CPJ: Mississippi judge’s order to remove editorial raises First Amendment concerns
Washington, D.C., February 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a Mississippi judge’s order that the Clarksdale Press Register, a weekly newspaper, remove an editorial from its website criticizing city officials. “A Mississippi judge’s decision to compel The Clarksdale Press Register to remove an editorial raises serious concerns about a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment,”…
In Madagascar, journalist detained on false news charge over Facebook post
Dakar, February 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malagasy authorities to immediately release investigative journalist Fernand Cello, who has been in detention since his January 29 arrest over a Facebook post about President Andry Rajoelina. On January 30, a judge charged Cello with spreading false news and undermining national security and placed him…
Vietnamese journalist Truong Huy San indicted for ‘abusing democratic freedoms’
Bangkok, February 18, 2025—Vietnam must drop all charges against jailed prominent journalist Truong Huy San over his personal Facebook posts and stop using legal threats to intimidate the independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. The government is prosecuting San under Article 331 of the penal code, which outlaws “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on…
Bangladesh journalists face threats from attacks, investigations, and looming cyber laws
New York, February 14, 2025— Six months after a mass uprising ousted the increasingly autocratic administration of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshi journalists continue to be threatened and attacked for their work, along with facing new fears that planned legislation could undermine press freedom. Bangladesh’s interim government — established amid high hopes of political…
CPJ, 102 partners call for continued human rights scrutiny of South Sudan
CPJ joined 102 other non-governmental organizations in a joint letter urging the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to maintain its calls for accountability in South Sudan amid the country’s ongoing and widespread human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, “egregious violations of women’s and girls’ rights” and the persistence of “localized conflict and intercommunal violence.” …
Taliban ban domestic political and economic broadcasts in Afghanistan
New York, February 14, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Taliban to reverse Thursday’s ban on the broadcast of political and economic programs by domestic Afghan outlets. The Ministry of Information and Culture issued a verbal directive to media executives in the capital Kabul on February 13, stating that organizations may only address…
CPJ denounces Trump administration’s actions against AP, other retaliation against media
Washington, D.C., February 14, 2025–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the White House decision to block The Associated Press (AP) from covering official events after AP’s decision to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by its internationally known name, calling the action the latest in an alarming pattern of retaliation against a free press in…
CPJ: Nepal lawmakers should reject social media bill threatening press freedom
New York, February 14, 2025—The Nepalese government should withdraw a recently introduced social media bill that is expected to undermine press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “Nepal’s proposed social media law is ripe for misuse against journalists reporting on critical topics of public interest,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi….
José Luis Tan Estrada: I fled Cuba’s media repression so I could remain a journalist
Cuban journalist José Luis Tan Estrada boarded a plane in Havana last December because he thought exile was the only way to continue his career and protect his family. It was his first time on an airplane. Tan Estrada, 28, had faced escalating repression by Cuban authorities for months. After he was fired from teaching…
Turkish court issues 9 life sentences for journalist Hrant Dink’s murder
Istanbul, February 14, 2025–Turkish authorities must continue searching for those who masterminded the 2007 murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday, after a retrial in which an Istanbul court issued nine defendants with life sentences. Lawyers representing the Dink family said they would appeal the February 7 verdict due…