Investigative reporter Bradley Hope: Pegasus spyware revelations a ‘wake-up call for journalists’
Bradley Hope was in Abu Dhabi in 2009, the year the BlackBerry devices overheated. “If you put it next to your face it would almost burn,” he told CPJ in a phone interview. The BBC that year reported that a UAE telecom company had prompted local BlackBerry owners to install a rogue surveillance update disguised…
Hong Kong police arrest former Apple Daily executive editor Lam Man-chung
Taipei, July 21, 2021 – Hong Kong authorities should immediately release Lam Man-chung and all other former employees of the shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 6 a.m. today, police arrested Lam, the newspaper’s former executive editor-in-chief, at his home in Sai Kung Town on suspicion of…
‘Fear and anxiety’ rules among local journalists, Hong Kong Journalists Association finds
The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) found that authorities use the national security law to silence journalists, systematically limit the media’s ability to access to public databases, and force public and private broadcasters to minimize their political content and, in the case of at least one public broadcaster, spread government propaganda in its annual report,…
CPJ, U.S. media organizations urge U.S. to provide visas to Afghans who worked with press
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined a coalition of U.S. news and press freedom organizations in joint letters to President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Congressional leadership asking the U.S. government to provide humanitarian assistance and emergency visas to Afghans who have worked with U.S. media outlets. In 2020, at least five journalists…
CPJ to release report and host media briefing on press freedom in Myanmar
New York, July 20, 2021–Since the February military coup in Myanmar, the junta has cracked down harshly on the press, attacking reporters and photographers and jailing dozens of journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists will publish a mid-year census on journalists imprisoned in Myanmar, with analysis and recommendations. WHAT: Virtual press launch of mid-year report…
Journalists harassed, obstructed while covering home demolitions in India
Washington, D.C., July 19, 2021 — Indian authorities should cease harassing and obstructing members of the press covering protests and demolitions in Khori Gaon, in Haryana state, and ensure that they can report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 30, and then repeatedly in mid-July, police have threatened, harassed, and obstructed…
Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui killed in Afghanistan
Washington, D.C., July 16, 2021 — Afghan authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui and do everything in their power to protect members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Siddiqui, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 2018, was killed…
Vietnam sentences journalist Pham Chi Thanh to 5.5 years in prison
Bangkok, July 15, 2021 – Vietnamese authorities should release journalist Pham Chi Thanh immediately and unconditionally, and cease imprisoning members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 9, a Hanoi court sentenced Thanh, a journalist who blogs under the pseudonym Pham Thanh, to five years and six…
Sri Lankan anti-terror authorities interrogate journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan
Washington, D.C., July 14, 2021 — Sri Lankan authorities should stop harassing journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan and halt any further efforts to interrogate him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 12, officers with the Batticaloa district’s Terrorism Investigation Division, a branch of the Sri Lankan police, interrogated Nilanthan, a freelance Tamil journalist and…
Myanmar military rearrests journalist Aung Mya Than
Bangkok, July 14, 2021 – Myanmar authorities should immediately release journalist Aung Mya Than and drop any pending charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 11 p.m. on July 10, military authorities arrested Aung Mya Than, a reporter with the local Ayeyarwady Times, at his home in the town of Maubin,…