Rwandan journalist, media worker detained since mid-April
Nairobi, May 21, 2020 — Rwandan authorities should unconditionally release journalist Dieudonné Niyonsenga and media worker Fidèle Komezusenge, and ensure the members of press can work without interference during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
NY Times reporter Davey Alba on covering COVID-19 conspiracy theories, facing online harassment
Over the course of Davey Alba’s career as a tech reporter, her beat has transformed from covering the latest gadgets and phones to investigating the creeping influence and massive power wielded by tech companies over peoples’ everyday lives. As the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the globe, Alba, who covers tech and disinformation at The…
Palestinian police assault and arrest journalist Anas Hawari
On May 15, 2020, Palestinian police officers manning a checkpoint in the West Bank town of Anabta pulled over, assaulted, and arrested Anas Hawari, a reporter for the Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network, according to a report by his employer, a Facebook post by his lawyer, Mohannad Karajeh, and a report by the Skeyes Center for…
Journalist Zhang Zhan arrested for covering COVID-19 in Wuhan
Taipei, May 18, 2020 — Chinese authorities must immediately release journalist Zhang Zhan, drop any charges against her, and ensure that the media can cover the coronavirus pandemic without fear of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan tell CPJ of obstruction and opportunities covering COVID-19
On May 10, Saman Barzinji, the health minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan regional government, announced that the COVID-19 pandemic no longer posed a threat to the region, and that the area would gradually reopen, according to news reports.
South African police assault, charge journalist Paul Nthoba after he photographs COVID-19 lockdown
New York, May 18, 2020 — Authorities in South Africa should conduct a swift investigation into the beating of journalist Paul Nthoba and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Swazi editor flees to South Africa, wanted in false news investigation
In the early morning of February 25, 2020, police in the Manzini region of Swaziland raided the home of Zweli Martin Dlamini, the editor of the privately owned news website Swaziland News, and arrested him, according to media reports and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.
Bolivian decree broadens criminal sanctions for disinformation on COVID-19
Editors’ Note: On May 14, after CPJ published this article, the Bolivian representative to the Organization of American States announced that the government had issued a new decree eliminating the language that CPJ objected to in Decree 4231, and two other passages that had raised freedom of expression concerns, according to news reports and a…
