Sentenced

Washington, D.C., October 18, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Saudi authorities to release Mohammed al-Ghamdi, a Saudi cartoonist for the Qatar-based Lusail newspaper, who was sentenced on an undisclosed date in 2024 to 23 years in prison on charges that his cartoons were sympathetic to Qatar and insulted the Saudi government. “By sentencing…

New York, October 8, 2024—Algerian authorities must release the Djelfa Tribune editor-in-chief, Badreddine Guermat, and should not contest if he chooses to appeal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. The journalist was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 100,000 dinars (US$752) on Sunday, October 6, on charges of insulting a state institution…

Miami, October 3, 2024—Cuban authorities should re-examine the case of journalist Yeris Curbelo Aguilera, who was sentenced to two years in prison on September 24, and consider dropping all charges against him, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday. “The Cuban government continues to be nothing short of draconian in its efforts to squash independent…

Taipei, September 26, 2024 — A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced two former Stand News editors on charges of conspiracy to publish seditious publications following their convictions in late August. Chung Pui-kuen received one year and nine months in prison, and Patrick Lam, who received 11 months, was released after the hearing as he…

New York, September 13, 2024—Tunisian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release commentator Sonia Dahmani, following an appeals court decision Tuesday to uphold her conviction for spreading false news with a reduced eight-month sentence, and allow all journalists and news outlets to cover the upcoming presidential elections freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “The…

Bangkok, September 10, 2024—A Hanoi court sentenced journalist Nguyen Vu Binh to seven years in prison on Tuesday on charges of propaganda against the state. Binh was convicted in connection to comments he made in videos on political, economic, and social topics posted on YouTube channel TNT Media Live in January and March 2022. The…

New York, August 30, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the sentencing Friday of Russian journalist Sergey Mikhaylov to eight years in prison on “fake news” charges and calls on Russian authorities to release him immediately.    “The sentencing of journalist Sergey Mikhaylov to eight years in prison on what Russian authorities label as ‘fake…

New York, August 6, 2024—Belarusian authorities convicted freelance reporter Ales Sabaleuski and freelance camera operator Yauhen Hlushkou, on extremism charges and sentenced them to four and three years in prison, respectively, on Wednesday, July 31. “The court’s sentencing of journalists Ales Sabaleuski and Yauhen Hlushkou to three and four years in prison is yet another…

Update: Since publication of this alert, the Kurdistan Region Court of Appeals overturned Ahmed’s conviction on January 6, 2025, and ordered his immediate release. Following his release on January 20, Ahmed crossed the Iraqi Kurdistan border into Syria to see his family, according to his lawyers and family. In October 2024, United Nations experts sent…

New York, July 9, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a Tunisian court’s sentencing of lawyer and political commentator Sonia Dahmani to one year in prison on Saturday and calls for her immediate release. “The sentencing of Tunisian lawyer and commentator Sonia Dahmani to one year in prison for her political commentary is…