2016
Venezuela’s national assembly reopens to the press after five-year ban
When security guards opened the doors to Venezuela’s colonial-era National Assembly building last Wednesday, I was among the dozens of reporters who swarmed inside. Even though the day’s legislative session would not be called to order for another three hours, every seat in the press galley, located on the second-floor balcony overlooking the chamber, was…
Critical reporter shot dead in Oaxaca, Mexico
Mexico City, January 26, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Mexican authorities to investigate the murder of Marcos Hernández Bautista, including the possibility that he was killed for his work as a journalist, find all those responsible, and bring them to justice.
As editor-informant Li Xin disappears, journalists share their experiences with China’s security services
The case of Li Xin, a journalist who disappeared in Thailand in January after telling the international press in November he had fled China after being forced to work for years as a government informant, has shed light on the pressures some journalists face to provide information to the authorities.
South Korean court finds blogger guilty of blogging positively about North Korea
New York, January 22–The Seoul Western District Court on January 21 found a 73-year-old, South Korean journalist guilty of blogging positively about North Korea and handed him a one-year suspended prison sentence, according to news reports. The court acquitted the journalist, identified only by his surname Lee in the South Korean media to protect his…
Three journalists face military trial in Cameroon
New York, January 21, 2016– The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Cameroonian authorities to drop all charges against three journalists for failing to disclose information to the state. The three are scheduled to stand trial before a military court on Friday.
How U.S. copyright law is being used to take down Correa’s critics in Ecuador
On December 30, César Ricaurte, the executive director of Fundamedios, received a copyright complaint with the potential to close his entire website. The complaint, filed on behalf of Ecuador’s communications regulator SECOM by a company called Ares Rights, ordered the independent press freedom group to remove an image of President Rafael Correa from its website,…
Two journalists missing, believed abducted in Yemen
New York, January 21, 2016 – Two journalists and a driver have gone missing and are believed to have been abducted in the Yemeni city of Taiz, their respective employers reported today. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for their immediate release and for anyone with information on their whereabouts to come forward.
Tanzania imposes permanent ban on weekly newspaper
New York, January 21, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Tanzania to end their harassment of the weekly newspaper Mawio. The Kiswahili-language newspaper was permanently banned from publishing in print and online Friday and two of its editors were briefly detained, according to reports.
CPJ urges Putin to ensure Chechen officials cease harassing journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists writes to Russian President Vladimir Putin to express its deep concern at the menacing language employed on social media and in the press by officials in Chechnya against critical journalists and rights activists.