Two Prague-based Russian journalists threatened, fear surveillance
New York, September 21, 2023—Czech authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into recent threats received by journalists at the independent investigative news website IStories and ensure the journalists’ safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Between March and September 2023, IStories received four threatening messages via the feedback form on the outlet’s…
Turkish journalist Sinan Aygül sentenced to 6 months in prison for trespassing
Istanbul, September 20, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the six-month sentence issued to Turkish journalist Sinan Aygül on Tuesday, in connection with his journalistic activity. “The people charged with the vicious assault that landed journalist Sinan Aygül in hospital in June were released on bail by a Turkish court last week. This week, Aygül…
Belarusian authorities label investigative media outlet Belarusian Investigative Center as ‘extremist’
New York, September 20, 2023—Belarusian authorities should stop using the country’s extremism legislation to silence independent reporting and let the media work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. At a closed-door hearing on September 15, the Belarusian Supreme Court labeled the Belarusian Investigative Center (BIC), an independent Czech Republic-based investigative media outlet, as…
French intelligence agents search home, detain journalist Ariane Lavrilleux over leaks investigation
Berlin, September 20, 2023—France’s domestic intelligence agency should immediately release freelance journalist Ariane Lavrilleux from custody, drop all criminal investigations against her, and refrain from questioning her about her sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, September 19, police officers with the General Directorate for Internal Security, accompanied by an investigating…
‘Network abuse’: Attacks on 3 media sites involved services of US, UK firms
Cyberattackers used services of technology companies based in the U.S. and U.K. to target media sites from Somalia, Kosovo, and Turkmenistan, Qurium, a nonprofit hosting the sites, said Tuesday. Earlier this month, CPJ reported on how cyberattackers used a Nebraska company, RayoByte, in attempts to knock those same media sites offline, as well as at…
Russia blocks two more Central Asian news outlets over Ukraine war coverage
Stockholm, September 18, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to lift blocks on independent Kyrgyz news website 24.kg and exiled Tajik outlet Payom and to stop censoring foreign media for covering Russia’s war in Ukraine. “Having already banned domestic media from reporting anything but state-sanctioned information, Russia’s censorship of international media outlets…
Turkish courts keep 2 reporters in pretrial detention, grant bail to bodyguards charged with attack on a journalist
Istanbul, September 15, 2023—Turkish authorities should not continue imprisoning journalists for their reporting while granting bail to those charged with assaulting them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, September 14, the 2nd Tatvan Court of Penal Peace granted bail to Yücel Baysali and Engin Kaplan, two bodyguards of the mayor of the…
Apple warns Latvia-based journalists about possible hacker attacks
New York, September 15, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday issued an urgent call for authorities to investigate allegations that journalists working in Latvia were targeted by state-sponsored hackers. CPJ’s call follows reports on Thursday—a day after the disclosure that the phone of exiled Russian journalist Galina Timchenko had been infected by Pegasus spyware—that…
Journalists call on European Parliament to ban spyware
Some 500 journalists have called on members of the European Parliament since September 14 to introduce an absolute ban on surveillance of the press through spyware in the upcoming European Media Freedom Act. Spyware, which secretly takes over electronic devices without being detected, puts journalists around the world at risk of increased harassment and violence and…
CPJ joins call for Malta to publish expert report on media
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined four other press freedom groups on Thursday in calling on Malta’s government to publish without delay an expert report aimed at improving the difficult environment for the media following the assassination of leading investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and to consult widely on any proposed legislation. The Committee of…