2020
Demonstrators attack RFE/RL office in Armenia, assault 2 journalists
New York, November 11, 2020 – Armenian authorities should thoroughly investigate the attack on the office of the Azatutyun broadcaster and two of its journalists, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 4 a.m. yesterday, a group of approximately 40 people attempted to break into the Yerevan…
Ethiopian journalist Bekalu Alamrew arrested, accused of disseminating false news
Nairobi, November 10, 2020 — Today the Committee to Protect Journalists called on Ethiopian authorities to immediately release broadcast journalist Bekalu Alamrew, who was arrested on November 4 and has not been formally charged. Three uniformed police officers and one plain-clothed officer arrested Bekalu from the Addis Ababa offices of the privately-owned Awlo Media Center,…
Female journalists covering Mexican feminist protests face harsh police response
Lizbeth Hernández, a freelance journalist based in Mexico City, is documenting a rising women’s protest movement against gender-based violence in the country. According to federal data from the Secretariado Ejecutivo del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública (SESNSP), deadly violence against women reached record heights in 2019; more than 1,000 women were murdered because of their gender, an…
Reporter Israel Vázquez shot and killed; third Mexican journalist killed in 2 weeks
Mexico City, November 10, 2020 – Mexican authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of journalist Israel Vázquez Rangel and redouble their efforts to protect members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday morning, in the central Mexican city of Salamanca, unidentified individuals shot and killed Vázquez,…
EU should withdraw draft resolution that threatens encryption
November 10, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern after the Council of the European Union proposed a draft resolution last week calling for national authorities across the EU to have access to encrypted messages as part of criminal investigations into terrorism and organized crime. Journalists rely on encryption to evade surveillance and protect their…
Russian journalist Aleksandr Pichugin awaiting verdict, sentencing in false news trial
Vilnius, Lithuania, November 10, 2020 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalist Aleksandr Pichugin and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Tomorrow, a court in the central Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod is scheduled to announce the verdict and sentence in the trial of Pichugin, the chief…
Mexican journalist Jesús Alfonso Piñuelas shot and killed in Sonora
Mexico City, November 9, 2020 – The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Mexican authorities today to undertake a swift and credible investigation into the killing of journalist Jesús Alfonso Piñuelas, founder of Zarathustra Press and El Shock de la Noticia, who was shot dead November 2 in Cajeme, in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. According to news reports, Piñuelas,…
Canadian police block reporting on Indigenous land demonstrations
On September 2, 2020, police in Ontario criminally charged Indigenous journalist Karl Dockstader in relation to his reporting on a campaign to oppose a planned housing development in the province’s Haldimand County, he told CPJ by phone. Charges against Dockstader and at least two other Indigenous people who were documenting the campaign were pending in…
Belarus authorities arrest journalists, issue jail sentences, launch investigation
Vilnius, Lithuania, November 6, 2020 – Belarusian authorities should stop arresting and prosecuting journalists and allow news media to report on the country’s political situation freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, police in the capital Minsk detained Nasta Zacharevich of internet news portal Zeleny, according to the Belarusian Association of…
Los Angeles police arrest, charge 2 reporters documenting social justice protest
Washington, D.C., November 5, 2020—The Los Angeles Police Department should drop all charges against reporters Vishal Singh and Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, and refrain from arresting members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, around 7:30 p.m., the LAPD announced a dispersal order in response to Black Lives Matter protests near the intersection…