CPJ joins call for release of Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah as he escalates hunger strike
CPJ has joined more than 60 civil society organizations in a letter calling Egyptian authorities to immediately release British-Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abdelfattah after he announced that he will escalate his hunger strike in prison. Abdelfattah, imprisoned since 2019, began a hunger strike in April of no more than 100 calories per day, which resulted in the severe…
CPJ renews call for Iran to release all jailed journalists amid anti-government protests
New York, November 1, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday renewed its call for Iran to release all journalists behind bars in the country, at least 37 of whom were detained over the past six weeks of anti-government protests, and urged the U.N. Security Council to hold Iran accountable by implementing investigation…
Vietnamese journalist Le Manh Ha harshly sentenced to 8 years in prison
Bangkok, October 26, 2022 – Vietnamese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Le Manh Ha and stop treating independent journalists as criminals for merely doing their jobs of reporting the news, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Tuesday, October 25, the People’s Court of Tuyen Quang province sentenced Ha after a two-day…
Belarus court sentences journalist Siarhei Satsuk to 8 years in prison
Paris, October 26, 2022 – Belarusian authorities must immediately release Siarhei Satsuk, who was sentenced to eight years in prison, along with all other journalists currently behind bars, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Wednesday, October 26, a court in Minsk, the capital, found Satsuk, chief editor of the independent Yezhednevnik news website,…
Jailed Tajik journalist Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda describes severe physical abuse, forced confession in letter
Stockholm, October 25, 2022 – Tajikistan authorities must provide a complete and convincing response to allegations that jailed journalist Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda has been subjected to severe physical abuse and mistreatment, and that he and other jailed journalists were forced to record false confessions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Friday, October 21, the…
CPJ condemns guilty verdict in Jimmy Lai’s fraud case in Hong Kong
Taipei, October 25, 2022 – In response to news reports that a court in Hong Kong on Tuesday convicted Jimmy Lai, founder of the Next Digital Limited media company and the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, of fraud, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement condemning the verdict: “Today’s conviction of Jimmy Lai on…
CPJ condemns Myanmar military junta’s harassment of The Irrawaddy
Bangkok, October 21, 2022 – Myanmar’s military regime must cease its harassment of The Irrawaddy and allow the independent news organization to report without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On October 14, Myanmar’s junta announced on state television that it would take legal action against The Irrawaddy for reporting that military forces…
CPJ submits reports on Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco to United Nations Universal Periodic Review
The human rights records of Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco are under review by the United Nations Human Rights Council through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This U.N. mechanism is a peer-review process that surveys the human rights performance of member states, monitoring progress from previous review cycles, and presents a list of recommendations on how a…
Vietnamese journalist Huynh Thuc Vy beaten, choked by prison guards
Bangkok, October 14, 2022 – Vietnamese authorities must investigate, identify, and bring to full justice the prison guards responsible for physically abusing imprisoned journalist Huynh Thuc Vy, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On October 9, Vy told her young daughter that guards had beaten and choked her at the Gia Trung Prison, where…
Japanese documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota sentenced to 3 more years in Myanmar prison
Bangkok, October 13, 2022 — In response to multiple news reports that a Myanmar court on Wednesday sentenced Japanese documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota to three more years in prison for allegedly violating the country’s immigration laws, bringing his total incarceration term to 10 years, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for his immediate release: “Myanmar’s latest action in…