Chad publisher handed suspended jail term for critical reporting on president’s brother
Deli Nestor, publisher of the privately owned semi-weekly investigative newspaper Eclairage in Chad, was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence by a criminal court in N’Djamena on February 13, 2019, after he was convicted of defaming the brother of President Idriss Deby, according to Nestor, who spoke to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Algerian journalist handed six-month suspended prison sentence
On December 25, 2018, the Bab al-Oued court in Algiers sentenced Adlène Mellah, founder of online news outlets Dzair Presse and Algerie-Direct, to one year in prison on charges of “incitement of armed assembly” in response to his coverage of a gathering, according to news reports and his lawyer, Hassen Brahmi, who spoke to the…
Honduras court upholds journalist’s 10-year prison sentence for defamation
New York, January 15, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the Honduran Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a 2016 ruling sentencing journalist David Romero Ellner to 10 years in prison on criminal defamation charges.
Gagging orders, legal action, and communist era laws used to try to ‘choke’ Polish press
Polish security agents enter the house of a prominent TV journalist over accusations that he propagated Nazi propaganda. Police summon a reporter over claims that he breached the privacy of the vice-head of the constitutional court. And Poland’s central bank files gagging orders against two papers, demanding they remove several articles about a corruption scandal…
Alleged killer of Capital Gazette employees had made repeated threats
New York, June 29, 2018–A gunman shot to death five people in the newsroom of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, yesterday afternoon in what police called a “targeted attack,” the newspaper reported. Police arrested Jarrod Ramos, 38, and charged him with five counts of first-degree murder, the paper said, citing court documents. He had…
CPJ calls on Indonesia to investigate death of detained journalist
New York, June 26, 2018–Indonesian authorities must conduct a thorough investigation into the death of journalist Muhammad Yusuf and consider the possibility that he was killed in retribution for his reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 17
Ahead of election, OSCE highlights restrictive media environment In a report on Turkey’s elections this month, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said, “The media landscape is dominated by outlets whose owners are considered affiliated with the government or depend on public contracts.” The report added that Turkey’s constitution “Contains a general…
CPJ joins calls for Kazakhstan to revise false news law and drop charges against critical media
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined a coalition of 25 other international press freedom organizations to call on Kazakh authorities to drop criminal defamation cases against media outlets Forbes Kazakhstan and Ratel and revise the law on dissemination of “false information” often used to silence critical media outlets and journalists.
Pakistani journalist appeals 22-year sentence on terrorism, defamation charges
Washington D.C., May 10, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Pakistani authorities to withdraw all charges against journalist Shabbir Siham, who is appealing a sentence of 22 years in prison and a 500,000 rupee (US$4,300) fine by an anti-terrorism court in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Gambia declares criminal defamation unconstitutional, keeps some laws on sedition, false news
Nairobi, May 10, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the Gambian Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to declare criminal defamation unconstitutional, but is dismayed that segments of the country’s criminal code on sedition and false news were upheld.