2020
Hong Kong denies work permit to editor of independent Hong Kong Free Press
Taipei, August 27, 2020 – The Hong Kong Immigration Department has denied a work visa to an editor of Hong Kong Free Press, the outlet said today in a statement that CPJ has seen. “Denial of a work visa to a thriving local news operation bashes the most basic promise of press freedom given repeatedly…
CPJ, nearly 400 journalists & civil society members call for release of imprisoned Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 397 writers, journalists, academics, press freedom advocates, and civil society members to urge Prime Minister Modi to immediately release Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan, who has been imprisoned for two years.
Two Iranian journalists convicted on false news charges and ordered to pay cash fines
On August 13, 2020, Aman Mohammad Khojmali, a freelance journalist from the ethnic Turkman minority, was convicted of spreading false news and was ordered to pay a cash fine by Branch 102 of the Judiciary in an appeals court hearing in Gonbad-e-Kavus, a city in the northeast of Iran, according to news reports. The fine was 20 million rials (US$476);…
Djibouti journalist Charmarke Saïd Darar held for weeks, 2 other journalists in hiding
New York, August 26, 2020 — Authorities in Djibouti should cease intimidating and arresting journalists working with the La Voix de Djibouti broadcaster, and let them report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 15, police in Balbala, a suburb of Djibouti City, the capital, arrested Charmarke Saïd Darar, a reporter with…
With colleagues sentenced to prison, Algerian journalists fear their new president’s attitude toward the press
Two weeks after the imprisonment of a high-profile Algerian journalist, a former reporter has been sentenced to prison for his online commentary, cementing fears that Algeria’s new president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, is on track to match his predecessor’s record of enacting restrictive policies toward the press even as he has promised democratic reforms. On August 24,…
Nigerian court acquits journalists arrested amid #RevolutionNow protests
Abuja, August 25, 2020 — A magistrate court in Nigeria’s southern Cross River State today acquitted Cross River Watch news editor Jonathan Ugbal and managing editor Jeremiah Archibong on charges of unlawful assembly and breach of peace stemming from their 2019 protest coverage, according to news reports and Ugbal, who spoke to CPJ via messaging…
Russian journalists imprisoned, beaten during arrests and detention
New York, August 25, 2020 – Russian authorities must immediately release journalists Aleksandr Dorogov and Yan Katelevskiy, drop all charges against them, and ensure that members of the press can work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the early hours of July 29, police in the village of Mosrentgen, near…
Turkish journalist Erkan Akkuş arrested after 4 years in hiding
Istanbul, August 25, 2020 – Turkish authorities should release journalist Erkan Akkuş immediately and cease jailing members of the press for their work and political commentary, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 22, police in the western province of Kocaeli detained Akkuş, former news editor and anchor for the now-shuttered Bugün TV…
Arsonists torch office of independent newspaper Canal de Moçambique in Mozambique
New York, August 24, 2020 — Authorities in Mozambique should conduct a quick and thorough investigation into the arson attack on Canal de Moçambique, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 8 p.m. yesterday, in the capital, Maputo, unidentified individuals broke into the office used by the independent weekly investigative newspaper and its…
Iranian journalist Kayvan Samimi begins 3-year jail term over protest coverage
Washington, D.C., August 24, 2020 — Iranian authorities should release journalist Kayvan Samimi from prison immediately and cease arbitrarily jailing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Samimi, 72, editor-in-chief of the center-left Iran-e-Farda magazine, began a three-year sentence today in Tehran’s Evin Prison, after his prior conviction on charges of “colluding against…