Committee to Protect Journalists – Defending Journalists Worldwide.

Ex-Philippine governor accused in Ortega killing surrenders

Gerry Ortega’s wife, Patria, holds a photo of the Philippine broadcast journalist, who was murdered in 2011. (Photo: AFP/Noel Celis)

A coalition of three international press freedom organizations on September 11, 2024 called for a swift and impartial trial after fugitive ex-governor Joel T. Reyes surrendered to authorities in connection with the 2011 murder of Philippine broadcast journalist Gerry Ortega.

Ortega, an environmental journalist based on the island of Palawan, reported on corruption within the administration of ex-Palawan governor Reyes before he was murdered in 2011. Reyes had been in hiding despite an arrest warrant issued against him in 2023.

Reyes’ surrender came after a successful legal bid to have his trial transferred to a court in Quezon City, near the capital Manila. The Ortega family had wanted the trial to stay in Palawan, but a Philippine court recently rejected the family’s legal plea. No date has been fixed for the start of the trial.

“Former governor Joel T. Reyes has evaded justice for more than 13 years, there must be a swift and impartial trial now without any further delay,” said the coalition, consisting of Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in a statement.

35 rights groups decry Egypt’s journalist arrests

A police vehicle drives around Cairo's Tahrir Square in November 2022. Since March 2024, Egyptian authorities have arrested four journalists and taken them to unknown locations. CPJ and other rights groups have called for their immedate release. (Photo: AFP/ Khaled Desouki) — A police vehicle drives around Cairo’s Tahrir Square in November 2022. Since March 2024, Egyptian authorities have arrested four journalists and taken them to unknown locations. CPJ and other rights groups have called for their immediate release. (Photo: AFP/ Khaled Desouki)

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 34 human rights and press freedom organizations have released a joint statement condemning the recent arrests and enforced disappearance of four Egyptian journalists — Ashraf Omar, Khaled Mamdouh, Ramadan Gouida, and Yasser Abu Al-Ela — and called for their immediate release.

The statement also urged Egyptian authorities to drop all charges against the journalists, cease targeting them for their work, end the practice of concealing the status or location of those in custody, investigate allegations that at least two of the journalists were tortured or treated inhumanely, and hold those responsible accountable.

This new wave of arrests highlights the troubling record of Egyptian authorities in targeting journalists and independent media. Egypt has remained in the top 10 jailers of journalists worldwide in recent years, according to CPJ data.

The Committee to Protect Journalists promotes press freedom worldwide.

We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

Journalists Attacked

Myat Thu Tan

MURDERED

Myat Thu Tan, a contributor to the local news website Western News and correspondent for several independent Myanmar news outlets, was shot and killed on January 31, 2024, while in military custody in Mrauk-U in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State.

He was arrested on September 22, 2022, and held in pre-trial detention under a broad provision of the penal code that criminalizes incitement and the dissemination of false news for critical posts he made on his Facebook page. Myat Thu Tan had not been tried or convicted at the time of his death.

The journalist’s body was found buried in a bomb shelter, with the bodies of six other political detainees, and showed signs of torture.

Myanmar’s military junta has cracked down on journalists and media outlets since seizing power in a February 2021 coup.

Learn more about Myat Thu Tan