CPJ, partners urge Iraqi Kurdistan to free journalist Sherwan Sherwani
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), along with 17 press freedom, human rights organizations and media outlets, is urging the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq to immediately and unconditionally release journalist Sherwan Sherwani, who remains unjustly imprisoned for his independent reporting and has been subjected to systematic judicial harassment. On August 20, 2025, the Erbil…
CPJ and more than 250 journalists urge Philippine leader to free Frenchie Mae Cumpio
New York, September 24, 2025—More than 250 journalists and representatives from media groups around the world on Wednesday called for Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to take “decisive action” and immediately release journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, in a letter coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition. The 26-year-old journalist has…
Kyrgyzstan sentences 2 Kloop journalists to 5 years in jail on bogus charges
New York, September 17, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s sentencing of journalists Joomart Duulatov and Aleksandr Aleksandrov to five-year prison terms in Kyrgyzstan and calls for their immediate release. Duulatov and Aleksandrov, who worked as camera operators for investigative outlet Kloop, were detained on May 28 on charges of calling for mass unrest over videos produced by…
Belarus uses ‘extremism’ charges to jail a journalist for 4 years, detain another
New York, September 17, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Tuesday’s sentencing of Belarusian journalist Ihar Ilyash to four years in jail and a fine of 4,200 rubles (US$1,240) on charges of promoting “extremist” activities and “discrediting” Belarus. Separately, on September 13, the independent news website Pozirk reported that journalist Kiryl Pazniak had been detained in early September on suspicion of involvement with a…
Belarus frees at least 8 journalists unjustly detained for years
New York, September 11, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of at least eight Belarusian journalists, who were among 52 political prisoners freed on Thursday as the United States announced it was lifting sanctions on Belarus’ national airline. “CPJ celebrates that at least eight Belarusian journalists can finally return to their families after being freed from prison. They…
Azerbaijan upholds lengthy sentences for 7 journalists from Abzas Media and RFE/RL
New York, September 11, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by a September 9 Azerbaijani appeals court ruling upholding prison sentences of up to nine years for six members of Abzas Media, an anti-corruption investigative outlet, and U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Farid Mehralizada. “The rejection of the appeals of seven journalists in the Abzas…
CPJ, partners call for release of Turkish journalist Furkan Karabay
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 17 other press freedom and human rights organizations in calling on Turkish authorities to release freelance court reporter Furkan Karabay, who has been in detention for over 100 days. Following his arrest in May, he was indicted on September 5, 2025, on three charges, including “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for which he could face six to…
After months of detention, Turkish reporter Furkan Karabay indicted, faces 15 years
Istanbul, September 8, 2025—Turkish authorities must drop the charges brought against journalist Furkan Karabay alleging that he “insulted” the president and “made targets of” judicial officials, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Turkish authorities arrested freelance court reporter Karabay in mid-May. Karabay spent more than 100 days in pretrial detention before being indicted. A court date has yet to…
Russian court jails Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Levchenko for 16 years
New York, September 4, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to free Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Levchenko, who has been sentenced to 16 years in a high security penal colony for treason and extremism. “After capturing Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Levchenko two years ago in retaliation for his brave reporting on the war from the occupied…
Imprisoned for telling the truth: A Q&A with Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh’s brother
Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh has spent more than a year imprisoned in Iran, enduring severe psychological torment and relentless interrogations for the simple fact that he is a journalist. Initially detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison, his already dire situation deteriorated significantly after a devastating Israeli attack on the facility. Valizadeh was transferred to the dangerously overcrowded and medically inadequate Fashafouyeh Prison, where extreme neglect and inhumane…