2024

  
Abzas Media's Mahammad Kekalov, (left) Sevinj Vagifgizi, Elnara Gasimova, Ulvi Hasanli, Hafiz Babali, and Nargiz Absalamova.

Azerbaijan extends pretrial detention of 11 journalists ahead of COP29

New York, October 4, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the extended pretrial detentions of 11 journalists in recent weeks, and calls on Azerbaijani authorities to release them ahead of the COP29 climate conference in November. “The continued incarceration of 11 journalists from Azerbaijan’s last remaining critical media outlets cynically ensures that the country’s boldest…

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Palenque Visión journalist and civil rights activist Yeris Curbelo Aguilera was convicted of causing “minor injuries” following a physical altercation with local youths. (Screenshot: PalenqueVisión.com)

Journalist Yeris Curbelo Aguilera sentenced to 2 years in prison in Cuba

Miami, October 3, 2024—Cuban authorities should re-examine the case of journalist Yeris Curbelo Aguilera, who was sentenced to two years in prison on September 24, and consider dropping all charges against him, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday. “The Cuban government continues to be nothing short of draconian in its efforts to squash independent…

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Ukrainian soldier

CPJ urges Russia to drop charges against journalists accused of ‘illegal’ border crossing

Berlin, October 3, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to stop harassing international reporters after the Federal Security Service (FSB) filed criminal charges against three journalists on September 27 for allegedly crossing the Russian border illegally from Ukraine. The criminal cases have been initiated against Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Europe correspondent Kathryn…

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Precious Eze Chukwunonso

Nigeria police charge 4 journalists with cybercrimes for corruption reporting

Abuja, October 3, 2024—Despite recent reforms to Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act, journalists continue to be targeted for publishing news in the public interest, with four reporters being charged under the law last month. Cybercrime laws and other regulations governing online content have been widely used to jail journalists around the world. In Nigeria, at least 29…

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Death threat sent to Serbian news agency Tanjug over Kosovo reporting

New York, October 2, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Serbian authorities to swiftly complete their investigation into a death threat emailed to journalists at the privately owned news agency Tanjug over its reporting on Kosovo, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Authorities said they suspect the threat came from Albania….

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Journalists Musa Sekou Sheriff and Momodou Justice Darboe were arrested on September 26 on the day Gambian President Adama Barrow praised his country’s press freedom record at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. (Photo courtesy of The Voice)

Gambian journalists charged with false news over president’s exit plan report 

Abuja, October 2, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Gambian authorities to drop all charges against The Voice newspaper editors, Musa Sekou Sheriff and Momodou Justice Darboe, and to repeal Section 181A of the country’s Criminal Code in line with the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court’s landmark judgment and recommendations from the country’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission. “It is outrageous that President Adama…

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Cameroon's Équinoxe TV broadcast an empty television studio along with the word "censored" to protest the regulator's ban on its Sunday politics show.

Cameroon ratchets up media censorship ahead of 2025 election

Dakar, October 2, 2024—After a month of seeing an empty television studio with the word “censored” splashed across the screen, Cameroonians are finally able to watch Équinoxe TV’s flagship Sunday politics show “Droit de Réponse” again. The privately owned station fell foul of Cameroon’s regulatory National Communication Council (NCC), which judged it to have harmed…

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Journalists watch the televised debate between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in Philadelphia on September 10, 2024. (Photo: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)

US press freedom under unprecedented pressure ahead of election, CPJ report finds

Attacks on journalists in the US increase by more than 50% from 2023 to 2024 New York, October 1, 2024 — The safety of journalists in the United States is no longer a given as members of the media face a slew of threats – including violence, online harassment, legal challenges, and attacks by police…

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Cambodian freelance journalist Mech Dara in Cambodia in 2021. Mech Dara was arrested on September 30, 2024 while driving with his family to the capital Phnom Penh.

Award-winning journalist Mech Dara arrested for incitement in Cambodia

Bangkok, October 1, 2024—Cambodian authorities must release and drop criminal incitement charges against investigative journalist Mech Dara, who was arrested Monday by military police at an expressway toll booth near the coastal city of Sihanoukville, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. “Journalist Mech Dara’s arrest and detention shows just how far Cambodia’s government is willing to go to…

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