January 2019 - Page 5 of 8 - Committee to Protect Journalists

Members of Libyan security forces loyal to Libyan National Army head Khalifa Haftar operate turrets mounted on pickup trucks in eastern Libya in October 2018. A photojournalist was detained on December 20, 2018, in the eastern city of Ajdabiya. (AFP/Abdullah Doma)

Local journalist detained in eastern Libya since December 20

January 16, 2019 4:55 PM EST

New York, January 16, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Libyan National Army to release journalist Ismail Bouzreeba al-Zway, who was detained December 20 in the eastern Libyan city of Ajdabiya, according to news reports, local press organizations, and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya.

In response to a Rise Project report alleging corruption, based on documents provided in a suitcase, party leader Liviu Dragnea carried a case of donuts into parliament, which he said were from the investigative outlet. (Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)

In Romania, EU data protection law used to try to muzzle Rise Project

January 16, 2019 12:36 PM EST

Finding a suitcase full of documents is every journalist’s dream. But for the investigative outlet Rise Project, it quickly turned into a legal nightmare after Romanian authorities filed a complaint under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ordering the outlet to reveal its sources or pay a fine of up to 20 million euros…

A Palestinian man reads a newspaper outside his store in Gaza City. The executive director of the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate was recently detained and beaten by security forces in Gaza.

Hamas forces detain and allegedly assault director of Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate

January 16, 2019 12:10 PM EST

Beirut, January 16, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the detention and alleged assault of Louay al-Ghoul, the executive director of the Gaza branch of the Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, a journalists’ union.

CPJ calls on Jammu and Kashmir governor to release journalist Aasif Sultan

January 15, 2019 3:03 PM EST

CPJ calls on the governor of India’s Jammu and Kashmir state to release journalist Aasif Sultan, who has been held by state police since August 2018, and drop all legal proceedings against him.

A policeman patrols in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. On January 11, 2019, the Honduran supreme court sentenced journalist David Romero Ellner to 10 years in prison on criminal defamation charges. (Reuters/Jorge Cabrera)

Honduras court upholds journalist’s 10-year prison sentence for defamation

January 15, 2019 2:58 PM EST

New York, January 15, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the Honduran Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a 2016 ruling sentencing journalist David Romero Ellner to 10 years in prison on criminal defamation charges.

Investigative journalist Jovo Martinović is appealing an 18-month prison sentence in Montenegro. (Family handout)

Montenegro jails investigative journalist who reports on organized crime

January 15, 2019 1:43 PM EST

New York, January 15, 2019–A Montenegro court today convicted investigative journalist Jovo Martinović of drug trafficking and being a member of a criminal group, and sentenced him to 18 months in prison, regional media reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the sentence and called on authorities to not contest the journalist’s appeal.

A Russian traffic police officer stands guard as vehicles drive past in central Moscow. In Far Eastern Russia, a blogger was recently detained by authorities, ostensibly for a traffic violation. He maintains that the arrest is linked to a video he shared online. (Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

Russia jails blogger for 10 days after sharing video online

January 15, 2019 1:30 PM EST

New York, January 15, 2019 – Russian authorities should immediately release blogger Viktor Toroptsev from jail, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in the city of Amursk, in the Far Eastern region of Khabarovsk, handed a 10-day sentence to Toroptsev yesterday, ostensibly for a traffic violation, after he shared a video on…

Protesters block the main route to Zimbabwe's capital Harare from Epworth township on January 14, 2019, after the government more than doubled the price of fuel. On January 15, CPJ joined more than 20 rights organizations and the #KeepItOn Coalition to call for authorities in Zimbabwe to restore internet and social media services. (AFP/Jekesai Njikizana)

CPJ joins call for Zimbabwe to restore internet and social media access

January 15, 2019 1:12 PM EST

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined more than 20 rights organizations and the #KeepItOn Coalition to call for authorities in Zimbabwe to restore internet and social media services, commit to maintaining internet access, and encourage accountability from telecommunication and internet service providers to respect human rights.

A picture taken on September 26, 2018, shows the front pages of Iranian newspapers at a newspaper stand in the capital Tehran. Iran jailed a journalist for six years over his critical writing on December 25, 2018. (AFP/Atta Kenare)

Iran jails journalist for six years over critical writing

January 14, 2019 3:58 PM EST

Washington D.C., January 14, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the harsh sentence imposed on journalist Hamed Aynehvand and called on Iran to stop persecuting the media for doing their job.

Police officers watch as anti-Brexit activists demonstrate opposite the Houses of Parliament in London on January 8, 2019. Police were called in after journalists and a member of parliament were harassed by pro-Brexit demonstrators on January 7.

Journalists verbally harassed by demonstrators in London

January 14, 2019 1:43 PM EST

On January 7, 2019, journalists working near the Parliament building in London were repeatedly verbally harassed by supporters of Brexit, the United Kingdom’s impending withdrawal from the European Union, according to news reports and the journalists’ posts on social media.