2020

Between July 2 and July 18, 2020, security personnel in Ethiopia detained Kenyan freelance journalist Collins Juma Osemo, who goes by the name Yassin Juma, and four employees of the satellite outlet the Oromia Media Network: news director Melese Direbssa; journalist and TV show host Guyo Wariyo; news anchor Mohammed Siraj; and a driver with…

On August 2, 2020, Iraqi federal police officers detained two TV crews with Kurdish broadcasters Kurdistan 24 (K24) and NRT, seized their equipment, and destroyed a camera while the reporters were on assignment near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, according to K24 reporter Soran Kamaran, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app, an account…

Twitter announced last week that it would start labeling some accounts run by media outlets and their top editors as “state-affiliated,” a descriptor intended to improve transparency about the source of information being shared on the platform.  Since disinformation became a flash point in the debate over content moderation on social media, distinguishing propaganda from…

New Delhi, August 12, 2020 — Delhi police must thoroughly investigate the attack on three journalists with The Caravan magazine and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 2 p.m. yesterday, a group of people in Delhi’s North Ghonda neighborhood attacked The Caravan reporters Shahid Tantray, Prabhjit Singh,…

New York, August 11, 2020 – Kyrgyzstan authorities should immediately release Uzbek journalist Bobomurod Abdullaev and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.  On August 9, officers with the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security detained Abdullaev, a freelance journalist and Uzbek national, in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, according to…

Abuja, August 11, 2020 – Nigerian authorities should thoroughly investigate the recent attack on journalist Sikiru Obarayese and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 3, at least four police officers slapped, kicked, and used their batons to beat Obarayese, a correspondent for the privately owned Daily Post…

An unnerving wait for the first impact on journalists of Hong Kong’s new National Security Law came to an abrupt end early yesterday when police arrested Next Digital founder and chair Jimmy Lai, along with four company executives and his two sons, while sending more than a hundred police officers on a raid of Apple…

Bogotá, August 11, 2020 – Bolivian authorities should quickly and thoroughly investigate the attack on journalist David Sapiencia, identify those responsible, and hold them to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 5, about two dozen protesters in the central Bolivian town of Mairana attacked Sapiencia, a freelance photojournalist, according to news…

New York, August 11, 2020 — Lebanese authorities should immediately investigate recent attacks on journalists by demonstrators and security forces, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that journalists can cover protests safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 4, an explosion of stored chemicals in Beirut’s port resulted in more than…

Vilnius, Lithuania, August 10, 2020 — Belarusian authorities should refrain from assaulting and detaining journalists covering protests, and should hold police officers accountable for attacks on the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, riot police in Minsk, the capital, assaulted at least four journalists and detained at least five, according to news…