2019

  
Alerts
A security officer checks journalists' belongings at Macau International Airport on December 18, 2019. At least three journalists were recently denied entry into the territory. (Reuters/Jason Lee)

At least 3 Hong Kong journalists denied entry to Macao to cover Xi visit

Taipei, December 18, 2019 — Authorities in Macao should allow all journalists to enter and report freely from the territory, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Case
A fishmonger pictured at a bazaar in the Iranian city of Rasht, in March 2011. In 2018, Turkey extradited a journalist from Rasht whom authorities later sentenced to 10 years in prison for his work. (AFP/Behrouz Mehri)

Journalist extradited from Turkey and sentenced to 10 years in Iran

Turkish intelligence agents arrested Arash Shoa-Shargh, an Iranian journalist living in exile in Turkey, on January 5, 2018, in Van, a city near Iran’s border, a friend of the journalist, who asked not to be named to protect their safety, told CPJ on December 16, 2019.

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Alerts
Members of the Libyan internationally recognized pro-government forces are seen near Tripoli on April 10, 2019. Journalist Rida Fahil Al-Bom was recently detained in Libya. (Reuters/Hani Amara)

Journalist Rida Fahil Al-Bom detained in Libya

Washington, D.C., December 17, 2019 — Libyan authorities should immediately account for the whereabouts of journalist and press freedom advocate Rida Fahil al-Bom and do their utmost to secure his release, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Statements
Police officers chase protesters in New Delhi, India, on December 17, 2019. Several journalists have been attacked since the protests began. (AP/Manish Swarup)

Journalists attacked by police, disrupted by demonstrators while covering protests in India

New York, December 17, 2019 — Indian authorities must ensure the safety of all journalists covering protests across the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Features & Analysis
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer waits for pedestrians entering the United States on April 9, 2018 at the San Ysidro port of entry in California. Warrantless searches of devices belonging to journalists and other travelers at the border violate the U.S. constitution, a Massachusetts district court judge ruled in November. (Getty Images/AFP/Mario Tama)

Q&A: Isma’il Kushkush and Sophia Cope on U.S. court ruling against warrantless border search

Journalists crossing U.S. borders face a particular set of challenges, as CPJ has reported extensively. The U.S. government claims sweeping authority to interrogate travelers and search electronic devices without a warrant under what is known as the “border search exception.” CPJ has called this a chilling prospect for reporters in transit—especially those working with confidential…

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Press Releases

Syria, Mexico deadliest countries for journalists in 2019

As conflicts and reprisal murders decline, total number of journalists killed because of their work fell sharply New York, December 17, 2019–The number of journalists killed in the line of duty fell in 2019 to the lowest level in 17 years, as dangerous regional conflicts stabilized and the number of journalists murdered in reprisal for…

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Features & Analysis
A mural memorializing journalist Lyra McKee is pictured in central Belfast on May 7, 2019. Leona O’Neill was harassed online after reporting from the scene when McKee was shot. (AFP/Paul Faith)

Q&A: Leona O’Neill on the aftermath of Lyra McKee’s killing in Northern Ireland

Leona O’Neill was reporting in Londonderry’s Creggan estate on April 18, 2019, the night Lyra McKee, 29, was struck by a bullet. Considered a rising star in the British and Irish media, McKee was the first journalist to be killed in Northern Ireland since 2001, CPJ noted at the time.

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Features & Analysis
Flowers and crosses bear the names of journalists and human rights defenders murdered in the first three months since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office, in Mexico City in February 2019. At least two of the journalists murdered for their work in 2019 were enrolled in a safety protection mechanism. (AP/Rebecca Blackwell)

When it comes to protecting journalists, Mexico’s safety mechanism comes up short

Gildo Garza sighs when he speaks of the institution that is supposed to protect him. “I feel disappointed, depressed, desperate, and alone,” he said. “I no longer have any hope in a system that was supposed to help me build up a new life or get my old life back.”

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Alerts
A man reads a newspaper in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on December 31, 2018. Police recently arrested and detained newspaper editor Abdul Asad. (AP/Anupam Nath)

Bangladeshi court orders 3-day detention of editor Abul Asad

New York, December 16, 2019 — Bangladeshi authorities should immediately release editor Abul Asad and must protect news outlets so they can report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Alerts
Security personnel are seen in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on November 17, 2019. Journalists were recently attacked and interrogated throughout Sri Lanka. (AFP/Jewel Samad)

Journalists beaten by unidentified groups, interrogated by police in Sri Lanka

New York, December 16, 2019 — Sri Lankan authorities must thoroughly investigate several recent attacks against journalists, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that journalists can report freely in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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