How China is stepping up harassment of foreign correspondents
When international journalists rushed to Zhengzhou city in Henan province to cover a deadly flood in July 2021, they were confronted by angry bystanders who accused them of “spreading rumors” and “smearing China.” Many also received harassing messages on social media and intimidating calls, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. This hostility spread after the Henan Communist Youth…
Afghan journalist Khalid Qaderi sentenced to 1 year in prison
Washington, D.C., May 6, 2022 – Taliban authorities must immediately release Afghan journalist Khalid Qaderi, drop all charges against him, and stop detaining and imprisoning members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. A Taliban military court in the western city of Herat sentenced Qaderi to one year in…
Sudanese military holding at least 3 journalists since early April
New York, May 4, 2022 – Sudanese military authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all journalists in custody and ensure that members of the press can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On April 5, military intelligence officers arrested reporter Mohamed Sulaiman al-Obied and photographers Mutaz al-Naeem Adam and Mohamed al-Fatih at…
CPJ urges Cameroon authorities to allow arbitrarily detained journalist Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka to bury his father
New York, May 3, 2022 – Cameroonian authorities should allow freelance journalist Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, who has been held in arbitrary detention without trial in Kondengui Central Prison in the capital Yaounde for almost two years, to leave prison on compassionate grounds to attend his father’s funeral on May 6, and should ensure that he…
Imprisoned Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah’s sister Sanaa Seif: ‘Since the book is out, his voice is out too’
When Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah was re-arrested in September 2019 for sharing a tweet with allegations of wrongdoing by a state security officer, he ended up back in prison under the same watchful gaze of authorities who had warned him a few months prior to stop reporting, or he would “regret it.” However, Abdelfattah did…
Ethiopian journalists Dessu Dulla and Bikila Amenu face death penalty on anti-state charges
Nairobi, May 2, 2022 – Ethiopian authorities should immediately release journalists Dessu Dulla and Bikila Amenu, drop all charges against them, and stop targeting members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On April 7, authorities in the Ethiopian region of Oromia charged Dessu and Bikila, both journalists with the social media-based…
CPJ welcomes Egypt’s release of two journalists, says others must also be freed
Washington, D.C., April 26, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes news reports that Egypt has included journalists Mohamed Salah and Abdo Fayed among its latest prisoner releases, but calls on Egyptian authorities to release at least 23 other journalists in custody. “We are pleased that Salah and Fayed are getting some relief after…
Iraqi Kurdish journalist Omed Baroshky: Press freedom ‘an illusion’ in the region
Freelance journalist Omed Baroshky spent 18 months in jail over social media posts that were critical of the authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan. One of four Iraqi Kurdish reporters listed in CPJ’s 2021 prison census, his incarceration marked yet another low point for a region that has seen a sharp deterioration in the environment for the…
Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan granted bail, then re-arrested under preventative detention law
New Delhi, April 11, 2022 – Authorities in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir must immediately and unconditionally release Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan and cease detaining journalists for their work and subjecting them to legal harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Sunday, April 10, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir re-arrested Sultan, a journalist with…
Belarusian journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva facing up to 15 years in prison on treason charges
Paris, April 8, 2022 – Belarusian authorities should drop the treason charges against journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva, release her immediately, and stop charging and imprisoning members of the press over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “By charging imprisoned journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva with treason, Belarusian authorities show how far they are willing to…