Transition to Trump: First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams on Trump’s power over libel laws
As a new presidential administration prepares to take over the U.S., CPJ examines the status of press freedom, including the challenges journalists face from surveillance, harassment, limited transparency, the questioning of libel laws, and other factors.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of December 11
Columnist jailed pending ‘insult’ trial for remarks on Syria Istanbul’s Ninth Court of Penal Peace this evening ordered Hüsnü Mahalli, a columnist for the leftist newspaper Yurt, jailed pending trial on charges of “insulting the president” and “insulting a board of civil servants in the course of discharging their duties,” the official Anatolia Agency reported.
Mozambican journalist detained for 34 days
Police arrested Arcénio Sebastião Macuene, a Mozambican freelance journalist, on October 8, 2016, and held him on charges of defaming a police official until press freedom advocates paid his bail on November 11, Mozambican journalists and press freedom advocates told the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Nigerian secret police arrest online journalist
Three operatives of the State Security Service, Nigeria’s secret police, on September 6 arrested Emenike Iroegbu, who runs the news website Abia Facts, from his home in Uyo, the capital of the southern state of Akwa Ibom, on suspicion of libelling the governor of neighboring Abia state, according to news reports. The operatives searched Iroegbu’s…
Police raid newspaper after critical documentary airs in Maldives
Bangkok, September 9, 2016 – Authorities in the Maldives should cease harassing the Maldives Independent, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police raided the daily newspaper’s office hours after the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera aired a documentary produced by the paper’s former editor alleging high-level corruption in the Maldives.
Journalist detained over criminal defamation complaint in Bangladesh
Bangkok, September 6, 2016–Bangladeshi journalist Siddiqur Rahman Khan has been detained since September 1 after a criminal defamation complaint was filed against him under Article 57 of the 2006 Information and Communication Technology Act, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for Khan’s immediate release and an end to the use…
Change to Mexican law leaves critical journalists at risk of steep fines
Sergio Aguayo, one of Mexico’s most prominent political commentators, said he was taken by surprise when he heard he was being sued for “moral damages.” The plaintiff, Humberto Moreira, is a former governor who faced allegations that he severely mishandled the state’s finances, was involved in graft and corruption, and had ties to organized crime.…
Pakistani law could enable sweeping internet censorship
Bangkok, August 26, 2016 – Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain should veto a bill that could allow for sweeping censorship of the internet and the prosecution of journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Pakistan’s National Assembly approved the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015 last week and sent it to Hussain to sign into…
Honduran reporter convicted of criminal defamation
Bogotá, Colombia, August 25, 2016 – Honduran prosecutors should cease pursuing criminal defamation charges against journalists, and lawmakers should swiftly repeal laws allowing for such prosecutions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. If his recent conviction on defamation charges is upheld on appeal, TV reporter Ariel Armando D’Vicente faces three years in prison and…