladeshi blogger
New York, December 31, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s convictions in the case of Ahmed Rajib Haider, a blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh in February 2013. A Dhaka court sentenced two students to death for murder, including Rezwanul Azad Rana, a fugitive who was charged in absentia and who was described by…
Syrian journalist Naji Jerf shot dead in Gaziantep, Turkey
New York, December 27, 2015–Naji Jerf, editor-in-chief of the independent monthly Hentah and the maker of documentary films on the militant group Islamic State, was shot and killed in broad daylight today by unknown assailants with a silenced pistol in front of a building that houses Syrian opposition news outlets in downtown Gaziantep, Turkey, near…
CPJ condemns murder of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently journalist
New York, December 16, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Ahmed Mohamed al-Mousa, a member of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently. Al-Mousa was killed today by a group of masked men in Idlib, Syria, according to the citizen journalist group, which CPJ honored last month with its 2015 International Press Freedom Award.
CPJ urges South Africa to revise cybercrime bill that limits press freedom
New York, December 10, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the South African government to revise provisions in the proposed Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill that would limit journalists’ ability to work. Under the bill, journalists and members of the public could be prosecuted for possessing or disclosing state information, reports said.
CPJ alarmed by Russia’s harassment of Dozhd TV
New York, December 7, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to allow Dozhd TV to broadcast without fear of harassment. Today, prosecutors in Moscow carried out an audit of the independent station to check for purported violations of Russia’s laws on extremism, anti-terrorism, labor, and licensing, according to an official notice the…
CPJ calls on Vatican to drop charges against two Italian journalists
New York, November 23, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Vatican to drop charges against Italian journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi. The journalists are due to face a trial Tuesday over claims they pressured a source to “obtain and publish confidential information” in their respective books alleging corruption, according to a statement…
Iran says Jason Rezaian sentenced to prison, gives no detail
New York, November 22, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Iranian authorities to release Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, who has been sentenced to an unspecified prison term, according to state media reports that provided no additional details. Last month, state media reported that Rezaian, a U.S. citizen who faces espionage and other…