Independent Tajik news agency Asia Plus kicked offline
Washington, D.C., September 10, 2019–Websites and email addresses belonging to embattled independent news agency Asia Plus in Tajikistan have been down since August 19, according to the agency and Radio Ozodi, the Tajik-language service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
Turkish court orders service providers to block access to news sites
Istanbul, August 6, 2019–An Ankara court on July 16 ordered Turkish internet service providers to block access in Turkey to 136 web addresses, independent news website Bianet reported today. The blocked addresses include the websites of news outlets Bianet, ETHA news agency, Halkın Sesi TV, Özgür Gelecek, osp.org, geziyisavunuyoruz.org, Gazete Fersude, Yeni Demokratik Gençlik, Umut…
CPJ calls on India to ensure access to internet and communications services in Kashmir
New York, August 5, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed alarm at reports of a communication blackout and the arrest of a journalist in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir state amid an escalating political crisis.
Pakistani broadcaster Geo News blocked amid prime minister’s visit to Washington
New York, July 21, 2019 — Pakistan’s most popular news channel, the privately owned Geo News broadcaster, has been forced off the air or had its channel number abruptly changed in many parts of the country, according to reports on social media and the broadcaster’s managing director, Azhar Abbas, who spoke to CPJ via messaging…
In era of reform, Ethiopia still reverts to old tactics to censor press
On June 22, Ethiopia was plunged into an internet blackout following what the government described as a failed attempted coup in the Amhara region. In the aftermath at least two journalists were detained under the country’s repressive anti-terror law, part of an uptick in arrests that CPJ has noted in the country since May.
CPJ calls on Liberian authorities to ensure access to internet and social media services
Abidjan, June 7, 2019–Starting this morning, social media services including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp were disrupted throughout Liberia, according to data from the internet advocacy group NetBlocks and local journalists who spoke with the Committee to Protect Journalists. NetBlocks also reported disruptions to the Associated Press website and Google’s Gmail and News services…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 19, 2019
7 journalists sentenced in Özgür Gündem trial An Istanbul Court on May 21 sentenced seven journalists from the shuttered pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem to prison after they were convicted of “making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization,” the Mezopotamya News Agency reported.
Egypt tests new censorship law with handling of al-Mashhad website block
Magdy Shandi, editor-in-chief of the Cairo-based independent newspaper al-Mashhad, planned to send 30 journalists to report from polling stations while votes were being cast in Egypt’s constitutional referendum between April 20 and April 22. He ended up ordering them to stay away, he told CPJ in a telephone interview in May. The state’s media regulator…