2018

Journalist jailed over unpaid fines Hakan Gülseven, a journalist who used to work for the pro-opposition (CHP) daily Yurt, was imprisoned on December 20 after failing to pay 31,500 Turkish lira (US$5,974) in three unpaid fines over charges of insult, the news website Artı Gerçek reported.

Journalists from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan to the U.S. were targeted for murder in 2018 in reprisal for their work, bringing the total of journalists killed on duty to its highest in three years. The number of journalists killed in conflict fell to its lowest level since 2011. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

Dozens of journalists covering anti-government protests in France and Belgium in November and December of 2018 suffered attacks by the demonstrators and the police, according to press and social media reports.

Berlin, December 13, 2018–Spanish authorities should immediately return equipment and documentation seized from the news agency Europa Press and from journalists working for the Diario de Mallorca daily newspaper and ensure that journalists can protect the confidentiality of their sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Anti-state charges for 5 journalists Five journalists from the opposition daily Sözcü were indicted for “willingly and knowingly helping a [terrorist] organization without being in its hierarchical structure,” BBC Turkey reported on December 10. Chief editor Metin Yılmaz, online chief editor Mustafa Çetin, online news coordinator Yücel Arı, and columnists Emin Çölaşan and Necati Doğru…

For the third year in a row, 251 or more journalists are jailed around the world, suggesting the authoritarian approach to critical news coverage is more than a temporary spike. China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia imprisoned more journalists than last year, and Turkey remained the world’s worst jailer. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

New York, December 12, 2018–Serbian authorities must ensure the safety and well-being of investigative journalist Milan Jovanović and bring those responsible for today’s arson attack on his property to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Despite the French government announcing it will drop a proposed fuel tax rise, the gilets jaunes (yellow jackets) group, truckers, and farming groups have called for more protests, according to The Guardian. Mass demonstrations have taken place across France and Belgium as initial protests over the proposed increase in fuel duty on diesel spread to…

Journalists in court A Diyarbakır Court on December 5 ordered Rojhat Doğru, a journalist formerly with the northern Iraq outlet Gali Kurdistan TV, to be detained pending investigation, the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency reported. According to the report, Doğru was taken into custody in Istanbul on the accusation of “being a member of a [terrorist] organization,”…

Miami, November 29, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over the detention in Venezuela of German freelance journalist Billy Six. Venezuelan counterintelligence agents detained Six in the northwestern state of Falcón on November 17, according to his parents and news reports.