2018
Journalists, press freedom take center stage for Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration
New York, December 31, 2018–The 2019 Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York City will ring in the year with a celebration of press freedom and the importance of journalism. Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, the co-organizers of the iconic annual event, have chosen the Committee to Protect Journalists as this…
CPJ Insider: 2018 Year-End Edition
CPJ believes that all journalists should be able to report freely and safely without any fear of harassment or retaliation. That is why we do what we do. Yet our work is made possible only with your support. So, as we look back today on some highlights of 2018, we thank you for standing with…
Ahead of inauguration day, Brazilian media braces for Bolsonaro
Long before one of their photographers was harassed on election night in Brazil, the editors at Fortaleza newspaper O Povo were meeting with their readers and staff to discuss the increasingly polarized environment and how to deal with it.
Nicaraguan police raid independent news station, arrest two journalists
New York, December 22, 2018–Nicaraguan police last night entered the offices of 100% Noticias, a privately owned cable and internet news station in Managua, ordered the station off the air, and arrested the channel’s director Miguel Mora and news director Lucía Pineda Ubau, according to news reports. In a court appearance this morning, authorities charged…
Three Palestinian photojournalists injured covering Gaza protests since November 19
Rashid Rasheed, a photojournalist and cameraman for the Associated Press news agency, was hit in his left leg by a live round fired by the Israel Defense Forces while covering a protest on a beach near the border fence west of the northern Gazan city of Beit Lahia on November 19, 2018, according to news…
Lesotho military spokesman threatens investigative journalist
New York, December 21, 2018–Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane must repudiate threats made by the military against Lesotho Times investigative journalist Pascalinah Kabi and ensure that the press can function without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Severed human head and threat left outside Tamaulipas newspaper office
Mexico City, December 21, 2018–Mexican authorities must immediately take all necessary actions to guarantee the safety of journalists in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas state, after a severed human head was left outside the offices of a local newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
In Zambia, journalist jailed for 18 months for contempt of court
Nairobi, December 21, 2018–Zambia’s Supreme Court yesterday sentenced Derrick Sinjela, editor-in-chief of the privately owned Rainbow Newspaper, to 18 months in prison for contempt of court. Sinjela was convicted in September in relation to articles that accused the Supreme Court of corruption and questioned its handling of a case between two private companies, said Hyde…
Sudan must stop trying to censor newspapers, websites
Washington D.C, December 21, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Sudanese authorities to stop trying to stifle news coverage of this week’s widespread anti-government protests. Internet service in Sudan, including access to social media websites, was disrupted today, according to Access Now and NetBlocks, two organizations that track internet shutdowns. Yesterday, the local…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of December 16, 2018
Journalist jailed over unpaid fines Hakan Gülseven, a journalist who used to work for the pro-opposition (CHP) daily Yurt, was imprisoned on December 20 after failing to pay 31,500 Turkish lira (US$5,974) in three unpaid fines over charges of insult, the news website Artı Gerçek reported.