Crimean journalist faces continued harassment in jail, rights group, attorney say
Berlin, September 13, 2024—Ahead of Crimean journalist Remzi Bekirov’s next expected hearing on October 2, CPJ expressed concern at reports that Russian prison authorities are harassing him with strict scrutiny and placements in solitary confinement. Bekirov, who is an ethnic Crimean Tatar from Ukraine’s Russian-occupied region of Crimea, was a correspondent for independent Russian news…
CPJ joins call for Turkey to ensure safety of threatened journalist Murat Ağırel
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 press freedom and freedom of expression groups on Wednesday in a joint statement calling on the authorities in Turkey to ensure that journalist Murat Ağırel, who has been receiving death threats because of his reporting, remains safe. The statement listed a number of incidents in which Ağırel, a…
Taliban label Afghanistan International an ‘enemy’ for reporting on alleged aid misuse
New York, September 11, 2024—The Taliban must stop harassing the popular London-based broadcaster Afghanistan International, which they accused of conducting a “propaganda war against us,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. In his September 4 speech, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Stanekzai attacked the independent outlet as an “enemy” for reporting that aid relief sent…
CPJ submits report on Iraq to UN’s human rights review
The Committee to Protect Journalists has submitted a report on the state of press freedom and journalist safety in Iraq and semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of its January to February 2025 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session. The U.N. mechanism is a peer review of each member state’s human…
Arrests, bans, shutdowns: No end in sight to Taliban media crackdown 3 years on
New York, August 14, 2024—As the Taliban mark the third anniversary of their return to power, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the group to halt their unprecedented destruction of Afghanistan’s media and brutal repression of journalists. “Grave injustices are the hallmark of the Taliban’s rule,” CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi said…
CPJ concerned about safety of Al Jazeera Gaza reporter Anas al-Sharif after IDF comments
The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the safety of Al Jazeera Arabic northern Gaza correspondent Anas al-Sharif after an Israel Defense Forces’ spokesperson accused him of “presenting a lie” in his coverage of Israel’s August 10 airstrike that killed dozens of Gazans in a school building housing Palestinians displaced by the war. …
How Russia silences critical coverage of its war in Ukraine
Russia’s months-long jailing of journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva —released on August 1 as part of a prisoner exchange — was one of the most blatant illustrations of Russia’s muzzling of the press in the wake of its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war has precipitated what a representative of the now-shuttered Russian Journalists’ and Media Workers’…
Pakistani journalist in hiding after police raid his home over protest reports
New York, August 7, 2024—Pakistani police have raided the home of digital journalist Usman Khan three times, forcing him into hiding to avoid detention for his coverage of protests over alleged human rights abuses in southwestern Baluchistan province. “Pakistani police must immediately cease their attempts to detain independent journalist Usman Khan and allow the media…
Nigerian security forces attack, arrest journalists covering protests
Abuja, August 6, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to investigate reports that dozens of journalists were assaulted, harassed, and detained while covering cost-of-living protests, which began on August 1. CPJ is investigating multiple incidents including one in the capital Abuja on August 3, where masked security forces fired bullets and teargas…
Bangladeshi journalists killed in quota protests as reporters attacked, internet blocked
Update: Since publication of this report, CPJ has learned that Md. Shakil Hossen was killed while attending a Dhaka student rally in his personal capacity, not reporting on a Gazipur protest as initial reports indicated. New York, July 26, 2024– The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Bangladesh authorities to investigate the killings of…