2017
Trial of 17 Cumhuriyet newspaper employees begins in Turkey
New York, July 24, 2017–The trial of 17 journalists, managers, and board members of the pro-opposition daily newspaper Cumhuriyet on terrorism-related charges is a further blow to press freedom in Turkey, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Journalists receive death threats in Mexican state of Quintana Roo
New York, July 21, 2017–Authorities in the southern Mexican state of Quintana Roo must undertake a swift and credible investigation into threats against two journalists and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 19, banners containing threatening messages, known as “narcomantas,” were left in two locations in Cancún, according to…
Editor of Morocco news website arrested on way to cover Rif protests
New York, July 21, 2017–Moroccan authorities should immediately release Badil Editor-in-Chief Hamid al-Mahdaoui, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police arrested al-Mahdaoui yesterday as he traveled to the Rif area of northern Morocco to cover protests, according to one of the journalist’s colleagues and news reports.
CPJ and rights groups call on President Poroshenko to prioritize Pavel Sheremet murder case
CPJ today joined seven other media rights organizations– all part of the Council of Europe’s Platform to protect journalism and promote the safety of journalists–in signing a joint letter to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The letter calls on the president to ensure an effective investigation into the murder of Pavel Sheremet, the prominent journalist murdered…
Two journalists injured as Israeli police break up Jerusalem protest
New York, July 20, 2017–Israeli authorities should ensure that journalists can cover protests and unrest safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At least two journalists were injured on July 18 as police broke up protests in Jerusalem, the local press freedom group Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedom (MADA) told CPJ.
Russian independent journalist Yulia Latynina attacked
New York, July 20, 2017 — Russian authorities should investigate an attack on prominent independent journalist and columnist Yulia Latynina, bring those responsible to justice, and ensure her safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the early hours yesterday, unknown assailants sprayed a foul-smelling substance through an open window of Latynina’s house in…
Azerbaijan court sentences blogger to three years in jail
New York, July 20, 2017–A Baku court today convicted Russian-Israeli blogger Aleksandr Lapshin to three years in jail for illegally crossing the state border, international and Azerbaijani media reported. The charges are related to three trips that Lapshin made between April 2011 and June 2016 to the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Azerbaijan and Armenia…
Q&A: Indian editor explains how threat of legal action is used to silence journalists
On July 5, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, editor of the Economic and Political Weekly, and his colleagues Advait Rao Palepu and Shinzani Jain, received a notice from Thaker and co., a law firm representing Adani Power Ltd, that threatened legal action over a story published the month before.
