Kazakhstan police raid newsrooms, detain journalists, seize equipment
New York, April 13, 2018–Kazakh authorities should stop harassing journalists with the independent news outlets Forbes Kazakhstan and Ratel and dismiss criminal defamation suits against the two outlets and their journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of April 9, 2018
Journalists Imprisoned An Istanbul court on April 6 arraigned İhsan Yaşar and İhsak Kabul, the publisher and responsible news editor respectively for the recently seized pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, on charges of “being members of a [terrorist] organization” and “making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization,” the daily Evrensel reported.
Turkey sentences at least 22 journalists on terrorism-related charges
Istanbul, March 8, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned a Turkish court’s decision today to sentence at least 22 journalists to prison on terrorism-related charges, and called on Turkish authorities to release them without delay.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of February 26, 2018
Journalists sentenced An Istanbul court on February 28 sentenced Ahmet Altan, the former chief editor for the shuttered daily Taraf, to five years and 11 months in prison for “insulting the [Turkish] president,” and “making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization,” the online newspaper Diken reported.
Moroccan court convicts local publisher of criminal defamation
New York, February 14, 2018–Moroccan authorities should drop all charges against Akhbar al-Youm columnist and publisher Taoufik Bouachrine on appeal, and allow him to work without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Colombia sentences gunman for 2015 murder of local radio journalist
New York, February 2, 2018–The sentencing of the gunman responsible for the 2015 murder of Colombian radio journalist Luis Antonio Peralta Cuéllar and his wife Sofía Quintero is a welcome step toward justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in Florencia, the capital of the southwestern province of Caquetá, yesterday sentenced Yean…
Kuwaiti authorities sentence local journalist in absentia to five years hard labor
New York, January 12, 2018–Kuwaiti authorities should allow independent journalist Abdullah al-Saleh to return to Kuwait without fear of imprisonment or reprisal for his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A Kuwaiti national security court on December 25, 2017, found al-Saleh, a YouTube reporter and former columnist for the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jareeda, guilty…
Azerbaijani court sentences local journalist to six years in prison
New York, January 12, 2018–A district court in Azerbaijan today convicted veteran investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarli on charges of illegally crossing the border, resisting police arrest, and contraband, and sentenced him to six years in prison, media reported.
Somaliland journalists sentenced to two years in prison on propaganda charges
Nairobi, January 08, 2017–A Somaliland regional court yesterday sentenced journalists Mohamed Abdilaahi Dabshid and Ahmed Dirie Liltire, to two years of prison on charges of conducting propaganda against the state, bringing Somaliland into contempt and “bringing the flag or national emblem of a foreign state” into contempt, according to a statement by the Human Rights…