2021

New York, February 23, 2021 – In response to a Serbian court’s decision today sentencing former mayor Dragoljub Simonovic to more than four years in prison for ordering an arson attack on the home of journalist Milan Jovanović, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “It is welcome news to see a Serbian…

On February 4, Emmanuel Dogbevi turned to Twitter with a plea for help. He tagged press freedom groups and colleagues in a series of tweets, lamenting how allegations that he violated U.S. copyright law had prompted his news website to be taken offline.  Dogbevi told CPJ via phone that Ghana Business News, the Ghana-based website he edits,…

New York, February 18, 2021 – In response to today’s sentencing of Belarusian journalists Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova to two years each in prison over their coverage of protests in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “These prison terms are naked political persecutions designed to bully into silence any…

Last month brought mixed news in the quest for justice for 27-year-old Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak, who was murdered with his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in their home outside Bratislava on February 21, 2018. The alleged mastermind, businessman Marián Kočner, is behind bars for forgery; on January 12 an appeals court upheld a lower court ruling sentencing Kočner to…

New York, February 17, 2021 – Russian authorities should investigate the nonconsensual release of journalist Elena Solovyova’s financial information online and ensure that the perpetrators are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In several posts on February 4 and 10, the anonymous Telegram channel “Komi-Telega,” which has over 6,000 subscribers, published…

Vilnius, Lithuania, February 16, 2021 — Belarusian authorities should cease their raids against journalists and journalistic associations and return confiscated reporting equipment, records, and money, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, police in Belarus raided the Minsk headquarters of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), a local advocacy and trade group, and the apartments…

Istanbul, February 16, 2020 – Turkish authorities should cease prosecuting former staffers of the shuttered Özgür Gündem newspaper and not contest their appeals, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the 23rd Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes convicted three former editors and the former publisher of pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem on terrorism charges, and…

Of the more than 100 Russian journalists who have been arrested or fined covering rallies in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Mediazona chief editor Sergey Smirnov has become a symbol of the absurd lengths to which Russian authorities are willing to go to quash coverage of the events.  On January 20, Smirnov retweeted another person’s tweet saying…

New York, February 10, 2021 – Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Dmitry Bairov, drop all charges against him, and allow him to work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 28, plain-clothed law enforcement officers detained Bairov near his home in Ulan-Ude, a city in the eastern Russian Republic…

New York, February 8, 2021 – Uzbek authorities should immediately release journalist Otabek Sattoriy, drop all charges against him, and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 30, in the southern city of Termez, a group of plain-clothed police officers detained Sattoriy, a blogger who covers alleged local…