2017

  
Harlem Désir, pictured at France's National Assembly in Paris in July 2016, says he is committed to standing up for journalists in his new role as OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. (AFP/Jacques Demarthon)

Q&A: Impunity and journalist safety are priority says new OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media plays a vital role that is valued by journalists and media freedom groups for its ability to speak out in defense of press freedom in participating states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

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Thai columnist Pravit Rojanaphruk raises his hands, stained by ink from being fingerprinted, at the Royal Thai Police's Technology Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, August 8, 2017. (Pravit Rojanaphruk)

Thai columnist Pravit Rojanaphruk charged with two cases of sedition

Washington, D.C., August 8, 2017–Thai authorities should immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Pravit Rojanaphruk, a columnist at the news website Khaosod English, and allow the journalist to work freely and without further harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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The staff of embattled independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta pose for a photograph in Moscow in 2006. (AFP/Sergey Kuznetsov)

Uzbek journalist at risk of deportation allegedly tortured in Russia

New York, August 7, 2017–Russian authorities should credibly investigate allegations that bailiffs tortured Uzbek journalist Khudoberdi Nurmatov, and should not deport him to Uzbekistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in Moscow is scheduled to hear the journalist’s appeal of the order to deport him tomorrow, according to media reports.

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Campaign posters for local candidates are attached to pole in Nakuru. Several journalists say they have been threatened or attacked while covering the run up to Kenya's August 8 elections. (Reuters/Baz Ratner)

Amid tensions ahead of Kenyan vote, journalists face violence and threats

When a fight broke out during a political rally for Kenya’s Orange Democratic Movement in Kakamega county on May 4, Shaban Makokha was taking pictures for his newspaper, the Daily Nation. Makokha told CPJ that when police arrived to break up the fight, they demanded that he stop taking pictures, even after he identified himself…

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The Philippines ranks fourth on CPJ's most recent global Impunity Index, a measure of countries where journalists are killed and their murderers go free. Here, Filipino journalists escort the coffin of slain news reporter Alex Balcoba during his funeral in Manila, June 1, 2016. (Reuters/Romeo Ranoco)

Reporter shot and killed in the Philippines

Bangkok, August 7, 2017–A Filipino journalist was shot and killed today while riding a motorcycle in the town of President Quirino, on the southern island of Mindanao, news reports said. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the killing and called on Philippine authorities to identify the assailants and swiftly bring them to justice.

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In this 2009 file photo, Palestinian journalists work in the Ramallah office of Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain blocked access to Al-Jazeera's websites on May 24, 2017. (Reuters/Fadi Arouri)

Israel should abandon plans to close, censor Al-Jazeera

Washington, D.C., August 6, 2017–Israeli authorities should abandon efforts to close Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera’s offices, revoke its journalists’ credentials, and censor its transmissions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Communications Minister Ayoub Kara today repeated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allegations that the station supports terrorism, and said the government wanted satellite and cable companies…

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U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C., August 4, 2017. (AFP/Alex Wong)

Trump administration says it is pursuing 3 times as many leak investigations as predecessor

New York, August 4, 2017–Relaxing U.S. government guidelines to make it easier for investigators to subpoena journalists and their records would have a chilling effect on press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a news conference today that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is pursuing three times…

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A protester carrying a defaced Chinese national flag is blocked by a police officer during a march to mourn the death of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, in Hong Kong, July 15, 2017. A court in Dali, China, on August 3, 2017, sentenced journalist Lu Yuyu to four years in prison for his work documenting protests on social media. (Reuters/Bobby Yip)

China sentences journalist Lu Yuyu to four years in prison

Washington, D.C., August 4, 2017–A Chinese court’s sentencing of journalist Lu Yuyu to four years in prison is a further heavy blow to press freedom in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Security forces detain protesters in Kinshasa, July 31, 2017. (Reuters/Kenny Katombe)

Journalists detained, harassed, beaten covering Congo protests

New York, August 3, 2017–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo should cease harassing and detaining journalists and should allow them to cover protests and other events of public interest without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A member of the Journalists Union of Turkey TGS holds a sign reading "Enough" in a protest in Istanbul to mark World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2017. (Reuters/Murad Sezer)

French journalist jailed in Turkey pending terrorism trial

New York, August 3, 2017–Turkish authorities should immediately release French freelance journalist Loup Bureau, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in Turkey’s southeastern Şırnak province yesterday ordered the journalist jailed pending trial on terrorism charges, according to press reports.

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