Case
2018
Syrian militia detains reporter in western Idlib
Members of the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on June 24, 2018, detained Syrian journalist Mohammed Fadl al-Janoudi (also known as Mohammad al-Shami), a correspondent for the pro-opposition Qasioun News Agency in western Idlib and northern Lattakia, at his home in a displaced persons camp in the town of Bedama, between the villages of Ayn…
Free Syrian Army group detains 3 journalists in northern Syria
Members of the Northern Brigade of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) on June 22, 2018, detained Kaniwar Khalef and Essam al-Abbas, camerapersons for the Dubai-based news agency Arab 24, and Hassan Khalef, their camera assistant, in northeastern Syria near the village of Chath, according to the Syrian Journalists Association, the regional press freedom group…
Russia charges independent journalist with terrorism offenses
Russian journalist Viktor Korb on May 16 was charged by authorities in the Russian town of Omsk, in southwestern Siberia, for transcribing and publishing a 2015 speech that a Kremlin critic gave at his trial. Korb on June 26 told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he remains unable to work and access money, and…
Serbian government accuses journalist of false reporting abduction
On June 15, 2018–Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on June 15 that freelance journalist Stefan Cvetković was found unharmed. Local news outlets had reported, citing police and witnesses, that he went missing on the evening of June 13 in the town of Bela Crkva, some 100 kilometers east of the capital, Belgrade.
Armed attackers rob, threaten Nicaraguan reporter in his home
Two armed men broke into the home of newspaper reporter Josué Garay in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua early on June 10, 2018, beat him and stole his phone and identification documents, the journalist told CPJ by phone. Garay told CPJ he believes the attack was an attempt to intimidate him and discourage him from…
HuffPost journalist and colleagues receive online threats
At least 11 journalists at HuffPost, their families and others were harassed and threatened online in late May and early June 2018, Lydia Polgreen, editor in chief at HuffPost, told CPJ. The harassment came after the outlet published a piece written by reporter Luke O’Brien that identified the person behind a Twitter account that shares…
Journalist’s car set on fire in Romania
Berlin, June 5, 2018–The car of Dragoş Boţa, the editor-in-chief of local news website Pressalert, was set on fire by unknown assailants the night of June 2, 2018, in Romania’s southwestern city of Timişoara, the Romanian news agency Mediafax reported. No one was injured, according to the report.
Palestinian journalist assaulted while covering pro-Gaza protests in Haifa
An Israeli police officer assaulted Palestinian reporter Nahed Dirbas, a journalist for the London-based news website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, while she was covering a protest against Israeli actions in Gaza in the Israeli city of Haifa on May 18, 2018, according to news reports, her employer, and the regional press freedom group SKeyes Center for Media…
Kenyan authorities arrest blogger after posts on alleged official corruption
Kenyan blogger Cyprian Nyakundi was arrested on May 14, 2018, on allegations of publishing “alarming” content about senior civil servants, according to court documents seen by the Committee to Protect Journalists. He was released on May 17 following the intervention of the director of public prosecutions, the blogger and one of his lawyers, Smith Otieno,…