COVID-19

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Journalists at the Beijing Winter Olympics may test China’s tolerance for critical coverage

Can China and the International Olympic Committee maintain a “bubble” of total press freedom inside China’s vast sea of repression? That’s the question facing thousands of journalists as they arrive in the coming weeks to cover the Beijing Winter Olympics, which kick off on February 4. (CPJ’s safety advisory for those attending addresses coronavirus restrictions…

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CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering the Beijing Olympic Winter Games 2022

The Olympic Winter Games take place in Beijing, China from February 4-20, 2022. Journalists covering the event are likely to face a range of challenges from coronavirus restrictions to digital surveillance. The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed concern about the ability of the press to work freely during the event. China has been the…

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A press freedom crisis unfolds in Latin America

As the number of journalists imprisoned globally for their work climbs to record highs, cases of those behind bars in Latin America remained relatively low. A total of six – three in Cuba, two in Nicaragua and one in Brazil – were in custody for their work as of December 1, according to the Committee…

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Men in uniforms and masks stand outside a large modern building..

China’s Olympic press freedom pledges: Worthless in 2008, absent in 2022

Prospects for free-wheeling media coverage of the February Beijing Winter Olympics seem increasingly dim, not least because of the attitude of the International Olympic Committee. On October 13, John Coates, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, dismissed out of hand calls from CPJ, human rights groups, and US lawmakers to pressure Beijing over its…

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Mozambique police beat and detain journalists covering demonstrations

On September 9, 2021, police in Mozambique’s central Nampula province harassed, beat, and detained at least six journalists covering protests over the government’s alleged delays in distributing financial relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to news reports and the journalists involved, who spoke with CPJ in phone interviews and via messaging app. The…

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Protesters against Slovenian COVID-19 response and vaccination storm headquarters of RTVS broadcaster

Berlin, September 9, 2021 — Slovenian authorities must thoroughly investigate demonstrators’ storming of the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija (RTVS) and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Starting around 8:30 p.m. on September 3, about 20 people demonstrating against the country’s COVID-19 response and vaccination program broke into the broadcaster’s…

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Iranian journalists remain vulnerable in exile, says formerly imprisoned columnist Nejat Bahrami

By CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program The revelation of a plot by Iranian intelligence agents to kidnap and extradite Brooklyn-based Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad shocked the world last month. Another Iranian journalist, Nejat Bahrami, experienced the nightmare of life in Iranian custody that Alinejad appears to have escaped. Last year he served five…

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Cambodian reporter Khou Piseth detained for criminal incitement

Bangkok, July 27, 2021 – Cambodian authorities should immediately release journalist Khou Piseth and drop any pending charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Piseth, a reporter with the local Siem Reap Tannhektar news website, was arrested on July 14 in the western city of Battambang after posting messages critical of the government’s handling…

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Journalist Azimjon Askarov is seen at a court in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on October 11, 2016. On Tuesday, the country’s Supreme Court adjourned the hearing of Askarov’s final appeal until April 7. (AP/Vladimir Voronin)

CPJ joins statement calling on Kyrgyz authorities to investigate death of journalist Azimjon Askarov

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined four other human rights and free expression organizations in a joint statement calling on Kyrgyzstan authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the death in prison of journalist Azimjon Askarov. The statement notes that authorities have failed to thoroughly and credibly investigate the circumstances of Askarov’s July 25,…

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Ethiopia elections 2021: Journalist safety kit

Ethiopia is scheduled to hold general elections later this year amid heightened tensions across the country. Military conflict broke out in the Tigray region in November 2020, and is ongoing; over the past year, several other regions have witnessed significant levels of violence and fatalities as a result of protests and inter-ethnic clashes, according to…

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