2023

French journalist Olivier Dubois released after nearly 2 years of captivity in Mali Olivier Dubois, a French freelancer, went missing on April 8, 2021, in the Malian region of Gao while seeking an interview with the local leader of the Al-Qaeda affiliated group Jamaa Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin. His abduction was made public in a video…

New York, March 28, 2023 – Authorities in Burkina Faso on Monday indefinitely suspended French public broadcaster France 24 over an interview with the head of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, according to news reports and the suspension announcement, which accused the outlet of acting as a communication agency for terrorism and legitimizing hate speech. …

Kinshasa, March 28, 2023—Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should release journalist John Ngongo Lomango immediately and ensure that media can report freely on the conflict in the country’s east, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On the afternoon of Monday, March 27, three officers with the National Intelligence Agency arrested Ngongo,…

Paris, March 28, 2023—Authorities in Russian-occupied Crimea should allow journalist Iryna Danylovych access to swift and thorough medical care, and should release all members of the press held for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Russian authorities have held Danylovych, a nurse and freelance journalist covering the healthcare system, since April 2022….

Berlin, March 28, 2023—Albanian authorities must quickly and thoroughly investigate the recent attack on the privately owned TV station Top Channel and ensure those responsible are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Shortly after midnight on Monday, March 27, unidentified people fired 20 to 25 bullets from a vehicle as they…

Abuja, March 27, 2023 – A federal court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Monday ordered the detention of CrossRiverWatch publisher Agba Jalingo for allegedly publishing false news that caused “annoyance, ill will and insult,” in violation of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act, according to a report by the outlet and CrossRiverWatch editor Jonathan Ugbal, who spoke to…

Washington, D.C., March 27, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists has welcomed President Joe Biden’s executive order restricting the U.S. government’s use of commercial spyware tools. The order, issued Monday, prohibits executive departments and agencies from using the spyware if they determine it could pose significant counterintelligence or security risks to the U.S. government or be…

Paris, March 27, 2023—Belarusian authorities should drop all charges against journalists Dzmitry Suslau, Syarhei Stankevich, and Aleh Rubchenya, and free them immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On March 17, a court in the central city of Slutsk ordered Stankevich, the chief editor of the local independent newspaper Infa-Kurier, and Rubchenya, the paper’s…

Bogotá, March 27, 2023—Chilean authorities must thoroughly investigate the recent robbery and attempted arson at the office of the Resumen news website and determine whether the outlet was targeted for its journalism, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Early in the morning of March 20, unidentified people entered the outlet’s office in the southern…

Hong Kong has seen a dramatic decline in media freedom since Beijing implemented a national security law on June 30, 2020, with a significant impact on the city’s freedom of expression and media pluralism, which saw journalists arrested, jailed, and threatened, according to evidence CPJ submitted earlier this month to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)…