La Prensa’s Juan Lorenzo Holmann: ‘I turned around and said goodbye to Nicaragua’
Juan Lorenzo Holmann Chamorro was on the verge of sleep in his Nicaraguan jail cell when he was issued civilian clothes, taken to the airport, and told to sign a handwritten document agreeing to be deported to the United States. Holmann, the publisher of La Prensa, Nicaragua’s oldest newspaper, had been incarcerated since August 2021….
Nicaragua’s Miguel Mendoza on his bittersweet deportation from his ‘kidnapped’ country
Miguel Ángel Mendoza Urbina, a veteran sports journalist with over 30 years of experience, made a life-changing decision on April 19, 2018, when anti-government protests erupted in Nicaragua. He realized he could not just focus on sports while his country was in turmoil. Mendoza used his Twitter and Facebook accounts, with a combined following of…
Azerbaijani photojournalist Vali Shukurzade sentenced to 30 days in jail
Stockholm, February 15, 2023 – Azerbaijani authorities should release photojournalist Vali Shukurzade and ensure that members of the press do not face trumped-up charges in retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the evening of February 4, in the Yasamal district of Baku, the capital, police detained Shukurzade, a freelance…
Russian journalist Maria Ponomarenko sentenced to 6 years in prison
Paris, February 15, 2023 – In response to news reports that a Russian court on Wednesday sentenced journalist Maria Ponomarenko to six years in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Russian authorities should be ashamed of the six-year prison sentence given to journalist Maria Ponomarenko, whose sole so-called crime…
‘Don’t give up’: After fleeing overseas, Hong Kong journalists fight on
When Hong Kong journalist Matthew Leung covered a small protest in the northern English city of Manchester last October, little did he know it would become one of the biggest stories in his career—and unleash a diplomatic storm between China and Britain. His photographs, showing a group of men beating a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester…
CPJ: Nicaragua political prisoner release brings ‘sense of relief’
Los Angeles, February 9, 2023 — In response to news reports that Nicaraguan authorities freed and deported 222 political prisoners to the United States on Thursday, including at least one journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The deportation of political prisoners from Nicaragua, including at least one journalist, brings a sense…
Journalist Mortaza Behboudi detained by Taliban since January 7
New York, February 8, 2023 – Taliban authorities must immediately release journalist Mortaza Behboudi and stop intimidating and arbitrarily detaining members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On January 7, members of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence detained Behboudi, a reporter and cofounder of the independent news website Guiti News,…
Russian authorities seek 9-year prison term for journalist Maria Ponomarenko, detain RFE/RL columnist Iskander Yasaveyev
Paris, February 7, 2023 – Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Maria Ponomarenko and columnist Iskander Yasaveyev and stop prosecuting members of the press over their reporting and commentary on the war in Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Monday, February 6, authorities in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic, arrested…
On 2-year anniversary of military coup, Myanmar’s junta must stop persecuting journalists
Bangkok, February 1, 2023 — On the second anniversary of the military’s seizure of power in Myanmar, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement demanding the junta regime immediately and unconditionally release all of the journalists targeted in the post-coup crackdown: “Over the last two years, press freedom conditions in Myanmar have deteriorated…
Belarusian journalists Dzmitry Harbunou and Pavel Padabed detained on undisclosed charges
Paris, January 26, 2023 — Belarusian authorities should publicly disclose the reason for the arrests of journalists Dzmitry Harbunou and Pavel Padabed and ensure that no journalists are jailed for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On January 18, Harbunou, a blogger based in the western city of Brest, appeared in a video…