New York, October 30, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Turkish authorities to investigate and bring to justice the murderers of two Syrian journalists found slain in an apartment in the city of Urfa in southeastern Turkey today. Ibrahim Abd al-Qader worked as the executive director and Fares Hamadi as head of the…
Nairobi, October 16, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the acquittal by an Ethiopian court today of four Zone 9 bloggers charged with terrorism. Abel Wabella, Atnaf Berhane, and Natnail Feleke, jailed since April 2014, are scheduled to be released today, while exiled blogger Soleyana S. Gebremichael was acquitted in absentia, news reports said. A…
New York, October 15, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the passage late Wednesday by Kenya’s national assembly of a bill that would impose a harsh fine or two years in jail, or both, for a journalist who is found guilty of defaming the Kenyan parliament or its members. The bill must be approved by…
New York, October 14, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison of Bülent Keneş, editor-in-chief of the English-language daily Today’s Zaman, who was arrested on Friday on charges of insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Twitter. The daily reported today that the İstanbul 7th Penal Court of Peace ordered Keneş to…
New York, October 9, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces today’s arrest in Istanbul of Bülent Keneş, the editor-in-chief of the English-language daily newspaper Today’s Zaman. Keneş was taken from his office by police after İstanbul 5th Penal Judge of Peace Cevdet Özcan issued the warrant for his arrest on charges of insulting Turkish President…
New York, September 23, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the presidential pardon today of Al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, who have been in prison since they were sentenced in a retrial on charges including “aiding a terrorist organization.” Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi pardoned 100 prisoners today, on the eve of the…
New York, September 20, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from prison of Vietnamese blogger Ta Phong Tan and calls on authorities to release all other journalists and bloggers imprisoned in the country. Tan was freed from prison and traveled to the United States, where she arrived late Saturday, according to local and…
New York, September 17, 2015–Ukrainian authorities today removed six international journalists from a list of at least 41 journalists and bloggers who have been banned from visiting the country for one year, according to news reports. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the decree on Wednesday which banned a total of 388 individuals who it said…
New York, September 16, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores a decree signed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko today which, according to a copy viewed by CPJ, bans at least 41 international journalists and bloggers from Ukraine for one year. The journalists and bloggers were among 388 people named as representing an “actual or potential…
New York, September 9, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores today’s decision by the Turkish authorities to deport freelance journalist Frederike Geerdink, who had been held in state custody since September 6, 2015 in Yüksekova, southeastern Turkey, according to reports. Geerdink’s lawyer, Davut Uzunköprü, told CPJ he would be appealing the decision.