Legal Action

Lusaka, May 6, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday expressed alarm that South Africa’s spy agency wants to subject Moshoeshoe Monare, the editor-in-chief of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), to additional security vetting and an invasive lie-detector test ahead of the country’s crucial May 29 general election. A senior official at…

Beirut, May 5, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Israeli cabinet’s decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel and warns that the vote could set a dangerous precedent for other international media outlets working in Israel.    The cabinet vote on Sunday, announced by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X, came after Israel’s…

New York, May 2, 2024—Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today announced the launch of CPJ’s journalist safety chatbot, which equips journalists with safety information on their phones via WhatsApp. The tool will expand the reach and usability of CPJ’s suite of safety tools tailored for…

Berlin, May 1, 2024—Russian authorities must drop legal proceedings against Sergey Mingazov, a journalist for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, and detained journalists Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin and ensure that members of the press are not imprisoned for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.  On April 27, a court in the city of Khabarovsk…

Washington, D.C., May 1, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports that FOX 7 Austin photojournalist Carlos Sanchez is again facing charges in connection with his work, and calls on Texas authorities to drop all charges against him and allow journalists to do their work without fear of arrest. “We are gravely concerned that…

Berlin, April 29, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the four-year jail sentence given to Dragoljub Simonović, the former mayor of Grocka, a suburb of the Serbian capital, Belgrade, for ordering an arson attack on journalist Milan Jovanović’s home. The court also gave a four-year sentence to Aleksandar Marinković, who set fire to the house…

Bangkok, April 29, 2024 – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should retract his call on local private companies to take action against Bloomberg news agency for a report on alleged plans to build a casino complex in a troubled real estate development, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Friday, April 26, Anwar referred…

UPDATE:  On May 21, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) denied a habeas corpus request made by the defense of Maurício Borges Sampaio, one of the defendants, and upheld the conviction of four of the men accused of murdering journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira. Figuerêdo and Sampaio began serving their sentences on June 14 and June…

México City, April 25, 2024—Chilean authorities must drop criminal charges against journalists Daniel Labbé and Josefa Barraza and ensure journalists can work without restrictions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday, Labbé, an independent journalist, was sentenced to a suspended prison term of 61 days on charges of public disorder, the journalist told…

Brussels, April 25, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed Thursday’s call by the European Parliament for the repeal of two Hong Kong security laws that it said undermine press freedom and for the release of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. The parliamentary resolution condemned Hong Kong’s adoption last month of…