2017
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 21, 2017
Two journalists arraigned, finance manager released A court in Istanbul arraigned Gökmen Ulu and Mediha Olgun, journalists for the secularist, nationalist daily Sözcü, one of the last remaining widely circulated newspapers to be consistently critical of the government, on charges of “committing a crime in the name of a [terrorist] organization without being a member,…
How US Espionage Act can be used against journalists covering leaks
Earlier this week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly joked about Trump using a saber on the press and U.S. Senator Jim Risch told CNN the press should be questioning the Washington Post about its sources. Then, on May 16, The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump allegedly asked former FBI director…
TV cameraman wounded in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region
Davit Atoyan, a cameraman for the independent Armenian television station Shant, was wounded in both legs on May 10, 2017 in Nagorno-Karabakh, when the Azerbaijani military opened fire on a vehicle he was in, according to media reports and his employer.
Bangladeshi embassies told to monitor journalists traveling abroad
Washington, D.C., May 19, 2017–The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry should immediately and publicly rescind its instructions to the country’s embassies to monitor journalists traveling abroad, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Nigerian blogger still in prison, one month after granted bail
Uyo, Nigeria, May 19, 2017–Nigerian authorities should immediately release blogger Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo, in accordance with two court orders granting her bail, and prosecutors should drop all criminal charges against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Omololu-Olunloyo, who runs the blog HNN Africa, has been jailed for 69 days pending trial, despite two court…
Cambodian minister threatens to close media outlets that defy sweeping election rules
Bangkok, May 19, 2017–Cambodian authorities should allow media outlets to cover local elections freely and without fear of closure for running afoul of overly broad guidelines restricting election coverage, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Cambodian Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith last week threatened to shutter media outlets that disobey guidelines for covering the…
AP photographer shot covering West Bank protest
New York, May 18, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Israeli authorities to apprehend and try the man who shot Associated Press photographer Majdi Mohammed in the hand and killed a Palestinian protester near the northern West Bank city of Nablus today.