Chained and blindfolded: Nigerian journalist Segun Olatunji recounts his detention
The arrest and detention of Segun Olatunji, the then-editor of the privately owned First News site, by Nigeria’s military in March triggered an outcry from local and international civil society, highlighting an uptick in the unlawful detention of journalists in the West African nation. Olatunji was taken from his Alagbado home in southwestern Lagos state by more than a dozen armed men who…
Egypt arrests 2 journalists in less than a week, refuses to disclose whereabouts
Washington, D.C., July 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to immediately release Ashraf Omar, a cartoonist for the independent news outlet Al-Manassa, and Khaled Mamdouh, a reporter for news website Arabic Post. “By arresting journalists Khaled Mamdouh and Ashraf Omar and subjecting them to enforced disappearance, the Egyptian regime has once…
Nigeria police arrest, detain, assault journalist Gabriel Idibia while in custody
On June 11, police officers in Kaduna, the capital city of Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State, arrested Gabriel Idibia, a correspondent and freelancer with the privately owned Daily Times and Daybreak Nigeria news sites, while he was taking photos of the officers guiding a large group of cattle across a road, according media reports, Idibia and Daybreak Nigeria publisher Austin Maho, who both spoke to CPJ. Idibia…
Journalist Ahmed al-Zoubi jailed in Jordan 11 months after conviction under Cybercrime Law
Istanbul, July 8, 2024—Jordanian authorities must immediately drop all charges against journalist Ahmed Hassan al-Zoubi, release him from jail, and stop using the Cybercrime Law against journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On July 2, Jordanian authorities arrested al-Zoubi, a satirical journalist and publisher of the Sawalif news website, 11 months after he…
Chinese authorities arrest 2 ethnic Kazakh TV journalists in Xinjiang
Taipei, July 2, 2024—Chinese authorities must immediately release ethnic Kazakh journalists Kairat Domalin and Kuandyk Koben, who were arrested in China’s Xinjiang region, and cease harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Chinese police arrested Domalin and Koben in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang region, in April, according to the…
Iranian journalist Hossein Shanbehzadeh, others imprisoned ahead of presidential election
Washington, D.C., June 11, 2024—Iranian authorities must immediately release blogger and book editor Hossein Shanbehzadeh and drop the espionage charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Officers with the Iranian Cyber Police arrested Shanbehzadeh on espionage charges in the northwestern city of Ardabil, in Ardabil province, on Thursday, June 6. His social…
Mozambique journalist arrested, 2 harassed and robbed at protest
New York, June 7, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday expressed alarm that police arrested one journalist and two others were robbed of equipment while covering a protest in the Mozambican capital, Maputo. At around 6:00 p.m. on June 4, seven police officers chased and arrested Sheila Wilson while she was reporting…
Moscow court orders arrest in absentia of exiled journalist, 2 others face administrative charges
Berlin, June 7, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists decries Russian authorities’ crackdown on independent media outlets and exiled journalists, and urges them to cease their harassment immediately. On Wednesday, June 5, the Basmanny district court in the capital, Moscow, ordered the arrest in absentia of exiled journalist Dmitry Kolezev, saying that he distributed false information…
Prominent journalist Truong Huy San not heard from since arrest
Bangkok, June 6, 2024—Vietnamese authorities must reveal the whereabouts of independent journalist Truong Huy San, release him, and drop any pending charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. San, a well-known political commentator and author also known by his pen names Huy Duc and Osin, was apprehended by the police on June…
Chair of Nepal’s largest media group arrested after publication of reports alleging fraud
New York, May 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday expressed alarm over the arrest of Kailash Sirohiya, chair of the Kantipur Media Group, and called on Nepali authorities not to harass or intimidate the leadership or staff of the country’s largest media group in retaliation for its reporting. On Tuesday, May 21, four…