2021

Washington, D.C., September 13, 2021 — Iranian authorities should immediately release photojournalist Majid Saeedi, drop any charges against him, and let him work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 25, security forces in the city of Khoy, in West Azerbaijan province near the border with Turkey, arrested Saeedi, a photographer for…

New Delhi, September 13, 2021 – Indian authorities must stop harassing employees of the news websites Newslaundry and Newsclick and let them work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about noon on September 10, officials from the national Income Tax Department raided the two outlets’ offices in New Delhi as part of an investigation…

Miami, September 13, 2021 — In response to the recent acquittal of Venezuelan journalist Braulio Jatar, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are relieved that the Venezuelan government’s torturous five-year legal harassment of journalist Braulio Jatar is finally over,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna, in New York….

On August 11, 2021, authorities in Tanzania issued a 14-day suspension of Uhuru, a newspaper owned by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ruling party, following allegations that the paper had published a false and seditious report about the country’s president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, according to media reports and a statement by government spokesperson, Gerson Msigwa. Earlier that day, Uhuru had published a front-page story…

Miami, September 10, 2021 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed a Guatemala court decision dismissing all criminal charges against journalist Anastasia Mejía. “While we are delighted that Guatemalan journalist Anastasia Mejía’s legal ordeal has come to an end, she never should have been detained, charged, and subjected to such harassment over her reporting,” said…

Stockholm, September 9, 2021 – Belarus authorities must cease their persecution of independent journalists and outlets who have covered the protest movement against President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s contested reelection or are otherwise critical of the government, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Last week, authorities in Belarus charged Iryna Leushyna, the director of the country’s…

Berlin, September 9, 2021 – Montenegro authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate the recent attack on a crew for the privately owned broadcaster N1 TV, and ensure that journalists can cover protests safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 5, a group of protesters in Cetinje, west of Podgorica, the capital, harassed…

Berlin, September 9, 2021 — Slovenian authorities must thoroughly investigate demonstrators’ storming of the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija (RTVS) and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Starting around 8:30 p.m. on September 3, about 20 people demonstrating against the country’s COVID-19 response and vaccination program broke into the broadcaster’s…

Syrian journalist Okba Mohammad was 20 years old when he arrived in Spain after fleeing the Syrian civil war with CPJ’s help in May 2019. “I felt that everything around me was strange: the people, the country, religion, culture,” he told CPJ in a recent interview via messaging app. But he also felt a sense…

Washington, D.C., September 8, 2021–The Taliban must immediately cease detaining journalists in Afghanistan, end the use of violence against them, and allow the media to operate freely and without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Over the last two days, the Taliban detained and later released at least 14 journalists covering…