Protest Safety

Tensions remain high in the U.S. in the build-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021.  Following the violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 6, which resulted in the death of five individuals and numerous media workers being threatened and attacked, as documented by CPJ, the Federal Bureau…

The following advice and recommendations are intended to give the reader a high-level understanding of the rights of a journalist when confronted by law enforcement officers while covering a protest or other political event. Given that these incidents often quickly escalate and that some – both protestors and police – do not always conform to legal…

Updated June 8, 2020 The following checklist enables commissioners and editors to understand how well prepared journalists and other media workers are as they cover U.S. protests over police violence. For additional safety information, please see CPJ’s Safety Advisory for covering U.S. protests over police violence. Select your staff after considering: As part of your…

Updated August 26, 2020 There have been hundreds of reported incidents of violence and harassment, as well as arrests, targeting journalists covering ongoing Black Lives Matter protests across the U.S. sparked by the death on May 25, 2020—in police custody—of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These incidents have been documented by CPJ…

Over the past week, protesters have held a series of demonstrations against “shelter in place” restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 in more than a dozen U.S. states, according to news reports. There was also a small counter-protest by health care workers in Colorado, as reported by CNN.

Also available in हिंदी में and اردو میں Demonstrations are continuing across India following the introduction of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019, as reported by The Guardian. Violence has escalated with at least four people killed yesterday, and at least 10 people killed and over 150 injured today, according to news…

Protests in Lebanon have become more violent in recent weeks, with approximately 500 protesters and members of the security forces injured, according to reports. Lebanese authorities have used water cannon, batons, rubber bullets and, on occasion, fired teargas directly at protesters, according to reports. Protesters have thrown projectiles including molotov cocktails, stones and fireworks, directed…

In wake of the January 3, 2020, U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, pro-Iranian militias have warned that “all retaliation options are on the table,” as reported by The Independent. According to CPJ research, pro-Iran militias, including those known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), have…

Protests are taking place across Algeria ahead of a presidential election that is scheduled to take place on December 12, according to reports. The December vote comes after the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who stepped down from power after 20 years of rule amid widespread protests at the start of the year, according to…

Police and protesters continue to clash in Hong Kong, especially on the weekends. Incidents in recent months that CPJ is aware of include journalists hit by pepper spray, tear gas, or projectiles fired from crowd-control weapons; police briefly detaining journalists; and demonstrators attacking journalists whom they believed were affiliated with pro-China news organizations. Journalists should…