The #HoldTheLine Coalition demands the Philippines authorities drop a barrage of bogus tax and foreign ownership cases against internationally celebrated journalist Maria Ressa and Rappler – the news organisation she founded. “The prosecution of baseless financial charges and cases represents an attempt to use tax law and foreign ownership regulations as another weapon to criminalise…
New York, July 20, 2020 — Ukrainian authorities should ensure journalist Katerina Sergatskova’s safety and investigate the threats against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 11, Roman Skrypin, a local journalist, posted on Facebook–where he has more than 130,000 followers–a photo of Sergatskova, chief editor of independent news site Zaborona, along…
New York, July 20, 2020 – Zimbabwean authorities should immediately release independent investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and drop the incitement charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 11 a.m. today, Chin’ono posted two short messages on his Twitter account, which are no longer available after his account was later deactivated,…
The slugfest between China and the U.S. over the treatment of media workers in each country appears to have paused. Rather than expel each other’s journalists, as they did a few months ago, each side in early July imposed registration and reporting requirements on those remaining—still many more Chinese in the U.S. than Americans in…
Managua, Nicaragua, July 19, 2020–Honduran journalist David Romero Ellner died yesterday around 7 a.m. of respiratory failure after contracting COVID-19 while imprisoned at the Támara National Penitentiary, according to newspaper La Prensa. Authorities had transferred Romero to the National Cardiopulmonary Institute on July 5, according to newspaper El Heraldo. “We are shocked and saddened by…
From July 9 to 13, 2020, at least eight Nepalese cable and satellite operators stopped airing broadcasts from about 20 Indian news channels, following reports perceived to be critical of Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, according to news reports. The vice-chair of Nepalese cable company Max TV, Dhruba Sharma, said that on July…
New York, July 17, 2020–The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the National Press Photographers Association, and the Committee to Protect Journalists will lead a series of training sessions from July 28–August 7 for journalists covering the 2020 national political conventions. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 17–20, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,…
On July 9, 2020, the Lebanese attorney general’s office filed criminal charges against Neshan Der Haroutiounian, a Lebanese-Armenian TV host, for his remarks about Turkish President Erdoğan, and set a date for his trial at Beirut’s Publications Court on October 8, according to news reports. The charges stemmed from a July 11 filing by Muhammad…
New York, July 16, 2020 – Gaza authorities should immediately lift their bans on the Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath broadcasters and allow them to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip, which is run by Hamas, banned the Saudi-funded news channels from working in Gaza, and…