2021

Five years ago, Abbas Mbazumutima led a team of journalists from the independent Burundian news outlet Iwacu in investigating a story no reporter should ever have to write — about the July 22, 2016 disappearance of their colleague, reporter Jean Bigirimana, who went missing shortly after receiving a call from an intelligence source. The Iwacu…

Washington, D.C., August 12, 2021 — In response to Britain’s High Court decision yesterday to allow the United States government to expand its appeal to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The ongoing drive by the United States to extradite Julian Assange and prosecute him under the…

Stockholm, August 12, 2021 – Belarusian authorities should immediately release journalist Syarhey Hardzievich and cease jailing independent reporters in retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 2, the Ivanavskiy District Court in the country’s southwestern Brest region convicted Hardzievich, a correspondent with the independent regional news website Pershy Region,…

Istanbul, August 12, 2021 – Turkish authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the attack on political commentator Emre Erciş and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. This afternoon, an unidentified attacker shot Erciş in his foot and leg while he was walking in Istanbul’s Fatih district…

New York, August 12, 2021 – In response to today’s sentencing of journalist Rabah Karèche to one year in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Algerian journalist Rabah Karèche’s only crime was doing his job as a reporter; authorities should not force him to spend even one day in prison for…

On July 4, 2021, police officers in Batticaloa, in eastern Sri Lanka, visited the home of journalist Punniyamoorthy Sasikaran and told his mother that he was under a preliminary investigation for suspected terrorism, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. The officers summoned Sasikaran, a freelance Tamil journalist and treasurer…

Mexico City, August 10, 2021 – Mexican authorities must immediately act to protect news anchor Azucena Uresti and investigate death threats against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Uresti, one of Mexico’s best known news anchors who hosts programs on television broadcaster Milenio Televisión and radio broadcaster Radio Fórmula, was threatened yesterday by…

Washington, D.C., August 10, 2021 — Pakistan authorities should immediately drop their investigations into journalists Amir Mir and Imran Shafqat, and cease harassing members of the press in retaliation for their coverage of public institutions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 7, officers with the Federal Investigation Agency arrested Mir, CEO of…

On July 31, 2021, employees at the Peshawari Chapli Kebab Hotel, a hotel and restaurant in the Shah Faysal colony of Karachi city in the southern Sindh province assaulted, harassed, and obstructed the work of four journalists and media workers with privately owned news channel BOL News, according to a BOL report and a video…