April 2020 - Page 3 of 12 - Committee to Protect Journalists

A police officer is seen in Lagos, Nigeria, on March 26, 2020. Police recently arrested two journalists for their work in Ebonyi state. (AFP/Pius Utomi Ekpei)

Nigerian police arrest, detain 2 journalists in Ebonyi state

April 24, 2020 10:35 AM EDT

[Editors’ Note: This article has been changed in its headline and fifth paragraph to reflect the Ebonyi governor’s more recent statements.] Abuja, April 24, 2020 — Authorities in Nigeria should stop harassing journalists Peter Okutu and Chijioke Agwu, and must cease using COVID-19-related laws to stifle the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Akash Yadav, center, a Varanasi-based journalist with Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar spoke to CPJ India Correspondent Kunal Majumder about being a victim of both local police and a private hospital lobby. (Somi Das)

Mission Journal: Journalists in India’s Uttar Pradesh say threat of attack or prosecution looms large

April 23, 2020 12:30 PM EDT

Also available in हिंदी में On March 26, two days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a national lockdown to control the spreading of COVID-19, Hindi-language daily Jansandesh Times reported that a tribe in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh state, didn’t have enough to eat due to the sudden announcement and that children were eating grass.…

AFP photographer Diptendu Dutta works during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 in Siliguri, India, on April 10, 2020. Freelance journalists have faced risks to their lives and livelihoods amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP)

Freelance journalists risk lives and livelihoods amid COVID-19 pandemic

April 23, 2020 11:15 AM EDT

Johannesburg-based freelance journalist Yeshiel Panchia was on his way to cover a story about a local developer who had found a way to keep his wage laborers employed during South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown by letting them live on the construction site so that they didn’t have to leave “home” in contravention of strict rules.

Employees are seen at the control room of Greek broadcaster Skai in Athens on August 30, 2016. Two bombs recently exploded at the Skai offices. (Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis)

Bombs explode outside offices of Greek newspaper and TV station

April 23, 2020 10:55 AM EDT

In the early hours of April 18, 2020, two fire bombs exploded outside the Athens offices of the Skai Media Group, which houses the daily Kathimerini newspaper and the Skai radio and TV broadcaster, according to a report by Kathimerini.

A security officer is seen in Najaf, Iraq, on February 24, 2020. Najaf-based reporter Ali al-Haj was recently threatened over his reporting. (Reuters/Alaa al-Marjani)

Iraqi reporter Ali al-Haj threatened over reporting

April 23, 2020 10:00 AM EDT

On April 16, 2020, a person who described themselves as the Sheikh of the Al-Mayah tribe texted Ali al-Haj, a reporter for the Iraqi broadcaster Al-Sharqiyya in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, demanding he stop his reporting and threatened him, according to al-Haj, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app.

Gendarmes are seen in Antananarivo, Magascar, on April 7, 2020. Madagascar authorities recently jailed journalist Arphine Helisoa on false news and incitement allegations. (AFP/Rijasolo)

Madagascar journalist Arphine Helisoa jailed on false news, incitement allegation

April 22, 2020 2:18 PM EDT

New York, April 22, 2020 — Authorities in Madagascar should immediately release journalist Arphine Helisoa and halt the legal proceedings against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Police officers are seen Srinagar, Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir state, on March 31, 2020. Jammu and Kashmir police recently launched an investigation into journalist Gowhar Geelani. (AFP/Tauseef Mustafa)

Jammu and Kashmir police launch investigation into journalist Gowhar Geelani

April 22, 2020 2:00 PM EDT

New Delhi, April 22, 2020 — Authorities in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir should stop harassing journalists with police investigations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Security forces are seen in Algiers, Algeria, on April 8, 2020. Algerian authorities recently blocked three news websites in the country and passed legislation criminalizing "fake news." (AP/Toufik Doudou)

Algeria blocks 3 news websites and criminalizes false news

April 22, 2020 1:39 PM EDT

New York, April 22, 2020 — Algerian authorities must immediately unblock the news websites Interlignes, Maghreb Emergent, and Radiom, and ensure that all media outlets can publish online freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Hungarian journalist Csaba Lukács recently spoke to CPJ about the challenges of covering the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: CPJ)

Hungarian journalist Csaba Lukács on covering COVID-19 amid attacks on independent media

April 22, 2020 10:55 AM EDT

In 2018, a group of conservative journalists opposed to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his right-wing government launched Magyar Hang, an independent weekly magazine. Since then, government officials and their supporters have repeatedly harassed employees of the magazine, calling them “traitors” for opposing Orbán, accusing them of spreading fake news, and threatening them with…

Security forces are seen in Kampala, Uganda, on April 4, 2020. Security forces throughout the country recently attacked and harassed journalists covering the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters/Abubaker Lubowa)

Ugandan security personnel enforcing COVID-19 measures assault journalists

April 22, 2020 10:35 AM EDT

Nairobi, April 22, 2020 — Ugandan authorities must investigate security forces’ recent attacks against journalists and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.