Jineth Bedoya
Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya has fought for accountability since she was beaten and raped because of her work in 2000. (Abel Cardenas/El Tiempo)

Welcome victories in the long fight against injustice

The Torch is a weekly newsletter from the Committee to Protect Journalists that brings you the latest press freedom and journalist safety news from around the world. Subscribe here.

This week, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights announced that it ruled the Colombian state responsible for the 2000 abduction, rape, and torture of journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima. The court ordered the government to investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible, and to support female journalists.

Also this week, the European Court of Human Rights found that Russian authorities failed to conduct an effective investigation into the disappearance and alleged murder of investigative journalist Maksim Maksimov in 2004. “[The ruling] means that justice does not remain elusive and the impunity in the journalist’s killing can end,” said CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said.

Global press freedom updates

  • Breitbart reporter Gerry Aranda found dead in Mexico
  • Jammu and Kashmir authorities detain one journalist; at least two others still in custody
  • Venezuelan authorities issue arrest warrant for journalist and raid family home
  • Houthis detain journalist Youness Abdelsalam in Yemen since August
  • Kazakh outlet HOLA News reports website blocks after Pandora Papers coverage
  • CPJ testifies at Helsinki Commission about press freedom threats in OSCE region. Watch the full hearing here.

Upcoming events

Join CPJ, PEN America, and Human Rights Watch on October 22 at 9:30 a.m. EDT for a virtual U.N. event on freedom of expression and human rights in Belarus. Speakers include Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich, and CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said. Register for the event here, and explore CPJ’s ongoing reporting about the dire state of press freedom in Belarus.


In an important step in the fight against impunity, CPJ is excited to launch the Permanent People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists, as part of a joint initiative with A Safer World For The Truth. The tribunal will hold the first of five hearings in the Hague on November 2, serving indictments to the governments of Sri Lanka, Mexico, and Syria for impunity in the murders of journalists. Register here for the online livestream. Journalists interested in covering the event can register for the press briefing ahead of the opening ceremony.

What we are reading

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