February 2019 - Page 3 of 6 - Committee to Protect Journalists

Protesters hold copies of Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet during a demonstration in front of a courthouse in Istanbul on October 31, 2017. Today, the Istanbul appeals court rejected several appeals relating to the Cumhuriyet case. (Yasin Akgul/AFP)

Turkish appeals court upholds prison sentences for Cumhuriyet staff

February 19, 2019 3:00 PM EST

Istanbul, February 19, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Istanbul appeals court’s decision today to uphold the terrorism-related convictions of the staff of pro-opposition daily newspaper Cumhuriyet.

The Cairo International Airport is pictured through the window of a plane. Two journalists were recently detained at the airport in separate cases. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

Egypt expels New York Times correspondent, detains local journalist on false news charges

February 19, 2019 2:30 PM EST

Washington, D.C., February 19, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns yesterday’s detention and expulsion of New York Times correspondent David D. Kirkpatrick and the ongoing detention of Egyptian journalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada, and calls on Egyptian authorities to allow journalists to travel into the country and report freely.

A protester uses his cell phone to film at a demonstration in Basra in January. Militias and Iraqi security forces are attacking and detaining journalists who cover protests in the city. (AFP/Hussein Faleh)

Iraqi militias use threats, violence to keep Basra press in line

February 19, 2019 1:43 PM EST

“You work against us. In your work, you criticize militias. We watched your videos and you talk against us. You will pay the price for it,” an anonymous voice said on the other end of the line to freelance reporter Azhar Al-Rubaie.

People listen to a radio in Monrovia, Liberia, on December 27, 2017. The Roots FM radio station in Monrovia was recently attacked in two separate incidents. (Thierry Gouegnon/Reuters)

Liberian radio station transmitter attacked twice in 10 days

February 15, 2019 4:20 PM EST

Abidjan, February 15, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Liberian authorities to ensure that those responsible for two recent attacks on independent broadcaster Roots FM are swiftly arrested and prosecuted.

A young man looks through a book at the Hargeisa International Book Fair in the Somaliland capital of Hargeisa on July 21, 2018. Somaliland authorities recently issued a one-year suspension of the privately owned Foore newspaper. (Mustafa Saeed/AFP)

Somaliland court suspends newspaper for one year for publishing ‘false news’

February 15, 2019 4:05 PM EST

Nairobi, February 15, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed deep concern about a one-year suspension imposed by a Somaliland court on the privately owned Foore newspaper, and called on authorities to drop the charges on appeal.

Voters line up at a polling station in Sukma in Chhattisgarh state on November 12, 2018. The state's newly elected state minister is setting up a committee to draft a journalist safety law. (AFP)

Chhattisgarh’s plan for journalist safety law could be template for all India

February 15, 2019 12:32 PM EST

Every day for two years, freelance journalist Santosh Yadav must walk the 50 or so yards from his home to the Darbha village police station in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, to sign a register. Just one missed day could immediately land him back in prison as he awaits trial on anti-terror charges. A police commander said that…

An electoral worker prepares identity card and biometric verification readers, at the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Kano, northern Nigeria, on February 14, 2019. CPJ joined a call for Nigeria to ensure that internet and social media services remain connected during the upcoming elections. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

CPJ joins call for Nigeria to ensure internet and social media services remain connected during elections

February 14, 2019 5:23 PM EST

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined more than 15 rights organizations and the #KeepItOn Coalition to call for Nigerian authorities to ensure that internet and social media services remain connected during upcoming elections, and safeguard internet speeds of websites and messaging applications. In early February, Nigeria’s federal government denied rumors of plans to shut down…

Reuters journalist Robenson Sanon holds up his blood covered arm, after he was shot while documenting clashes between national police and protesters near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on February 13, 2019. (Dieu Nalio Chery/AP)

Journalist shot in anti-government demonstrations in Haiti

February 14, 2019 3:29 PM EST

Miami, February 14, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Haitian authorities to investigate the shooting of a reporter during an anti-government demonstration and to ensure the safety of journalists covering ongoing protests.

Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui speaks during a press conference in Mexico City on June 19, 2017. The Mexican Supreme Court on February 13, 2019, declared her 2015 firing by broadcaster MVS Noticias illegal. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

CPJ welcomes Mexican Supreme Court ruling in Carmen Aristegui case

February 14, 2019 2:50 PM EST

Mexico City, February 14, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a ruling yesterday by the Mexican Supreme Court declaring that the firing of journalist Carmen Aristegui from her morning radio show on broadcaster MVS Noticias in 2015 was illegal. The verdict was first reported on Aristegui’s news website, AristeguiNoticias.

A police officer stands guard on a bridge during the 2018 Istanbul marathon. Two journalists were detained after separate raids in the city in February 2019. (AFP/Bulent Kilic)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of February 10

February 14, 2019 2:41 PM EST

Police detain two journalists in separate raids Police on February 12 detained Salih Turan, a freelance journalist who formerly worked for the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Voice of America and the Kurdish service of the Russian-state-funded outlet Sputnik, on accusations of “making propaganda of a [terrorist] organization” on social media and “being a member of a…