2021
Turkish journalist Orhan Uğuroğlu attacked in Ankara
Istanbul, January 15, 2021 – Turkish authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the assault of journalist Orhan Uğuroğlu and bring the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Earlier today, in Ankara, the capital, three unidentified men attacked Uğuroğlu, the Ankara correspondent for the nationalist daily Yeniçağ, while he…
Internet access cut, social media banned during Uganda elections
Nairobi, January 14, 2021 – Ugandan authorities should immediately cease all efforts to disrupt internet access in the country and allow the press to cover the country’s elections freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Uganda Communications Commission, the country’s broadcasting and telecommunication regulator, ordered telecommunications providers to suspend internet services in…
Turkish police raid Etkin News Agency, arrest reporter Pınar Gayıp
Istanbul, January 14, 2021 – Turkish authorities must release journalist Pınar Gayıp immediately and return all items confiscated in a recent raid on the Etkin News Agency, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Last night, police raided the Istanbul office of the Etkin News Agency, a news outlet supportive of the Socialist Party of…
Russian regulator announces fines for RFE/RL outlets under expanded ‘foreign agent’ law
New York, January 14, 2021 – Russian authorities should repeal the country’s foreign agents law to ensure that local and foreign news outlets can work freely, and in the meantime refrain from fining media organizations over alleged violations of the law, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 12, Roskomnadzor, the country’s media…
Nigerian security forces seize journalists’ cameras, delete photos
On January 6, 2021, officers with Nigeria’s Security and Civil Defence Corps harassed at least three photojournalists in Abuja, the capital, seized their cameras, and deleted images they had taken, according to the journalists, who spoke with CPJ, and news reports. The three newspaper photographers—Olatunji Obasa with Punch, Olu Aremo with Leadership, and Mudashiru Atanda…
Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono denied bail, remains in detention in Zimbabwe
New York, January 14, 2021 – Zimbabwe authorities should not contest freelance journalist Hopewell Chin’ono’s appeal, drop all charges against him, and ensure that he can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, a magistrate court in Harare, the capital, denied Chin’ono bail, citing that the “state fears that he will commit…
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering the build-up to the U.S. presidential inauguration
Tensions remain high in the U.S. in the build-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021. Following the violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 6, which resulted in the death of five individuals and numerous media workers being threatened and attacked, as documented by CPJ, the Federal Bureau…
Investigative outlet Repórter Brasil targeted with cyberattacks, threats, attempted break-in
Rio de Janeiro, January 13, 2021 — Brazilian authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate threats to Repórter Brasil, and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. From January 6 to 12, unidentified internet users orchestrated a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the website of Repórter Brasil, an investigative reporting and…
CPJ urges US court to reverse Khashoggi ruling, order US intelligence community to disclose information on documents related to duty to warn
The U.S. intelligence community should confirm or deny the existence of documents that may provide information on its duty to warn Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi of threats to his life before his murder, or provide more detailed explanations of their refusal to do so, CPJ argued today at the U.S. Court of Appeals for…
Authorities harass, obstruct journalists covering Kazakhstan parliamentary elections
On January 10, 2021, Kazakh law enforcement officers and electoral officials harassed and interfered with the work of at least seven journalists who were covering parliamentary elections in the country, according to news reports and journalists who spoke to CPJ. In Nur-Sultan, the capital, a police officer grabbed the phone of Saniya Toiken, a correspondent…