The Torch is a weekly newsletter from the Committee to Protect Journalists that brings you the latest press freedom and journalist safety news from around the world. Subscribe here.
The Taliban has repeatedly failed to uphold its stated commitment to press freedom in Afghanistan since taking power more than 100 days ago, as violent attacks against journalists continue unabated. Last month in Kabul, two unidentified men beat and attempted to shoot journalist Ahmad Baseer Ahmadi, breaking his jaw and teeth. Ahmadi is one of several journalists who have been the targets of beatings and harassment in Afghanistan over the past months, as CPJ has documented.
To learn more about CPJ’s efforts to support Afghan journalists, watch a video from CPJ’s International Press Freedom Awards last month on the evacuation of dozens of threatened journalists and their families.
- Clarín media group offices firebombed in Argentina
- Freelance journalist Andrey Kuznechyk detained in Belarus
- Lebanese journalist Radwan Mortada sentenced to 13 months in prison
- At least five journalists injured amid clashes over local elections in Tripura, India
This week, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker released a new report showing that more than 50 journalists in the U.S. were detained or arrested in 2021. While the numbers are lower than last year’s record, the 56 detained this year nearly equals the total number of arrests in 2017, 2018, and 2019 combined, a deeply concerning sign for press freedom.
Nearly 86 percent of those arrests occurred during protests, which the Tracker and CPJ have found to be especially challenging events for journalists in the U.S. to cover safely. Journalists looking for guidance on safely covering protests and civil disorder can find resources on our website.
- Surviving in a dangerous media environment — Patrick Egwu, The Cable
- Freedom of expression in The Gambia: a quiet transition from the doldrums of notoriety to the doorsteps of celebrity — Muheeb Saeed, Media Foundation for West Africa
- Exile, impunity, and covering Nicaragua’s environmental crisis — Sasha Chavkin, Columbia Journalism Review
- Police violations against women journalists in Canada — The Coalition for Women in Journalism
- FBI document says the feds can get your WhatsApp data – in real time — Andy Kroll, Rolling Stone
- Ethiopia government clamps down on war coverage — Salem Solomon, Voice of America
- ‘Impossible’ to rescue: How three foreigners died in Burkina Faso — Sam Mednick and Héni Nsaibia, Al-Jazeera
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