CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering protests in Belarus
Beginning in early February, there have been nationwide demonstrations in Belarus to protest the introduction of a new tax on the unemployed. More than 150 protesters have been arrested, dozens have been fined or sentenced to up to 15 days in jail for participating in the protests, and at least 32 journalists have been detained…
CPJ joins call for Belarus president to stop harassment of journalists, protesters
The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with 48 rights organizations, sent a letter on March 22 to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, condemning the detention and harassment of protesters, journalists, human rights defenders, civil society activists, and members of the country’s opposition party.
Dozens of journalists obstructed from covering Belarus protests
New York, March 23, 2017 – Belarusian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalists prosecuted for covering a wave of nationwide protests and should cease interfering with journalists doing their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security forces have detained or otherwise obstructed at least 32 journalists in an effort to censor…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of March 19, 2017
Security forces detain reporter in southeastern Turkey Security forces in the southeastern province of Mardin today detained Dihaber reporter Murat Verim, the news agency reported. Dihaber said the arrest was part of an ongoing terrorism investigation.
UK’s proposed Espionage Act will treat journalists like spies
Journalists in Britain are becoming increasingly alarmed by the government’s apparent determination to prevent them from fulfilling their mission to hold power to account. The latest manifestation of this assault on civil liberties is the so-called Espionage Act. If passed by parliament, it could lead to journalists who obtain leaked information, along with the whistle…
Journalist arrested in Moscow on Belarusian extradition request
New York, March 15, 2017–Russian authorities should immediately release Yuriy Baranchik, chief analytical editor of the pro-Kremlin Russian news agency Regnum, and allow him to work unobstructed, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Deciding who decides which news is fake
Authorities decry the proliferation of misinformation and propaganda on the internet, and technology companies are wrestling with various measures to combat fake news. But addressing the problem without infringing on the right to free expression and the free flow of information is extremely thorny.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of March 12
Editor sentenced to nine years in prison The 7th Court for Serious Crimes in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakır yesterday sentenced Aydın Atar, former news editor for the shuttered Kurdish-language daily newspaper Azadiya Welat, to nine years, four months, and 15 days in prison on charges of “propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization,” the news…
Journalist severely beaten, hospitalized in Albania
New York, March 9, 2017–Albanian authorities should thoroughly investigate yesterday’s attack on investigative journalist Elvi Fundo and swiftly bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Two unidentified assailants beat Fundo, who runs the news website Citynews.al and Radio Best, with crowbars near a train station in the capital, Tirana.
Russian security services detain journalists in border city, order them to leave
New York, March 7, 2017–Russian security services should stop harassing and obstructing journalists and should allow them to work unimpeded, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security services have detained at least three journalists who had traveled to report from the northwestern city of Svetogorsk, on Russia’s border with Finland, in the past two…