CPJ, partners urge Sri Lanka to end harassment of journalist Kanapathipillai Kumanan
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined seven other civil society organizations in calling on Sri Lankan authorities to immediately end the harassment of Tamil photojournalist Kanapathipillai Kumanan and withdraw the counterterrorism police summons for questioning on August 17. The Counter Terrorism Investigation Department did not state the reason for the summons, although the journalist, who…
CPJ, Free Press, partners call for ICE to release journalist Mario Guevara after 2-month detention
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Free Press led a coalition of local and national civil society and press freedom organizations in a Thursday letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expressing alarm about the continued detention of journalist Mario Guevara. Guevara, a Spanish-language digital reporter, has been in detention for two months after his…
Gag orders against journalists raise South Africa press freedom concerns
Lusaka, August 14, 2025—When a South African solar panel company last month dropped its legal battle over a gag order preventing journalist Bongani Hans from reporting on allegations of misleading clients, Hans told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he saw it as “a victory for media and press freedom.” But for Hans and others…
CPJ, over 100 organizations call on Israel to end weaponization of aid to Gaza
CPJ joined 103 global organizations in a letter calling on Israel to stop weaponizing bureaucratic registration rules that have prevented most major international non-governmental organizations (INGO) from delivering a single truck of lifesaving supplies into Gaza since March 2, while Palestinians starve. Millions of dollars’ worth of food, medicines, water, and shelter items lie stranded…
How the Taliban’s propaganda empire consumed Afghan media
New York, August 13, 2025—In four years, the Taliban have annihilated Afghanistan’s independent media sector and supplanted it with their own propaganda empire and sophisticated digital bots that flood social media with pro-Taliban content. CPJ interviewed 10 Afghan journalists, inside and outside the country, who said that independent media, which used to reach millions of…
CPJ urges Hong Kong to free Jimmy Lai as trial near its end
New York, August 13, 2025—As closing arguments are set to begin on August 14 in the national security trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against the 77-year-old publisher and release him immediately and unconditionally. Lai, whose…
Ghanaian officers attack journalists reporting on demolition
Abuja, Nigeria, August 12, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for Ghanaian authorities to swiftly and comprehensively conclude investigations into the July 30 attack on journalist Carlos Lorlornyo Atsu Calony and threats made against camera operator Jonas Zodzi Voergborlo. On July 30, at least seven military officers, some of whom were wearing Ghana’s National Intelligence Bureau…
Journalists fear volatile Bolivia elections may escalate press attacks
For over two decades, Bolivian journalists have endured intimidation, legal harassment, and violence from political actors intent on silencing dissent. Now, journalists fear those attacks may intensify as the country races toward a hotly contested presidential election, in which no clear frontrunner has emerged. “We’re not choosing between democracy and authoritarianism” said reporter Rodrigo Fernández from Radio Erbol, one of…
Sri Lanka’s counter-terrorism police summon Tamil journalist documenting mass graves
New Delhi, August 12, 2025—Sri Lankan authorities must immediately stop harassing photojournalist Kanapathipillai Kumanan, who has been summoned by the counterterrorism police for questioning, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. A police notice, reviewed by CPJ, ordered Kumanan to appear in the northern town of Alampil’s Counter Terrorism and Investigation Division (CTID) office on…
Pakistani authorities block journalist Asad Ali Toor from traveling overseas
New York, August 11, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Pakistani authorities to drop all travel restrictions against independent journalist Asad Ali Toor, who was blocked from traveling to the United States at the Islamabad airport on August 8, according to the journalist. Toor, who had been arrested and beaten prior years, said he was on his…