2021
Angola suspends 3 TV channels for alleged improper registration
New York, May 14, 2021 — Angola’s government should allow the television channels Record TV Africa, Vida TV, and Zap Viva to return to the airwaves, and should stop harassing media outlets critical of the government, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On April 19, the Ministry of Telecommunications Technologies and Media (MINTTICS) ordered…
Belarusian authorities detain 2 journalists covering opposition trial
Vilnius, Lithuania, May 13, 2021 — Belarusian authorities must release journalists Alyaksandr Burakau and Uladzimir Laptsevich immediately, drop all charges against them, and cease jailing members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, police in the eastern city of Mohilev arrested Burakau, a freelance reporter working with German…
Israeli air strikes destroy buildings housing more than a dozen media outlets in Gaza
New York, May 13, 2021 – Israeli forces must refrain from bombing media outlets, and should ensure that journalists can work safely and without fear, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 11 and 12, Israeli warplanes bombed and destroyed the Al-Jawhara and Al-Shorouk office buildings in Gaza City, which house more than…
Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel charged with ‘degrading’ the country
Istanbul, May 13, 2021 – Turkish authorities must cease their legal harassment of journalist Deniz Yücel and drop all of the charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, Turkish prosecutors charged Yücel, the former Turkey correspondent for the German newspaper Die Welt, with “publicly degrading the Turkish nation and the State…
Myanmar sentences DVB reporter Min Nyo to 3 years in prison for criminal mutiny
Bangkok, May 13, 2021 – Myanmar authorities should not contest the appeal of Democratic Voice of Burma reporter Min Nyo, and should cease jailing journalists for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, a military court convicted Min Nyo on charges of criminal mutiny and sentenced him to three years in prison,…
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian Territories
Violent protests erupted in parts of Jerusalem in mid-April, in response to the proposed eviction of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, according to multiple news reports. Combined with reports of heavy handed policing of Palestinians during the holy month of Ramadan–which began in mid-April–and the use of stun grenades and tear gas to control…
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering mass protests in Colombia
Violent and deadly protests have flared in urban centers across Colombia since April 28, 2021, including Bogotá, the capital, as well as Cali, Medellín, Pereira, Bucaramanga, Ibagué, Zipaquirá, and Buenaventura, according to news reports. Initially sparked by President Iván Duque’s proposed tax reforms–which were later dropped–protests have since morphed into a wider movement against poverty,…
Iran detained at least 8 Kurdish journalists starting in mid-2020; 3 remain behind bars
Washington, D.C., May 12, 2021 — Iranian authorities must stop imprisoning and harassing Kurdish and other minority journalists, and should allow all members of the press to cover the news freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since May 2020, Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of activists and students in a crackdown on perceived…
CPJ joins call for Mauritius to reject ICT Act amendments that threaten online speech
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined more than 50 organizations and individuals in co-signing a letter calling on the government of Mauritius to retract proposed changes to the country’s Information and Communication Technologies Act, known as the ICT Act. The letter, addressed to the Information and Communication Technologies Authority, expressed concern that the amendments’…
Algerian authorities briefly detain at least 6 journalists covering protests
On May 11, 2021, Algerian security forces briefly detained at least six journalists in downtown Algiers, the capital, while they were covering anti-government protests, according to news reports and Bouzid Ichalalene and Mustapha Bendjama, two local journalists and press freedom advocates, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. According to those sources, police arrested: Khaled…