2018

  

CPJ calls on Poroshenko to hold press conference on staged murder

CPJ calls on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to hold a press conference as soon as possible to address the many outstanding questions about the staging of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko’s murder.

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The Republic monument in Antalya, Turkey in March 2018. Turkish authorities detained for several hours on May 28 journalist Ali Ergin Demirhan on suspicion that he made "propaganda for a [terrorist] organization," according to reports. (Reuters/Murad Sezer)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 28, 2018

Journalist detained Istanbul police on May 28 detained an editor for the leftist news website Sendika, Ali Ergin Demirhan, at the website’s office on suspicion of “making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization,” in relation to the journalist’s work, his employer reported.

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A Palestinian man reads a book during clashes with Israeli forces along the border with the Gaza strip east of Jabalia on May 18, 2018. An Israeli police officer assaulted a Palestinian journalist covering pro-Gaza protests in Haifa on May 18. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)

Palestinian journalist assaulted while covering pro-Gaza protests in Haifa

An Israeli police officer assaulted Palestinian reporter Nahed Dirbas, a journalist for the London-based news website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, while she was covering a protest against Israeli actions in Gaza in the Israeli city of Haifa on May 18, 2018, according to news reports, her employer, and the regional press freedom group SKeyes Center for Media…

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Vasily Gritsak, head of the Ukrainian Security Service, left, speaks to the media as Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, center, and Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko attend a news conference at the Ukrainian Security Service on May 30, 2018. Babchenko turned up at a news conference in the Ukrainian capital Wednesday less than 24 hours after police reported he had been shot and killed in Kiev. (AP/Efrem Lukatsky)

The many questions about Arkady Babchenko’s staged murder in Ukraine

Minutes after news broke that prominent Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko had been murdered in Ukraine, social media exploded with messages mourning the loss of a bright, sometimes-too-outspoken journalist. Friends and colleagues wrote moving obituaries, and groups including CPJ condemned the killing. Impromptu memorials in both Kiev and Moscow sprouted, as they all too often do,…

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A view of Mexico City, Mexico on April 24, 2018. Héctor González Antonio, a correspondent for the national newspaper Excelsior and the television broadcaster Imagen, was found dead in northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas on May 24, 2018, according to reports. (Reuters/Gustavo Graf)

Mexican journalist found dead in Tamaulipas state

Mexico City, May 30, 2018–Authorities in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas must undertake a swift and credible investigation into the death of Héctor González Antonio, a correspondent for the national newspaper Excelsior and the television broadcaster Imagen, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A view of downtown Beirut, Lebanon in October 2017. Abdel Hafez al-Houlani, a reporter for the Syrian pro-opposition news website Zaman al-Wasl, was arrested in the Wafa al-Umani refugee camp in the northeastern Lebanese city of Arsal, 77 miles (123 km) northeast of Beirut, on May 24, 2018, according to reports. (Reuters/Jekaterina Saveljeva)

Lebanese intelligence service arrests Syrian reporter near Lebanon-Syria border

Beirut, May 30, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about the arrest of Abdel Hafez al-Houlani, a reporter for the Syrian pro-opposition news website Zaman al-Wasl.

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Protesters march against government corruption in Nairobi on the 53rd anniversary of Kenya's independence on December 12, 2016. Kenyan authorities arrested blogger Cyprian Nyakundi on May 14, 2018, after his posts on alleged official corruption, and released him three days later. (AP/Ben Curtis)

Kenyan authorities arrest blogger after posts on alleged official corruption

Kenyan blogger Cyprian Nyakundi was arrested on May 14, 2018, on allegations of publishing “alarming” content about senior civil servants, according to court documents seen by the Committee to Protect Journalists. He was released on May 17 following the intervention of the director of public prosecutions, the blogger and one of his lawyers, Smith Otieno,…

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A demonstrator fires a homemade mortar toward riot police during a protest against President Daniel Ortega's government in Managua, Nicaragua, on May 28, 2018. Civilians attacked and set fire to a pro-government radio station in Managua on May 28. (Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters)

Civilians attack, set fire to pro-government radio station in Nicaragua

Bogotá, May 30, 2018–Nicaraguan authorities should investigate an attack on a pro-government radio station in Managua, the capital, hold the perpetrators to account, and ensure that journalists covering ongoing unrest in the country can work safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, who was reported killed in the Ukrainian capital on May 29, 2018, speaks during a Ukrainian state security service press briefing in Kiev on May 30, 2018, where authorities announced the staging of his assassination. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)

UPDATE: Russian journalist Babchenko’s assassination was staged

New York, May 30, 2018– Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, who had been reported shot and killed in the Ukrainian capital yesterday, has appeared alive at a televised news conference in Kiev. Vasily Gritsak, head of the Ukrainian Security Service, said the agency faked Babchenko’s death to catch those who were trying to kill him. “We…

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CPJ welcomes FIFA’s complaints mechanism for journalists covering World Cup

New York, May 29, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the launch of a complaints mechanism for media representatives and human rights defenders ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, which will enable journalists covering the World Cup and other official events to report press freedom violations directly to FIFA. In a press…

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