2024
CPJ details Kyrgyzstan’s media crackdown ahead of UN human rights review
The Committee to Protect Journalists has submitted a report on the state of press freedom and journalist safety in Kyrgyzstan to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of its 2025 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session. CPJ’s submission, together with Austria-based human rights group Freedom for Eurasia and the Free Russia Foundation, highlights the sharp…
Journalists in the crossfire of Mozambique’s post-election crisis
New York, November 19, 2024—In the weeks since Mozambique’s October 9 general election — which was characterized by irregularities and in which the ruling Frelimo party claimed victory — the country has descended into chaos as security personnel engage in violent clashes with protestors disputing the results. News reports and statements by human rights groups…
CPJ, partners document Venezuela’s intensified repression of journalists in new report
Venezuela has seen a sharp rise in journalist repression following the disputed July 28 reelection of President Nicolás Maduro amid fraud allegations, according to a new report published by the Committee to Protect Journalists with seven other press freedom groups. The report details a heightened environment of fear, stigmatization, and criminalization of independent voices, creating “news deserts” where millions…
‘I will always keep fighting,’ José Rubén Zamora tells CPJ before court orders him back to jail
Less than a month after being moved to house arrest, a Guatemalan appeals court ordered journalist José Rubén Zamora back to jail on November 15, 2024. Zamora remains in house arrest while his lawyers and the Attorney General’s Office have appealed the motion, his son told CPJ. The decision is a new blow to press freedom in Guatemala. Zamora,…
Jimmy Lai’s Hong Kong jail is ‘breaking his body,’ says his son
In his tireless global campaign to save 77-year-old media publisher Jimmy Lai from life imprisonment in Hong Kong, Sebastien Lai has not seen his father for more than four years. Sebastien, who leads the #FreeJimmyLai campaign, last saw his father in August 2020 — weeks after Beijing imposed a national security law that led to…
Hong Kong must end Jimmy Lai’s show trial, CPJ urges ahead of hearing
New York, November 18, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the Hong Kong government to drop its trumped-up charges against media publisher Jimmy Lai, who is set to take the stand for the first time on Wednesday in his trial on national security charges, which could see the 77-year-old jailed for life if convicted. “This…
Italian investigative team receives death threat referencing Charlie Hebdo attack
Berlin, November 15, 2024—The editorial team of the investigative television program “Report” on Italian public broadcaster RAI3 received a death threat via social media on Tuesday, November 12, saying the team “deserved it, Charlie Hebdo editorial team style,” following their reporting on the Israel-Gaza war. The message referenced a 2015 terrorist attack targeting the offices…
CPJ, partners urge Guinea-Bissau to improve press freedom ahead of UN review
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined two other press freedom organizations in calling on authorities in Guinea-Bissau to accept and implement recommendations to improve its press freedom record at the country’s January 2025 Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The UPR is a peer review mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council, through which the human…
Global coalition of NGOs calls for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon
The Committee to Protect Journalists and 51 other non-governmental organizations issued a joint statement on Thursday, November 14, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. The statement said Israel had attacked protected persons, including journalists, health workers, peacekeepers, and emergency responders, and called on the international community to “condemn and demand an immediate end to…
Journalist attacked by business owner, security guards in Montenegro
Berlin, November 14, 2024—A local business owner and his security guards insulted and attacked journalist Ana Raičković after following her and her family to their car outside a restaurant in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, on Sunday, November 10. One man grabbed Raičković, editor for online newspaper Pobjeda, by her throat and threatened her and…