2026

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined a letter to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon calling on his office to drop federal charges against journalist Georgia Fort and other members of the press. Fort was arrested on January 30 in connection with her coverage of a protest at a Minnesota church led by local activists against…

To mark World Press Freedom Day, CPJ’s Américas Director José Zamora and Amnesty International USA’s Senior Director of Research Justin Mazzola published an op-ed calling attention to the Trump administration’s actions to silence journalists and attack independent media. The editorial highlights the case of independent journalist Georgia Fort, who was arrested in January in connection with her reporting…

New York, May 5, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Chinese authorities to grant medical parole to jailed journalist Dong Yuyu so he can receive urgent treatment for a potentially dangerous lung tumor. “Dong Yuyu requires immediate attention for a fast-growing lung tumor and a host of other medical concerns,” said CPJ’s Asia-Pacific Director…

Dakar, May 4, 2026—A new podcast released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) presents extensive new testimony and reporting on the conviction of Senegalese journalist and author René Capain Bassène, raising serious questions about the integrity of a case that has become one of West Africa’s most emblematic press freedom concerns. The six-part series,…

A key Senegalese rebel leader, César Atoute Badiate, has broken his silence on jailed journalist René Capain Bassène, refuting the prosecution’s claim that Bassène was a militant fighting for independence of the Casamance region who incited him to murder 14 illegal loggers in 2018.  “René Capain Bassène is neither an MFDC representative nor a leader…

São Paulo, April 30, 2026—The Brazilian Federal Supreme Court ordered the state of São Paulo to pay $20,000 in moral damage compensation and a lifetime pension to freelance photojournalist Sergio Andrade da Silva, who lost sight in his left eye after being struck by a rubber bullet fired by the police during a protest on June 13, 2013. “This…

The Committee to Protect Journalists signed a joint statement along with the Inter-American Press Association and Voces del Sur network condemning an Ecuadorian court’s decision ordering local press freedom organization Fundamedios to remove a publication mentioning local businessman Pedro Julio Bejarano Alvarado. Last year, Bejarano formally asked Fundamedios to unpublish the alert but it refused. On January 14, 2026,…

Since October 7, 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists has been documenting an unprecedented pattern of violence and repression against Palestinian journalists. The attached document provides a summarized account of these findings across the Occupied Palestinian Territory through April 25, 2026. It outlines what CPJ assesses as the deadliest period for journalists ever recorded, with…

Bangkok, April 30, 2026—Myanmar’s junta must restore the recently revoked publication licenses of three local news agencies — the Khonumthung Media Group, Chin World, and Myatmaukkhit News Agency — and cease its persecution of independent media groups, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The military bans, effective on April 9 and formally announced on…

Bangkok, April 30, 2026—The Philippines government must immediately conduct an independent investigation into the killing of community journalist RJ Nichole Ledesma and hold any military members responsible for his death accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On April 19, Ledesma, a writer and editor at the local Paghimutad Negros and former editor-in-chief of…