CPJ joins call for India to release detained journalists, stop using counterterror law against media
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday joined 11 rights organizations in calling on the Indian government to immediately release all journalists arrested in politically motivated cases and to cease targeting critics under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, pending its amendment in line with international human rights standards. Read the full statement:
Tipping the scales: Journalists’ lawyers face retaliation around the globe
The smears began the day Christian Ulate began representing jailed Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora: tweets accusing the lawyer of being a leftist or questioning his legal credentials. He began to fear he was being surveilled. Ulate had taken over the case in August 2022 from two other lawyers, Romeo Montoya García and Mario Castañeda,…
Bangladesh national election 2024: Journalist safety guide
Bangladesh is scheduled to hold general elections by January 2024. Amid questions over the potential legitimacy of the elections, clashes are already on the rise both between and within the political parties, and journalists have frequently been caught in the crosshairs. Ahead of the upcoming election, Bangladeshi police have procured large amounts of shotgun bullets,…
Taliban intelligence agents detain 3 Radio Nasim journalists
New York, October 9, 2023—Taliban authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalists Sultan Ali Jawadi, Saifullah Rezaei, and Mojtaba Qasemi and cease harassing the press in Afghanistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Saturday, three Taliban intelligence operatives took the independent Radio Nasim’s director, Jawadi, and two of its journalists, Rezaei and Qasemi,…
Bangladeshi student journalist Mosharrof Shah attacked on university campus
New York, October 6, 2023—Bangladesh authorities must immediately and impartially investigate the attack on journalist Mosharrof Shah and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. At around 11:30 a.m. on September 24, around 15 to 20 men severely beat Shah, a correspondent for the privately owned daily newspaper Prothom Alo, on…
CPJ says Indian police raids on NewsClick office, journalists’ homes are an attack on press freedom
New Delhi, October 3, 2023— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Indian authorities to immediately release NewsClick founder and editor Prabir Purkayastha and stop trying to intimidate journalists through tactics such as Tuesday’s police raids on the Delhi office of Indian news website NewsClick and the homes of at least 12 staff and journalists…
CPJ condemns jail sentence for head of Hong Kong journalists’ group Ronson Chan
Taipei, September 25, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Hong Kong court’s decision on Monday to sentence Ronson Chan, head of the city’s largest journalists’ group, to 5 days in prison on charges of obstructing a police officer. “The 5-day sentence issued to journalist Ronson Chan is another deliberate humiliation to the freedom of the…
CPJ, partners call on British PM to push for Jimmy Lai’s freedom as he marks 1,000 days in jail
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 10 other press freedom and human rights groups on Monday in calling on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take immediate and decisive action to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and a British citizen. On Tuesday, 75-year-old Lai will have…
Indian journalist Debmalya Bagchi faces criminal investigation after reporting on illicit liquor dens
New Delhi, September 15, 2023—Authorities in the east Indian state of West Bengal should drop their investigation into journalist Debmalya Bagchi and stop harassing him simply for doing his job, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On September 6, police arrested Bagchi, a correspondent for the privately owned newspaper Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP), after…
India blocks journalists’ tweets about violence against Muslims
Three Indian journalists, who spoke to CPJ, said that X, formerly Twitter, blocked their posts about violence against Muslims in response to opaque legal demands from the government in August. Since August 8, the X account of independent journalist Ahmed Khabeer has been blocked in India, he told CPJ by phone. Khabeer published the email…