Statements

Update: A Guatemalan court ordered on May 15 that José Rubén Zamora be released to house arrest to await trial in the first of three cases against him. He was not immediately released as decisions remained pending in the other two cases.  Mexico City, May 14, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls upon Guatemalan authorities…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 11 partner organizations on Tuesday in calling on the Maldives’ Presidential Commission on Deaths and Disappearances (DDCom), newly elected President Mohamed Muizzu, and the country’s Human Rights Commission to ensure that the findings of DDCom’s investigations are revealed to the victims’ families and made public before its expected dissolution…

Kinshasa, May 10, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the acquittal and release of journalist Blaise Mabala after more than four months in detention and calls for authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to swiftly reform their laws to prevent the criminal prosecution of journalists for their work. “The acquittal and…

Washington, D.C., May 10, 2024—Two years after the Israeli military killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed at the continued lack of accountability in the case. CPJ calls on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to release a timeline for the conclusion of its now 18-month…

New York, May 8, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to immediately and unconditionally release Abdelaziz Mahmoud Arja, a photographer with state-owned Sudan TV. “We are deeply concerned by the Rapid Support Forces soldiers’ arrest of state television photographer Abdelaziz Mahmoud Arja and urge…

Bangkok, May 8, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists commends the conviction and sentencing of Joel Escorial, who confessed to shooting dead Philippine journalist Percival Mabasa in 2022. On Monday, May 6, Harold Cesar Huliganga, presiding judge at the Regional Trial Court Branch 254 in the city of Las Piñas, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south…

Beirut, May 5, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Israeli cabinet’s decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel and warns that the vote could set a dangerous precedent for other international media outlets working in Israel.    The cabinet vote on Sunday, announced by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X, came after Israel’s…

Nairobi, May 3, 2024— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities not to contest the appeal of journalist Muhiyadin Mohamed Abdullahi’s conviction on hate speech and false news charges. On Thursday, May 2, Muhiyadin—who has been detained since his February 13 arrest—was sentenced to two years in prison by the Fafen Zone High Court in Jigjiga,…

Istanbul, May 3, 2024—Turkish authorities should stop fighting the appeals of documentary filmmakers Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and Çayan Demirel and allow all journalists to work freely without fear of retaliation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On April 26 in the southeastern city of Batman, an appeals court upheld a 25-month sentence for Mavioğlu and…

Istanbul, May 2, 2024 — Turkish authorities should not contest the appeal of journalist Barış Terkoğlu after he was sentenced to two years on terrorism-related charges and review the related legislation to prevent retaliatory prosecution against journalists for their critical reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The 13th Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes…