‘I’ll be killed if they find me’: Radio reporter Maxo Dorvil flees Haiti amid gang violence
Haitian radio journalist Maxo Dorvil fled the country on November 7, 2023, after reporting that he was shot at twice in less than two weeks near his home on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince. The 44-year-old journalist with the independent broadcaster Radio Télé Zip said he was shot at by two armed men on…
CPJ calls for Brazilian journalist Schirlei Alves to be spared jail over rape trial report
São Paulo, November 22, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Brazil’s courts to overturn a one-year jail sentence given to journalist Schirlei Alves for her reporting on the mistreatment of a woman during a high-profile rape trial. On November 15, Alves, a freelance journalist, was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to…
CPJ urges Guatemalan authorities to ensure a fair trial for José Rubén Zamora in 2024
São Paulo, November 9, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Guatemalan authorities to respect journalist José Rubén Zamora’s right to a fair trial in his retrial, which a Guatemala court on Monday scheduled for February 5, 2024. “Jose Rubén Zamora has endured detention and punitive legal proceedings simply because he dared to report on…
Local politician attacks journalist in Brazil
São Paulo, November 7, 2023—Brazilian authorities should investigate a councilor’s October 23 attack on journalist Godofredo Brito while he was reporting and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Brito was arriving in his car to report on a public paving project in Cocal, a municipality in the northeastern state…
Alabama publisher, reporter arrested, charged with disclosing leaked information
Washington, D.C., October 31, 2023—Authorities in Escambia County, Alabama, should immediately drop all charges against Atmore News publisher Sherry Digmon and reporter Don Fletcher and thoroughly investigate the motives behind their arrests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Police arrested Digmon and Fletcher on October 27 on charges of disclosing leaked information, according to…
In Ecuador, threats force 9 journalists to flee their homes in 7 months
At least five journalists fled into exile and at least four others had to relocate within Ecuador between April and October 2023, amid political turmoil and a deepening security crisis that have put reporters and press freedom at increasing risk and led to self-censorship. One journalist—who asked CPJ not to disclose his name for safety…
In Haiti, murders of journalists go unpunished amid instability and gang violence
Dumesky Kersaint never flinched when it came to investigating violence in his gang-controlled suburb of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. On the morning of April 16, the 31-year-old radio reporter left before dawn to cover a previous night’s shooting near his home in Carrefour-Feuilles. He never came back. Several hours after setting out, Kersaint’s body was found…
Timeline: The 35-year road to justice for murdered journalist Hugo Bustíos Saavedra
When Hugo Bustíos Saavedra was killed in 1988, Peru’s government was embroiled in conflict with leftist guerilla groups, many civil liberties had been suspended, and efforts to seek justice in the journalist’s death seemed futile. CPJ and other press freedom groups unsuccessfully tried for years to pressure Peru’s government to investigate Bustíos’ murder, including by asking…
Faces of impunity across the world
CPJ’s 2023 Global Impunity Index lists the top 12 countries where the murderers of journalists go free. But impunity knows no borders. The mosaic below shows the faces of slain journalists around the world. Beneath each journalist’s photo is the location of their death. Click the images for more details about these unsolved cases. (Photo grid by Geoff McGhee)
Mahoney: Biden’s Saudi policy stymies quest for Khashoggi justice
From pariah to potential partner. That’s how far Saudi Arabia has come for President Joe Biden in the five years since Riyadh sent a death squad to butcher journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The administration’s ongoing rehabilitation of the petrodollar kingdom and its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, seems to…