2016
Judge orders journalist’s arrest for publishing confidential documents
New York, November 15, 2016–An Ecuadoran judge last night approved an arrest warrant for journalist Fernando Villavicencio on charges of distributing emails sent by public officials, according to the journalist’s lawyer. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on authorities to revoke the warrant.
In China, foreign correspondents continue to face harassment, restrictions
Conditions for foreign correspondents in China remain difficult, with journalists reporting cases of harassment, surveillance, and restrictions on where they can work, according to findings by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China.
Two Myanmar journalists arrested on criminal defamation charges
New York, November 14, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Myanmar authorities to release Than Htut Aung, chief executive of Eleven Media Group, and Wai Phyo, chief editor of the group’s publication Daily Eleven. The journalists were detained November 11 and are being held in pretrial detention after being charged with criminal defamation,…
Journalists detained during Egypt’s day of protests
Four journalists were detained November 11 amid a heavy deployment of security forces in Egypt’s cities in response to calls for nationwide protests over economic reforms. The protests were fewer and smaller than anticipated, but journalists were still harassed and, in some cases, arrested, according to local and international media. One journalist remains in custody.…
Indian journalist murdered in Bihar
New York, November 14, 2016–Authorities in India’s Bihar state should credibly investigate and swiftly bring to justice all those responsible for the murder of journalist Dharmendra Singh, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Three men on November 12 shot Singh, a reporter for the national, Hindi-language newspaper Dainik Bhaskar, near his home in Sasaram,…
Sri Lankan government blocks Tamil website
Sri Lankan regulators blocked access to a Tamil-language news website on October 26, 2016, over allegations that the website carried false information and incited ethnic hatred, according to news reports and the website’s editor, who is based overseas and who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal. The order to block the site…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of November 13
Two years in prison for newspaper editor Diyarbakır’s Fourth Court for Serious Crimes yesterday sentenced İsmail Çoban, responsible news editor of the Kurdish-language daily newspaper Azadiya Welat to two years and four months in prison for “propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization,” the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the Turkish government classifies as a terrorist group.
CPJ calls on Mauritania to release blogger who faces death penalty
In a joint letter, CPJ calls on Mauritania’s President to help secure the release of blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed, also known as Mohamed Ould M’Kaitir. Mauritania’s Supreme Court is due to review Mohamed’s case on November 15. The blogger faces the death penalty.
Journalist attacked at U.S. protest
New York, November 11, 2016–Four masked men attacked freelance photojournalist Kyle Ludowitz yesterday as he photographed protesters looting and vandalizing businesses in the U.S. city of Oakland, California, the journalist told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Ludowitz was treated for a broken cheekbone following the incident, he said.
Chechen court to hear reporter’s appeal of conviction on retaliatory charges
New York, November 11, 2016–Chechen authorities should drop all charges against Zhalaudi Geriyev, a contributor to the independent regional news website Kavkazsky Uzel, and unconditionally release the journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Chechen Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Geriyev’s appeal on November 15, according to his editor.