Features & Analysis

  

Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war

Since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, journalists and media across the region have faced a hostile environment that has made reporting on the war exceptionally challenging.   In addition to documenting the growing tally of journalists killed and injured, CPJ’s research has found multiple kinds of incidents of journalists being targeted while carrying out…

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‘Powerful enemies’: Did a prosecutor order the murder of Haitian journalist Garry Tesse?

Haitian journalist Garry Tesse was on his way to work at a local radio station in the southern city of Les Cayes when he disappeared shortly after exiting a taxi. His naked and disfigured corpse was found six days later face down on the seashore close to downtown. One of his eyes was gouged out,…

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‘Back to the dark ages’: Editor Ataf Mohamed on Sudan’s wartime communications blackout

For the last six weeks, Sudan has been almost totally cut off from the world. Since early February, there has been an internet and telecommunications blackout in the country, where a war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed more than 13,000, displaced millions, and threatens to cause widespread…

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‘A long fight’: Family of murdered Philippine journalist Gerry Ortega on their 13-year battle for justice

Philippine journalist Gerardo “Gerry” Ortega vowed he wouldn’t let the death threats stop him from using his radio show to expose corruption on the country’s idyllic tropical island of Palawan. “I am like a lone flame of a candle in a big dark room. I can’t light the whole room but I light a small…

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Council of Europe journalist safety platform sounds alarm over spyware and abusive lawsuits

The use of spyware against journalists, abusive lawsuits, and the perils facing journalists in exile are among the main concerns raised in the annual report of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists released on March 5, 2024. The Committee to Protect Journalists was one of 15 press…

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Record number of journalists in Senegal’s jails amid political turmoil

Senegalese reporter Ndèye Maty Niang, also known as Maty Sarr Niang, would have likely jumped at the chance to report on the political crisis gripping her country since the president postponed elections in early February. But Niang can’t cover the news – she’s in a women’s prison awaiting trial. She’s not alone: Niang is one…

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Why extradition of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange to US would be cataclysmic for press freedom

The Australian founder of the website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been fighting extradition to the U.S. from the U.K. since 2019 on charges that could strike a blow to press freedom globally. Here is CPJ’s briefing on the legal battle to extradite Assange, the charges he would face in the U.S., and why his prosecution…

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Demonstrators

Drop in jailed Turkish journalists belies a long-simmering press freedom crisis

In CPJ’s 2023 annual prison census, Turkey was the world’s 10th worst jailer of journalists—its most press-friendly ranking in almost a decade—with 13 behind bars, down from 40 the previous year. But the latest numbers don’t tell the full story. Turkey has consistently vied with China for the top slot in CPJ’s list of shame…

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CPJ joins call for Azerbaijan to maintain unfettered internet access during upcoming elections

The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday joined #KeepItOn Coalition partners in calling on Azerbaijan authorities and the country’s telecommunications companies and internet service providers to maintain free, open, and secure internet access and avoid shutdowns throughout presidential elections scheduled for February 7, 2024. The letter highlights how Azerbaijani authorities have implemented internet restrictions on…

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CPJ presents joint report on declining press freedom in Greece

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined seven other international press freedom organizations on Tuesday in a joint report after a mission to Athens in September 2023. The report concluded that Greece is the only EU country to currently have two open cases of impunity for the murder of journalists, and almost no other country in…

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