Journalist attacked at U.S. protest
New York, November 11, 2016–Four masked men attacked freelance photojournalist Kyle Ludowitz yesterday as he photographed protesters looting and vandalizing businesses in the U.S. city of Oakland, California, the journalist told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Ludowitz was treated for a broken cheekbone following the incident, he said.
CPJ Highlights: November edition
Note to our readers: CPJ plans to intensify our documentation of press freedom violations in the United States, following the election on November 8, 2016, of Donald Trump as president. During his campaign, Trump verbally attacked journalists, restricted access, threatened lawsuits, and promised to make legal action against the media easier under his administration. We…
Brazilian journalist convicted of criminal defamation for environmental reporting
A Salvador court sentenced Brazilian journalist Aguirre Talento to six months and six days in jail for criminal defamation on October 31, 2016, reduced to community service and a fine, according to the journalist and his lawyer. The case was the second of three separate defamation cases filed the same day over a 2010 story…
Proposed changes to Mexico’s right to reply would increase burden on media
Mexico City, November 4, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today over proposed changes to Mexico’s media regulations that could force the press to publish or broadcast more replies to news stories. The changes are due to be voted on by the country’s Supreme Court November 7.
Montreal police spied on La Presse reporter Patrick Lagacé
New York, October 31, 2016–Montreal police have been tracking an iPhone belonging to La Presse reporter Patrick Lagacé since the beginning of the year, the journalist’s paper reported today. Canadian courts authorized 24 warrants to surveil Lagacé’s phone, according to court documents obtained by the French-language Montreal daily. The warrants allowed police to access the…
Journalists covering Venezuela tension face violence, obstruction
Bogotá, Colombia, October 27, 2016–Journalists trying to cover rising political tensions in Venezuela have been obstructed and have come under attack, including by Venezuelan security forces and immigration officials, according to press freedom groups and news reports.
Getting Away With Murder
CPJ’s 2016 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free By Elisabeth Witchel, CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant Published October 27, 2016. Some of the highest rates of impunity in the murders of journalists can be attributed to killings by Islamist militant groups, CPJ found in its latest Global Impunity…
U.S. documentary filmmakers face prison for filming protest
New York, October 20, 2016–Prosecutors in the U.S. states of North Dakota and Washington should drop all charges against three independent documentary filmmakers arrested while filming environmental activists interfering with oil pipelines, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Cuban journalists detained while covering hurricane damage
Cuban state security officers on October 11 briefly detained Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, one of Cuba’s most prominent independent journalists, along with five of her colleagues from Periodismo de Barrio (Neighborhood News) and two freelancers working with them, while the team attempted to report on storm damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in northeastern Cuba Periodismo de…
North Dakota court to review rioting charge against Amy Goodman
New York, October 17, 2016–A U.S. court is due today to review a charge of rioting filed against broadcast journalist Amy Goodman, who filmed security guards using dogs and pepper spray to disperse protesters on September 3. The charge against the host of global news program Democracy Now! was filed October 14 by North Dakota…