2016
Nigerian secret police arrest online journalist
Three operatives of the State Security Service, Nigeria’s secret police, on September 6 arrested Emenike Iroegbu, who runs the news website Abia Facts, from his home in Uyo, the capital of the southern state of Akwa Ibom, on suspicion of libelling the governor of neighboring Abia state, according to news reports. The operatives searched Iroegbu’s…
CPJ joins call for Montenegro to free imprisoned journalist Jovo Martinović
The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with the Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders, today wrote a joint letter to Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović protesting the 11-month pretrial detention of freelance journalist Jovo Martinović, who has been accused of participating in a drug trafficking ring–an accusation he has denied and which the prosecution…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 18
Taraf chief editor detained hours after release Hours after his release from prison, the writer and journalist Ahmet Altan was detained again. Altan turned himself in late last night and was arrested after hearing that he was wanted by authorities, according to reports. According to a report in the daily, Hürriyet, the prosecution objected to…
Chinese police detain, assault Hong Kong journalists for covering protest
New York, September 15, 2016 – Chinese authorities should launch a credible, independent investigation into allegations police assaulted journalists and allow reporters to do their work, including covering protests, without restriction, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police in China’s southern Guangdong province last night assaulted and detained five journalists from Hong Kong-based news…
South Sudan authorities order independent newspaper to close
Nairobi, September 15, 2016 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on authorities in South Sudan to immediately reopen the Nation Mirror. Security services ordered the independent daily to close yesterday, according to news reports.
Draft regulatory bill threatens media freedom in Thailand
Bangkok, September 15, 2016 – Thailand’s military-appointed National Reform Steering Assembly should scrap proposed legislation that would create a new national media regulator, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The draft bill, the latest in a raft of military-imposed measures that restrict press freedom, is now being considered by a government sub-panel tasked with…
CPJ testifies on Turkey’s press freedom record after failed coup attempt
CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova today testified before the Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats Subcommittee of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, at the hearing, “Turkey after the July Coup Attempt.”
Why proposed bill could mean the end of independent journalism in Iran
The Iranian government will address the United Nation’s General Assembly this month for the last time before President Hassan Rouhani seeks re-election next year. The international appearance would be a good chance for Rouhani’s administration to discuss its record in office.
Arrest warrant for muckraking U.S. journalist
New York, September 12, 2016 — Prosecutors in the U.S. state of North Dakota should immediately drop all criminal charges against broadcast journalist Amy Goodman, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Goodman, who hosts the global news program Democracy Now!, faces criminal trespass charges in connection with her reporting on protests against the construction…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 11
Eid holiday leaves detained writers in legal limbo, lawyers say Veysel Ok and Ergin Cinmen, lawyers for Mehmet and Ahmet Altan, two prominent writers detained four days ago, yesterday made a joint statement saying that because of the Eid holiday they could not find the responsible prosecutor or a court in which to appeal their…