Guatemalan official files criminal suit against 3 journalists under violence against women law
Guatemala City, May 18, 2022 — Guatemalan authorities should drop all charges against three journalists from the independent newspaper elPeriódico and stop using laws intended to protect women from violence to target and intimidate reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On May 13, Judge Anaelsee Ramírez formally notified elPeriódico publisher José Rubén Zamora,…
Kashmir media at a ‘breaking point’ amid rising number of journalist detentions
Sajad Gul’s mother had prepared his favorite dishes as she anxiously awaited his return home. The Kashmiri journalist, who had been granted bail the day before, on January 15, 2022, was to be released following his arrest earlier that month in a criminal conspiracy case, according to a journalist friend who spoke on condition of…
How China is stepping up harassment of foreign correspondents
When international journalists rushed to Zhengzhou city in Henan province to cover a deadly flood in July 2021, they were confronted by angry bystanders who accused them of “spreading rumors” and “smearing China.” Many also received harassing messages on social media and intimidating calls, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. This hostility spread after the Henan Communist Youth…
World Press Freedom Day 2022
The Committee to Protect Journalists is marking World Press Freedom Day by highlighting calls for the protection of reporters covering Russia’s war in Ukraine, reminders that journalists are civilians under international law and demands to hold accountable those who target journalists around the world. (#NotATarget) Read, watch and listen to news about what the UN…
Imprisoned Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah’s sister Sanaa Seif: ‘Since the book is out, his voice is out too’
When Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah was re-arrested in September 2019 for sharing a tweet with allegations of wrongdoing by a state security officer, he ended up back in prison under the same watchful gaze of authorities who had warned him a few months prior to stop reporting, or he would “regret it.” However, Abdelfattah did…
CPJ calls on Mali to reverse ‘definitive’ suspension of RFI, France 24
New York, April 28, 2022 – Malian authorities should reverse the suspensions of French broadcasters Radio France Internationale and France 24, and allow the foreign press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Mali’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization suspended both broadcasters on March 16, after accusing them of airing “false…
Iraqi TV show ‘With Mulla Talal’ suspended for criticizing the army
Beirut, April 6, 2022 – Iraqi authorities must drop their suspension of the “With Mulla Talal” talk show and allow the UTV network to air its programming freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. During a broadcast of “With Mulla Talal” on Monday, April 4, presenter Ahmad Mulla Talal and Iraqi actor Ayad al-Tayee,…
Cameroon media regulator suspends Equinoxe TV journalists and current affairs show for 1 month
Dakar, April 6, 2022 — Cameroon’s state media regulator should immediately reverse its suspension of journalists working with the privately owned broadcaster Equinoxe TV, and ensure that the outlet can operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On April 1, the National Communication Council media regulator announced that Equinoxe TV CEO Séverin Tchounkeu…
Taliban detain and release at least 7 journalists and media workers; ban broadcasts from BBC, VOA, DW
New York, March 28, 2022 — The Taliban must cease detaining journalists for their work and lift all bans on news outlets’ operations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Since Saturday, March 26, Taliban forces have detained and then released at least seven journalists and media workers, and have ordered local outlets to stop…
Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta suspends publication following official warning
Berlin, March 28, 2022 – In response to an announcement Monday that the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta would suspend publication after receiving a warning from the country’s media regulator, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of concern: “In their attempt to quash all independent coverage of the war in Ukraine, Russian…