2017
Ukraine police see journalism as motive in Pavel Sheremet’s murder
New York, February 8, 2017–Ukrainian investigators’ announcement today that they consider Pavel Sheremet’s journalism as the most likely motive in his July 2016 murder is a welcome step toward bringing his killers to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov told journalists in Kiev that police believe Sheremet, who…
Shots fired at Colombian journalist
Unidentified men riding a motorcycle on January 27, 2017, fired gunshots at Edwin Montiel, news director of the radio station Frontera Stereo, in the northern Colombian city of Maicao, according to news reports. Montiel, who often reports on criminal gangs and smuggling in Maicao, a town located near the Venezuelan border, was unhurt in the…
Belarusian court rules to extradite blogger to Azerbaijan
New York, February 7, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned today’s decision by the Supreme Court of Belarus to extradite Russian-Israeli blogger Aleksandr Lapshin to Azerbaijan to stand trial for traveling to the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and for criticizing Azerbaijani policies.
Kenyan court finds criminal libel laws unconstitutional
New York, February 6, 2017–Today’s ruling by Kenya’s High Court that the country’s criminal defamation law is unconstitutional is a welcome step toward safeguarding press freedom and free speech, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of February 5
German court upholds partial ban on poem satirizing Erdoğan A court in the German city of Hamburg today upheld a previous court’s ban on comedian Jan Böhmermann’s reciting 18 of 24 verses of a poem satirizing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that the comedian recited on television last year, according to press reports. Erdoğan pressed…
Surveillance of journalists and court orders puts Canada’s press freedom at risk
On February 6, VICE News reporter Ben Makuch is due to appear in court to appeal an order requesting that he hand over details of his communication with a source. The hearing comes ahead of a day of action being planned in Canada for February 25, when press freedom and privacy activists are due to…
British photographer wounded in eastern Ukraine
New York, February 3, 2017–British freelance photographer Christopher Nunn was injured last night while covering shelling in the eastern Ukrainian town Avdiivka, according to press reports. “I am alive,” the photographer wrote on Twitter after the incident. His translator Vladimir Subotovsky told CPJ today that Nunn was in stable condition after undergoing eye surgery.
Bangladeshi journalist fatally shot covering street battles
Washington, D.C., February 3, 2017–Bangladeshi authorities should vigorously investigate and bring to justice those responsible for killing Abdul Hakim Shimul, a journalist for the daily Samakal newspaper, who died today from gunshot wounds sustained while covering political unrest yesterday, according to news reports.
CPJ Safety Advisory: US executive order on immigration
On Friday January 27, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order making significant changes to the country’s immigration system. In the week since the order was issued, there has been great uncertainty about how to interpret the changes and how these are being implemented by the U.S. agencies charged with immigration and border…