Committee to Protect Journalists – Defending Journalists Worldwide.

Ex-Philippine governor accused in Gerry Ortega’s 2011 killing surrenders

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.

CPJ calls for UN to investigate Israel’s murder of Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah

Issam Abdallah's aunt — The aunt of Issam Abdallah, a Reuters video journalist who was killed in southern Lebanon, reacts during a candlelight vigil for him, in Beirut on October 20, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Amr Alfiky)

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 10 press freedom and human rights organizations in a letter to the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel to investigate and help provide accountability for the murder of Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed by Israeli forces in south Lebanon on October 13, 2023, and for the killings of other journalists.

The September 11 urged the commission to conduct its own inquiry into Israel’s October 13 attack and into possible war crimes against journalists.

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