Russian authorities close Deutsche Welle office after Germany revokes RT license
New York, February 3, 2022 – In response to Russian authorities’ decision Thursday to shutter the Moscow bureau of German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) and withdraw the credentials of its staff, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Russia must stop using journalists as pieces in tit-for-tat games with Germany,…
Opinion: The dilemma facing journalists covering the Beijing Olympics
I don’t envy journalists from around the world who are entering China to cover the Beijing Olympics, held February 4 to 20. Perhaps never in history have the rules of the road for covering the games been so murky and the potential dangers so great for journalists who step over an as-yet-undefined red line that…
Yemen Houthi forces raid, shutter radio broadcasters
New York, February 2, 2022 – Yemen’s Houthi rebels must stop harassing and shuttering media outlets, and should allow all broadcasters to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. On January 25, Houthi forces raided and shuttered at least five radio stations in Sanaa, the capital, according to the Media Freedom Observatory…
Opinion: Myanmar’s military junta is killing press freedom
One year since a democracy-suspending coup, press freedom is dying in Myanmar. A military campaign of intimidation, censorship, arrests, and detentions of journalists has more recently graduated to outright killing, an escalation of repression that aims ultimately to stop independent media reporting on the junta’s crimes and abuses. In January, military authorities abducted local news…
Indian government suspends MediaOne TV for unspecified ‘security reasons’
New Delhi, January 31, 2022 – Indian authorities should allow the Malayalam-language news channel MediaOne TV to operate freely, and should not suspend broadcasters over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. At about 12:30 p.m. on Monday, MediaOne TV ceased broadcasting after it received a suspension notice via email, according to the…
Proposed internet bill in Myanmar imposes 3-year prison sentences for VPN use
Bangkok, January 31, 2022 – Myanmar authorities should scrap proposed cybersecurity legislation that would severely threaten press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. In a letter dated January 13, Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications, controlled by the country’s military since the February 2021 coup, stated that a decision had been made to…
Seven Somali journalists detained, radio station raided after interview with opposition group
Lusaka, January 28, 2022 – Authorities in Somalia’s south-central Hirshabelle state must stop intimidating and censoring the press through arbitrary arrests and station closures because they disagree with reported content, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Friday afternoon, January 21, 2022, heavily armed police in Beledweyne, a city in Somalia’s Hirshabelle state, raided…
Taliban blocks press conference by Afghanistan Journalists Federation
New York, January 27, 2022 — The Taliban must allow journalists and press groups to work freely and without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Wednesday, about 60 armed members of the Taliban-controlled Kabul police and the General Directorate of Intelligence, the Taliban’s intelligence agency, blocked a planned press conference by the…
Turkish journalist Sedef Kabaş arrested for ‘insulting’ President Erdoğan
Istanbul, January 25, 2022 – Turkish authorities should immediately release journalist Sedef Kabaş, drop the charge of “insulting the president,” and cancel the fine and ban imposed on TELE1 TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On January 22, 2022, an Istanbul court charged Turkish freelance journalist Sedef Kabaş with insulting President Recep Tayyip…
Omani authorities suspend radio journalist following guest’s on-air critical comments
Omani authorities suspended Kholoud al-Alawi, a journalist at privately owned Hala FM, from her work for at least a month in December 2021, according to BBC Arabic and Beirut-based regional human rights organization the Gulf Center for Human Rights. The Ministry of Information informed the radio station by phone of the suspension on December 1,…