2020
Honduras enacts penal code maintaining ‘crimes against honor’
New York, June 26, 2020 – In response to yesterday’s enactment of a new penal code in Honduras that maintains criminal penalties for so-called “crimes against honor,” including insult and slander, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Honduran lawmakers and President Juan Orlando Hernández had plenty of time to do the right…
Photojournalist Christoff Griffith killed at crime scene in Barbados
Miami, June 26, 2020 – Authorities in Barbados must thoroughly investigate the killing of photojournalist Christoff Griffith and ensure those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Griffith is the first journalist CPJ has recorded as killed in relation to his work in Barbados. On June 22, in St. Michael,…
Slovak investigative reporter Peter Sabo receives pistol cartridge in mailbox
Berlin, June 26, 2020 — Slovak authorities should conduct a quick and thorough investigation into threats to journalist Peter Sabo and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, Sabo, a reporter for online news site Aktuality.sk, found a pistol cartridge in his mailbox in Bratislava, according to a report from his…
Tanzanian government revokes license of Tanzania Daima newspaper
Nairobi, June 26, 2020 – Tanzanian authorities should immediately restore Tanzania Daima’s license and allow all newspapers to publish freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In a June 23 statement, Tanzania’s Information Services Department, which registers print media, announced it would revoke Tanzania Daima’s distribution and publication license as of June 24, according…
Kyrgyzstan draft legislation empowers government to block ‘false information’ online
New York, June 25, 2020 – Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov should reject recently proposed legislation that would mark a serious step toward curtailing press freedom in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, the country’s parliament held the second and third readings of proposed legislation called “On Manipulating Information” and passed it…
Venezuelan journalists charged under anti-hate law, held on house arrest
Miami, June 25, 2020 — Venezuelan authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalists María Luisa “Mimi” Arriaga and Marco Aurelio Antoima, and stop using the country’s anti-hate law to persecute the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 18, agents from the Venezuelan judicial police raided Arriaga’s home in the El…
African regional court rules Togo 2017 internet shutdown was illegal
New York, June 25, 2020 — In response to the Economic Community of West African States Community Court of Justice’s ruling today that Togolese authorities illegally shut down the country’s internet in September 2017, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Today’s court decision is a welcome reaffirmation that internet shutdowns pose a…
At least 5 journalists sentenced to jail in Iran since early June
Since the beginning of June, Iranian authorities have sentenced at least five journalists to prison sentences for their work, according to news reports and social media posts by the journalists. On June 1, Branch 46 of Tehran’s Court of Appeals sentenced Majid Motalebzadeh, editor of the state-run Sedaye Eslahat newspaper, and Hadi Kasaeizadeh, the former…
German injunction against BuzzFeed story in place since September due to COVID-19
On September 18, 2019, the Berlin Regional Court issued a temporary injunction ordering BuzzFeed Germany, the local branch of the U.S. media outlet, to remove two articles from its website, according to news reports from the time. Due to the country’s lockdown to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the court has not held…
Bosnia and Herzegovina journalist Nikola Vučić receives death threats
On May 26, 2020, multiple anonymous and pseudonymous Facebook and Twitter users sent threatening messages to Nikola Vučić, a reporter and presenter for the privately owned N1 TV station, according to the journalist, who communicated with CPJ via email, and a report by SafeJournalists.net, a regional press freedom group. One anonymous Twitter user sent Vučić…