March 2020 - Page 4 of 9 - Committee to Protect Journalists

Security forces are seen in Niamey, Niger, on March 15, 2020. Police recently arrested journalist Kaka Touda Mamane Goni over his posts on social media about the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP/Boureima Hama)

Journalist Kaka Touda Mamane Goni arrested in Niger over COVID-19 report

March 24, 2020 4:20 PM EDT

New York, March 24, 2020 — Authorities in Niger should immediately release journalist Kaka Touda Mamane Goni and halt legal proceedings against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

A woman wearing a protective mask is seen on a bus in Moscow, Russia, on March 23, 2020. Russia's media regulator recently censored two outlets reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak. (Reuters/Evgenia Novozhenina)

Russian media regulator orders 2 outlets to take down COVID-19 reports

March 24, 2020 1:00 PM EDT

Vilnius, Lithuania, March 24, 2020 — Russian authorities should stop censoring news outlets reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak and allow journalists to report freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban is seen in the House of Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on March 23, 2020. The parliament is considering amendments to the country's penal code that could imprison journalists covering the COVID-19 outbreak. (AP/Tamas Kovacs/MTI)

Proposed Hungarian laws could imprison journalists covering coronavirus response

March 24, 2020 10:30 AM EDT

Berlin, March 24, 2020 — Hungarian lawmakers should not pass amendments to the country’s criminal code that threaten journalists with prison sentences for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov is seen in Bishkek on December 25, 2019. Khadicha Askarova, the wife of imprisoned journalist Azimjon Askarov, recently wrote a letter to Jeenbekov pleading for the journalist’s release. (AFP/Vyacheslav Oseledko)

Wife of imprisoned journalist Azimjon Askarov calls for his release as COVID-19 hits Kyrgyzstan

March 23, 2020 3:15 PM EDT

On March 11, Khadicha Askarova, the wife of imprisoned journalist Azimjon Askarov, wrote a letter to Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov pleading for the journalist’s release.

Members of the media watch as the Olympic Flame is transported to Japan, at Haneda international airport in Tokyo on March 18, 2020. CPJ recently joined a call for transparency and press freedom at the Olympics and other major sporting events. (Reuters/Issei Kato)

CPJ joins call for transparency in Olympics and other sport events amid COVID-19

March 23, 2020 2:51 PM EDT

The Sport and Rights Alliance, a coalition of non-governmental organizations co-founded by the Committee to Protect Journalists, issued a statement on March 20 calling on global sports organizations to maintain high standards of transparency and press accessibility amid the COVID-19 pandemic as assessments are made around sporting events, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls wear face masks during celebrations of the Purim festival in Bnei Brak, Israel, on March 10, 2020. CPJ recently spoke with Laura Adkins, an Orthodox Jewish editor at the Jewish Telegraph Agency. (AP/Oded Balilty)

Q&A: Covering the coronavirus outbreak in the Orthodox Jewish community

March 23, 2020 1:15 PM EDT

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Laura E. Adkins edited opinion pieces for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a syndicated nonprofit wire service that runs articles in Jewish publications. But as the virus has taken root in a number of Jewish communities in the United States and around the world, Adkins, who is based in New York and…

Bolivarian National Guards use a water cannon to spray disinfectant as a preventive measure against the spread of the new coronavirus, in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, March 21, 2020. (AP/Matias Delacroix)

Venezuelan journalist arrested by special forces following coronavirus coverage

March 22, 2020 4:21 PM EDT

Miami, March 22, 2020 — Venezuelan authorities must immediately release journalist Darvinson Rojas and ensure that the media can cover the coronavirus outbreak in the country without fear of retribution, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

A journalist is seen filming a conference in Beijing, China, on January 26, 2020. The Chinese government recently ordered the dismissal of local staffers at several U.S. news outlets in Beijing. (Reuters/Thomas Peter)

Beijing dismisses Chinese news assistants working for U.S. bureaus

March 20, 2020 4:09 PM EDT

Washington, D.C., March 20, 2020 — The Chinese government should immediately reverse the dismissals of Chinese employees working for U.S. news organizations in Beijing, and stop creating obstacles to news gathering by foreign outlets in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

A member of the Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas is seen in the southern Gaza Strip on June 23, 2019. Journalist Yasser Abu Athara was recently assaulted by security forces while covering a protest related to the COVID-19 outbreak. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

Gaza police assault journalist Yasser Abu Athara while covering COVID-19 protest

March 20, 2020 1:05 PM EDT

On March 15, 2020, Hamas-controlled security forces in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah assaulted Yasser Abu Athara, a camera operator for the Kan’an News Agency news website, while he was covering a protest against local authorities’ decision to turn two schools into quarantine centers for people infected with COVID-19, according to news reports,…

An Iranian woman wearing a protective face mask chooses traditional items ahead of Nowruz, the national New Year celebration, at the Tajrish Bazaar in the capital Tehran on March 19, 2020, despite the heavy death toll due the novel coronavirus in the country. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the government has covered up crucial information and threatened journalists. (AFP/Stringer)

Amid coronavirus pandemic, Iran covers up crucial information and threatens journalists

March 20, 2020 12:53 PM EDT

In recent months, the stability of the Iranian government has been threatened by widespread protests in late 2019 and the shooting down of a Ukrainian civilian aircraft in January 2020 amid heightened tensions with the U.S. The latest threat is the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit Iran harder than any country except China or Italy.…