2020

Mexico City, December 15, 2020 – Mexican authorities must immediately undertake a swift, credible, and transparent investigation into the killing of photojournalist Jaime Castaño, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 10 a.m. on December 9, unidentified gunmen shot and killed Castaño, founder of the news website Prensa Libre MX, while he was…

Los Angeles, December 15, 2020 — Guatemalan authorities must quickly and thoroughly investigate the threatening letter sent to journalists Marvin del Cid and Sonny Figueroa, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 7, del Cid, founder of the local press freedom group Artículo 35 and a contributing…

Editor’s note: In 2019, CPJ published a new database of attacks on the press. Numbers for each subsequent prison census are liable to adjust yearly as CPJ learns of arrests, releases, or deaths in prison. For the most recent data, see cpj.org/data/imprisoned/. The number of journalists jailed globally because of their work hit a new high in 2020…

As the Committee to Protect Journalists publishes its annual tally of journalists imprisoned around the world, not a single U.S. reporter is behind bars for their work. But that statistic belies the country’s marred press freedom landscape following the summer’s Black Lives Matter protests in which journalists were handcuffed, shoved, and shot at with less-lethal…

Washington, D.C., December 10, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Alamance County Court in central North Carolina to grant journalists regular access to court proceedings and for the county district attorney to drop charges against local reporter Tomas Murawski.   Visiting district court Judge Fred Wilkins has twice refused to allow the media…

Miami, December 10, 2020 – Cuban authorities must allow journalist Luz Escobar to leave her home, and should stop harassing and intimidating members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, security agents standing at her Havana home barred Escobar, a reporter for the independent Cuban news website 14yMedio, from going outside for the…

In the evening of December 8, 2020, the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro published a video on its website and official YouTube and Twitter accounts in response to an article that Rafael Soares, a security reporter for national newspapers O Globo and Extra, had published previously that day. Soares’ article concerned a Military Police…

Journalists working around the world continue to face a wide variety of challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. government must redouble its efforts to defend press freedom, CPJ Advocacy Director Courtney Radsch said during testimony to the U.S. Congress today. Addressing the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and…

In the evening of November 9, 2020, at least two reporters received gunshot wounds and at least two others were beaten, as state police dispersed a protest the reporters were covering in the city of Cancún, in Quintana Roo state in southern Mexico. The police used live ammunition to shoot in the air, according to…

Editors’ Note: In a December 9 email to CPJ following the publication of this article and BuzzFeed News’ refusal to comply with the subpoena, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said, “ICE will not enforce the summons and will pursue the investigation through other channels.” Washington, D.C., December 8, 2020 – U.S. Immigration and Customs…