Statements

New York, January 6, 2020—In response to events today in Washington D.C., the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are gravely concerned by today’s attack on American institutions, including the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., where journalists as well as lawmakers are at risk,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Journalists and…

New York, January 4, 2021 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed a British court’s decision to deny the United States’ request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and urged the U.S. Department of Justice to drop all charges against him. “We are heartened that a British court has denied the United States’ request…

New York, December 27, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Jordanian authorities to release Jamal Haddad, publisher of the news website Alwakaai, and condemns the use of a national security prosecution to censor coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.  On December 24, Haddad was summoned and detained pending investigation under the country’s anti-terrorism law…

Nairobi, December 23, 2020 — Ugandan authorities should ensure that members of the press can freely cover the country’s national elections on January 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 10, the Media Council of Uganda, a statutory body, said that local and foreign journalists would be barred from covering electoral events…

New York, December 21, 2020 – NSO Group’s advanced Pegasus spyware was identified on phones of at least 36 journalists and media executives in July and August 2020, according to the University of Toronto-based Citizen Lab, which said the surveillance product was installed via a vulnerability in the iPhone messaging application. Most targets were affiliated…

Mexico City, December 18, 2020 – Mexican authorities yesterday arrested a second suspect in the 2017 killing of La Jornada reporter Miroslava Breach Velducea, according to La Jornada and a statement by the Special Federal Prosecutor for Attention to Crimes Committed Against Freedom of Expression. The prosecutor’s statement named the suspect as Hugo Amed S.,…

New York, December 11, 2020 — Today, security forces affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party arrested Karzan Tariq, a reporter with the local NRT broadcaster, while he was covering protests over economic issues in the northeastern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, according to his employer and NRT General Director Awat Ali, who spoke to CPJ…

Taipei, December 11, 2020 – The Hong Kong police force today charged media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Digital Limited, which owns the Apple Daily newspaper, with collusion with foreign forces under Hong Kong’s new national security law, a charge that carries up to life in prison if convicted, according to the Apple Daily…

Miami, December 10, 2020 – Cuban authorities must allow journalist Luz Escobar to leave her home, and should stop harassing and intimidating members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, security agents standing at her Havana home barred Escobar, a reporter for the independent Cuban news website 14yMedio, from going outside for the…

Editors’ Note: In a December 9 email to CPJ following the publication of this article and BuzzFeed News’ refusal to comply with the subpoena, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said, “ICE will not enforce the summons and will pursue the investigation through other channels.” Washington, D.C., December 8, 2020 – U.S. Immigration and Customs…