Investigative reporter Tom Wright faces criminal defamation charge in Thailand
Mae Sot, May 18, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thai politician Vorapak Tanyawong to drop his criminal defamation suit against Whale Hunting newsletter’s investigative reporter Tom Wright, and urges Thailand to reform its criminal statutes so that they cannot be abused to silence the press. Wright told CPJ that he faces criminal charges…
CPJ, press freedom organizations renew call for justice on 9th anniversary of journalist Javier Valdez Cárdenas’ murder
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined family members, journalists and other press freedom organizations in Culiacán, the capital of the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, to renew a call for justice in the murder of journalist Javier Valdez Cárdenas. Valdez, a correspondent for Mexico City newspaper La Jornada and co-founder of weekly investigative magazine Ríodoce,…
Bangladesh tribunal shows journalists Rupa and Babu arrested over 2013 reporting
May 15, 2026, New Delhi—Bangladeshi authorities must release journalists Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Babu, who were recently arrested in a crimes-against-humanity case filed at the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On May 14, the ICT in the capital Dhaka showed Rupa, a former chief reporter and presenter at…
Thai journalist Kowit Phothisan could face years in prison for defamation
Bangkok, May 14, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thai politician Suchart Chomklin to immediately drop his criminal defamation lawsuit against Kowit Phothisan, editor of the independent online outlet The Isaan Record, and on Thai authorities to strengthen protections against strategic lawsuits targeting journalists. Kowit faces charges for sharing a Facebook post related to…
Niger suspends 9 French media outlets for alleged public order threat
Dakar, May 15, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Niger to reverse the suspension of nine France-based news outlets and to release all four journalists jailed since last year. The affected outlets are state-funded broadcasters France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI), Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency, TV5Monde network, the pan-African weekly…
DRC journalist detained since January, another in hiding after mining impact report
Kinshasa, May 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to release journalist Stéphane Shisso, who was arrested in January after reporting on erosion caused by mining, and to ensure the safety of his colleague Guelord Shamba, who is in hiding. “It is a grave injustice that…
Venezuelan journalist details complicated fight for amnesty post-Maduro
After nearly a year in prison, Venezuelan journalist Rory Branker is finally free. But he has yet to liberate himself from what legal experts and press freedom groups describe as trumped-up criminal charges that are hanging over his head. After the U.S. military ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, Branker was one of more than two dozen journalists to be…
Maldives jails 2 journalists over documentary about President Muizzu
New Delhi, May 12, 2026—Maldivian authorities must immediately release journalists Mohamed Shahzan and Leevan Ali Nasir and end judicial harassment of their news outlet, Adhadhu, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. According to a report by Adhadhu and a post on X by the Maldives Journalists Association, a court in the capital Malé sentenced…
CPJ condemns Trump’s order for DOJ to subpoena journalists
Washington, D.C., May 12, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists demands that the United States Justice Department immediately withdraw grand jury subpoenas targeting reporters at The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in connection with their reporting on the Iran war. CNN reported that President Donald Trump ordered acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to submit the subpoenas using a sticky…
Beyond Decree 54: Tunisia’s latest measures to silence the press
New York, May 12, 2026 — For years, Tunisia was viewed as one of the few post-Arab Spring success stories for press freedom in the region. In the decade following the 2011 revolution, journalists gained greater space to investigate corruption, criticize authorities, and report more openly than anywhere else in North Africa. Those gains, while…