Portuguese police surveilled, interrogated journalists in leak investigation
Berlin, January 19, 2021 — Portuguese authorities must thoroughly investigate alleged police surveillance of journalists, and ensure that members of the press are not targeted in government leak investigations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. From April to June 2018, as part of a bribery investigation into executives of a local soccer team, the…
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Uganda’s elections
On January 14, 2021, incumbent Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will seek a sixth term, amid challenges from opposition candidates Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, and Patrick Oboi Amuriat, according to multiple news reports. During the general election campaign, security personnel have arrested both candidates and violently dispersed political rallies and protests, according to…
CPJ testifies to US Congress, calls for more effort to fight restrictions on press
Journalists working around the world continue to face a wide variety of challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. government must redouble its efforts to defend press freedom, CPJ Advocacy Director Courtney Radsch said during testimony to the U.S. Congress today. Addressing the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and…
CPJ joins call for California attorney general to investigate technology used in Belarus censorship
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined free expression and digital rights groups on September 23 in calling on Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, to investigate technology sales by Sandvine Inc. after the company acknowledged that its products were being used to block news and other websites amid anti-government protests in Belarus. The call, co-signed by…
Bertha Foundation: Omar Radi’s arrest blocked Moroccan land rights exposé
The 10th time journalist Omar Radi was summoned by Moroccan police this summer, he was arrested on multiple charges including undermining state security and sexual assault, as CPJ documented in July. He was placed in solitary confinement in the Oukacha Prison in Casablanca to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19, and remained there as…
CPJ joins call to revise Nigeria’s draft data protection bill
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined Paradigm Initiative, a Nigeria-based digital rights group, and the NetRights Coalition of over 100 global civil society groups to submit comments on Nigeria’s draft data protection bill, which is undergoing a public consultation process. The submission said that the bill should “protect those fulfilling their duty as journalists”…
CPJ reminds EU that ‘e-evidence’ rules should protect journalists
CPJ today prompted the European Parliament to safeguard press freedom and human rights in a proposed regulation known as the ‘e-evidence’ proposal, co-signing a letter with European Digital Rights and other digital and media organizations. CPJ has expressed concern about the lack of safeguards in the proposed Regulation on European Production and Preservation Orders, which…
Ukrainian investigative program ‘Schemes’ targeted with car burning, alleged surveillance
New York, August 17, 2020 – Ukrainian authorities should conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the torching of a car affiliated with the “Schemes” TV program and the alleged surveillance of one of the program’s journalists, and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 7, Mykhailo Tkach,…
Argentine intelligence services surveilled journalist Hugo Alconada Mon under Macri administration
Miami, June 18, 2020 – Argentine authorities should conduct a thorough investigation into the surveillance of journalists under the previous presidential administration, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 15, at the Federal Court of Lomas de Zamora, judge Federico Villena presented evidence showing that Argentina’s Federal…
Audit finds that Argentine intelligence services compiled files on hundreds of journalists
New York, June 16, 2020 – Argentine authorities should conduct a transparent and impartial investigation into allegations that intelligence agents compiled dossiers of journalists in 2017 and 2018, and should ensure that such programs are not conducted in the future, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 5, a federal prosecutor conducting an…