2015

  
A press briefing at the Pentagon in April. Worrying guidelines on how the military can categorize the press during conflict are contained in the Defense Department's Law of War Manual. (AP/Andrew Harnik)

In times of war, Pentagon reserves right to treat journalists like spies

The Pentagon has produced its first Department of Defense-wide Law of War Manual and the results are not encouraging for journalists who, the documents state, may be treated as “unprivileged belligerents.” But the manual’s justification for categorizing journalists this way is not based on any specific case, law or treaty. Instead, the relevant passages have…

Read More ›

Germany investigating news website, journalists for treason

New York, July 31, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned by the allegations of treason against two journalists affiliated with the critical German news website Netzpolitik. German authorities on Thursday opened an investigation into the website’s bloggers, Markus Beckedahl and Andre Meister, as well as an unidentified third party, accusing them of treason,…

Read More ›

Philippine citizens light candles in memory of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre. No one has been convicted in the case, and one of the alleged masterminds died of a heart attack earlier this month. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Justice delayed is justice denied in Philippines’ Maguindanao massacre

During his final State of the Nation Address this week, President Benigno Aquino III made only a passing mention of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre that killed 57 people, including 32 journalists and media workers. He did not detail any plans for action on the case, despite his vow to deliver justice before his term ends…

Read More ›

Radio reporter arrested after covering protest

Juan Carlos Paco Veramendi, a reporter for the Potosí-based Radio Líder, was arrested on July 24, 2015, and held for five days, according to local journalists and press reports.

Read More ›

Five Myanmar journalists freed from prison as part of mass amnesty

Bangkok, July 31, 2015–Five journalists jailed on anti-state charges in Myanmar were released on Thursday in a presidential amnesty of nearly 7,000 prisoners, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the journalists’ release but calls on Myanmar authorities to release all other journalists imprisoned in the country.

Read More ›

CPJ calls on IOC to ensure press freedom at 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing

New York, July 31, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the decision to award the 2022 Winter Olympic Games to Beijing and calls on the International Olympic Committee to ensure that journalists are able to freely cover all aspects of the Games, including sensitive issues such as construction of the venues, possible protests,…

Read More ›

Freelance reporter arrested in Turkmenistan

New York, July 30, 2015–Authorities in Turkmenistan should release Saparmamed Nepeskuliyev, a freelance journalist who has been in police custody since July 7 on bogus charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›

International coalition marks anniversary of crackdown on rights in Azerbaijan

A year after the Azerbaijani government launched an unprecedented crackdown on human rights including press freedom, the situation in the country continues to deteriorate, the Sports for Rights coalition said today. The coalition of international organizations, including CPJ, released a statement today to mark the anniversary of what is widely described as the worst government…

Read More ›

Journalist attacked after covering protest in South Africa

Luvuyo Mehlwana, a reporter for the Daily Sun, one of the highest-circulated daily newspapers in South Africa, told CPJ he was kicked and beaten after covering a protest in the Northern Areas of the coastal city of Port Elizabeth on July 27, 2015.

Read More ›

Protesters hold up pictures of jailed journalist Gao Yu in Hong Kong in April. Gao's health has deteriorated since she was imprisoned in Beijing. (AP/Kin Cheung)

‘I don’t want to die here’: Gao Yu’s health deteriorates in Beijing prison

The lawyer for jailed Chinese journalist Gao Yu says the freelance reporter’s health has declined since she was sentenced in April to seven years in prison for leaking state secrets. Shang Baojun, who visited Gao in Beijing No.1 Detention Center on July 28, told CPJ that Gao says she is scared she will die in…

Read More ›