Azerbaijani journalist Nargiz Absalamova detained for 3 months amid crackdown on Abzas Media
Stockholm, December 1, 2023 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Azerbaijani court decision on Friday to detain journalist Nargiz Absalamova for three months and calls on Azerbaijani authorities to release her and her jailed Abzas Media colleagues. “The continued arrests of Abzas Media journalists are unacceptable and only show how Azerbaijani authorities are…
Russia extends detention of RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva by 2 months
New York, December 1, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Russian court’s decision in a closed-door hearing on Friday to extend the pretrial detention of U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until February 5, 2024. “Each day Alsu Kurmasheva spends in Russian detention on absurd criminal charges is another blow to press freedom and journalists’ rights…
Hong Kong journalist Minnie Chan missing after reporting trip to Beijing
Taipei, December 1, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Chinese authorities to immediately account for Hong Kong journalist Minnie Chan’s whereabouts, after news reports of her disappearance following her travel to the Chinese capital in October to cover the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a security conference. “Reports about the disappearance of Hong Kong journalist…
Iranian journalist Mohammad Mir-Ghasemzadeh arrested as authorities ramp up legal pressure on media
Washington, D.C., November 30, 2023—Iranian authorities must immediately release journalist Mohammad Mir-Ghasemzadeh and cease jailing journalists for simply doing their job, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Monday, security agents with the Islamic Republic’s Intelligence Ministry arrested Mir-Ghasemzadeh, a local reporter in the northern city of Sowme’eh Sara in Gilan province, and took…
CPJ welcomes conviction of death squad driver in murder of Gambian editor Deyda Hydara
Durban, November 30, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Thursday’s conviction in Germany of a member of former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh’s death squad for the 2004 murder of Gambian editor Deyda Hydara. “The German court’s conviction and sentencing to life imprisonment of death squad driver Bai Lowe is an important first step for the…
Indian journalist Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek faces criminal investigation for report on anti-Muslim bias
New York, November 29, 2023—Indian authorities must drop all investigations into freelance journalist Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek over his reporting on allegations of anti-Muslim bias in the police force, return his mobile phone, and cease the harassment of his colleagues at Maktoob Media news website, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On October 31,…
CPJ and partners call on Blinken to designate RFE/RL’s Alsu Kurmasheva ‘wrongfully detained’ by Russia
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 13 other press freedom and freedom of expression groups on Tuesday in calling on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to declare Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and an editor with the Tatar-Bashkir service of the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), as “wrongfully detained” by the…
Azerbaijani journalist Aziz Orujov detained for 3 months, office and home searched
Stockholm, November 29, 2023—Azerbaijani authorities should release Aziz Orujov, director of the popular television channel Kanal 13, from detention on charges of illegal construction, and cease their legal harassment of independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. The Sabail District Court in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, on Tuesday ordered that Orujov be held in…
Russia extends detention of US journalist Evan Gershkovich by 2 months
New York, November 28, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Russian court’s decision on Tuesday to extend the pretrial detention of U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich until January 30, 2024. “While the latest extension of the detention of U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich—who has been wrongly detained in Russia for the past eight months—was expected, it…
Former state security agent convicted in torture of Colombian journalist Claudia Julieta Duque
New York, November 28, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly supports a Bogotá superior district court’s November decision to convict a former Colombian state security agent of aggravated torture against journalist Claudia Julieta Duque. “We welcome this overdue conviction as a necessary victory against impunity in crimes against journalists in Colombia,” said Carlos Martínez de…