2020
Kurdish Iraqi security forces arrest freelance photojournalist Qaraman Shukri at his home in northwestern Kurdistan
New York, July 8, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over the arrest by Iraqi Kurdish security forces of freelance photojournalist Qaraman Shukri. On June 27, officers with the Kurdish Asayish security force arrested Shukri, a freelance contributor to pro-Kurdistan People’s Party (PKK) news website RojNews and the broadcaster KNN, which…
Kazakhstan decriminalizes defamation, but maintains detentions, criminal penalties for speech offenses
New York, July 8, 2020 — Kazakhstan authorities should deepen their reforms on laws affecting the press and ensure that journalists are never jailed for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 27, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed into law amendments to the country’s criminal and administrative codes that decriminalized defamation, according…
Unidentified attackers shoot and kill 2 journalists in Honduras
Managua, Nicaragua, July 8, 2020 – Honduran authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalists German Vallecillo Jr. and Jorge Posas, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 1, two unidentified individuals shot Vallecillo Jr., a host for the local privately owned TV station Canal 45, and…
Three photographers arrested while covering protests in Medellín, Colombia
On June 15, 2020, police assaulted, arrested, and detained overnight photographers Harrison Agudelo, Juan Carlos Londoño, and Juan Pablo Herrera, according to Londoño who spoke to CPJ via phone and the Bogotá-based group Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP). The incident happened as the three were covering an anti-government protest in the western Colombian city of…
US intelligence community should explain document denial in Khashoggi case, CPJ lawsuit argues
The U.S. intelligence community should confirm or deny the existence of documents that may provide information on its awareness of threats to the life of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, the Committee to Protect Journalists argued in a brief submitted yesterday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Khashoggi, a Saudi…
Bulgarian investigative journalist Nikolay Staykov receives threatening calls
Berlin, July 7, 2020—Bulgarian authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate the threatening phone calls made to journalist Nikolay Staykov, hold those responsible to account, and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since mid-June, Staykov, an independent journalist and co-founder of the Anti-Corruption Fund in Bulgaria, a local advocacy group, has received…
Journalists Omar Radi and Imad Stitou detained overnight in Morocco
On July 5, 2020, police in Casablanca arrested Omar Radi and Imad Stitou, investigative journalists at the Moroccan Le Desk news website, for alleged “public intoxication and violence,” and detained them overnight, according to Le Desk and news reports. The journalists were held in police custody and then released on July 6 pending an investigation…
Pakistan media regulator suspends 24NewsHD broadcaster indefinitely
Washington, D.C., July 6, 2020 — The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority should immediately lift the suspension of independent news channel 24NewsHD, and allow it to broadcast freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 3, the regulator ordered the station off the air indefinitely for the alleged “illegal transmission of news and…
Russian court convicts, fines journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva in terrorism trial
Vilnius, Lithuania, July 6, 2020–In response to today’s conviction of Russian journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva on charges of “justifying terrorism,” over comments she made on liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy in November 2018, when she discussed a suicide bombing attack, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are relieved that Svetlana Prokopyeva will…
Maynard Institute’s Martin G. Reynolds on challenges facing Black journalists and how US media needs to change
Martin G. Reynolds, a veteran journalist and editor, is co-executive director at the Emeryville, California-based Maynard Institute, which was established to help diversify newsrooms through training programs. A year after the Maynard Institute’s founding in 1977 — originally as the Institute for Journalism Education — people of color made up 4% of journalists nationwide, according…