2017

  
A relative of one of the men found buried in an unmarked grave in the Mexican state of Veracruz prays at a meeting in Palmas de Abajo, March 16, 2017. The state has for years been the site of violence between organized crime syndicates. (Reuters/Carlos Jasso)

Mexican journalist Ricardo Monlui Cabrera murdered in Veracruz

Mexico City, March 20, 2017–Mexican authorities should undertake a credible and thorough investigation into the murder of journalist Ricardo Monlui Cabrera, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Monlui was shot to death yesterday morning in the municipality of Yanga, in the eastern state of Veracruz, as he left a restaurant where he had eaten…

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A demonstrator walks around a bonfire to mark the spring festival of Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakır, March 21, 2016. Ethnic Kurds marked the occasion last year with a demonstration calling for the resumption of peace talks with the government. (Reuters/Sertac Kayar)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of March 19, 2017

Security forces detain reporter in southeastern Turkey Security forces in the southeastern province of Mardin today detained Dihaber reporter Murat Verim, the news agency reported. Dihaber said the arrest was part of an ongoing terrorism investigation.

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Justin Brake interviews protesters at Muskrat Falls, Labrador, in the fall of 2016. (Janet Cooper)

Canadian reporter faces charges after covering protests

New York, March 17, 2017–Canadian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalist Justin Brake, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Brake is scheduled to appear in court on April 11 to answer charges of criminal mischief and contempt of court in connection with his reporting on a protest in the eastern Canadian province…

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In this still image created from a video, a police officer grabs AFP photographer Tauseef Mustafa by the throat on March 16, 2017, in Srinagar, India.

Police prevent journalists from attending press conference in Kashmir

Washington D.C., March 17, 2017–Police in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir should allow journalists to work without harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today, and should take disciplinary action against officers filmed attacking journalists yesterday.

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Flames from a battle between rival armed groups are seen from a distance in Tripoli, Libya, August 24, 2014. (Reuters/Ismail Zetouni)

Libyan TV channel attacked, burned

New York, March 17, 2017–Armed men attacked the Tripoli office of the Libyan TV channel Al-Nabaa and set the building on fire, according to journalists for the station, news reports, and the Libyan Center for Freedom of the Press, an advocacy group. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on authorities in Tripoli to investigate…

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Theresa May, pictured in Brussels in March 2016. Her government is proposing an Espionage Act under which journalists who obtain leaked information could face lengthy prison sentences. (AP/Virginia Mayo,File)

UK’s proposed Espionage Act will treat journalists like spies

Journalists in Britain are becoming increasingly alarmed by the government’s apparent determination to prevent them from fulfilling their mission to hold power to account. The latest manifestation of this assault on civil liberties is the so-called Espionage Act. If passed by parliament, it could lead to journalists who obtain leaked information, along with the whistle…

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, left, at the opening of the Human Rights Council in Geneva in February. The council is due to vote on renewing the mandate of a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran. (AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)

CPJ joins call to renew mandate of Iran human rights rapporteur

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 40 human rights groups calling on the U.N. Human Rights Council to support the resolution to renew the mandate of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A vote on the resolution is scheduled to take place during the…

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Journalist arrested in Moscow on Belarusian extradition request

New York, March 15, 2017–Russian authorities should immediately release Yuriy Baranchik, chief analytical editor of the pro-Kremlin Russian news agency Regnum, and allow him to work unobstructed, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A guard stands in a hallway in the women's section of Tehran's Evin Prison, June 13, 2006. Journalist and activist Hengameh Shahidi was transferred to the prison last week. (Reuters/Morteza Nikoubazi)

Iranian journalists arrested ahead of elections

New York, March 15, 2017–Iranian authorities should immediately release Ehsan Mazandarani, Hengameh Shahidi, and all journalists jailed for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The arrests come ahead of presidential elections scheduled for May.

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer talks to the media during the daily briefing. President Trump and his administration have accused critical outlets of being fake news. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Deciding who decides which news is fake

Authorities decry the proliferation of misinformation and propaganda on the internet, and technology companies are wrestling with various measures to combat fake news. But addressing the problem without infringing on the right to free expression and the free flow of information is extremely thorny.

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