2021

Washington, D.C., June 1, 2021 — Pakistan should authorities stop harassing journalist Asad Ali Toor and let him work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Cyber Crime Reporting Center of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency in Rawalpindi issued a summons addressed to Toor’s home, ordering him to appear for questioning on June…

Ethiopia is scheduled to hold general elections later this year amid heightened tensions across the country. Military conflict broke out in the Tigray region in November 2020, and is ongoing; over the past year, several other regions have witnessed significant levels of violence and fatalities as a result of protests and inter-ethnic clashes, according to…

Washington, D.C., May 31, 2021–In response to the suspension today of Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, host of “Capital Talk” news program, by the Geo News network following Mir’s critical comments about the Pakistan military at a rally on Saturday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Forcing a popular news talk show host…

Abuja, May 30, 2021 – Nigerian authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the death threats received by journalist Peter Nkanga and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalist said today. Since May 20, dozens of anonymous people have called and sent text messages to Nkanga, an Abuja-based reporter with the BBC,…

New York, May 28, 2021 – Zimbabwean authorities should immediately release New York Times freelancer Jeffrey Moyo and drop baseless charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Moyo, who also freelances for Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper and Norway’s Bistandsaktuelt, was arrested on May 26 in the capital, Harare, and charged with…

Berlin, May 28, 2021 — Hungarian authorities should not contest journalist Júlia Halász’s appeal of a recent criminal defamation verdict, and should reform the country’s laws to decriminalize speech, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 6, an appellate court in Budapest upheld a lower court’s November 12, 2020, ruling to convict Halász,…

Taipei, May 28, 2021 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned Hong Kong authorities’ decision to cite communications with foreign journalists as a reason to deny bail to former pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo. The Hong Kong High Court cited Mo’s interviews and texts with reporters from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times,…

Israel’s May 15 bombing of The Associated Press and Al-Jazeera offices in Gaza made international headlines, as did the death of a Palestinian journalist in an air strike that may have been a deliberate attack on his home.  There were many other press freedom violations during the recent flare-up, which included unusual levels of street violence between Arabs and Jews in Israeli…

The May 23 arrest of Belarusian journalist and blogger Raman Pratasevich off a diverted commercial passenger flight was a shattering blow to press freedom in Belarus. Pratasevich is the co-founder of NEXTA and chief editor of Belarus of the Brain, two Telegram channels that covered protests against President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a dangerous beat in the country where demonstrations are…

Miami, May 27, 2021 – Cuban authorities should release journalist Mary Karla Ares immediately and drop the criminal investigation into her work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, authorities transferred Ares to the Western Women’s Prison in the La Lisa municipality of Havana, after holding her in a police facility since her April…