SOTA, one of the last independent news outlets in Russia, doubles down on coverage
Since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, Russia has sought to stamp out independent reporting on the war, prompting journalists to flee and newsrooms to shut down or to self-censor under threat of criminal prosecution. Remarkably, one local outlet has continued to produce robust reporting despite the repressive environment. SOTA, which counts a staff of 40 journalists and support workers,…
Malta: Court sentences hitmen to 40 years each for role in assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia
Valletta, Malta, October 14, 2022–Following a guilty plea, a court in Malta’s capital, Valletta, on Friday sentenced brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio to 40 years each for their role as hitmen in the assassination of Malta’s leading investigative journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia. On Friday, representatives of Article 19 Europe, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the…
Special report: When spyware turns phones into weapons
How zero-click surveillance threatens reporters, sources, and global press freedom By Fred Guterl Published October 13, 2022 Aida Alami has always been wary of surveillance. As a journalist from Morocco, a state with a track record of intercepting phone calls and messages of political rivals, activists, and journalists, she habitually took precautions to protect her…
Hungarian journalists targeted by spyware have little hope EU can help
Szabolcs Panyi was not even remotely surprised when Amnesty International’s tech team confirmed in 2021 that his cell phone had been infiltrated by Pegasus spyware for much of 2019. Panyi, a journalist covering national security, high-level diplomacy, and corruption for Hungarian investigative outlet Direkt36, had already long factored into his everyday work that his communications…
David Kaye: Here’s what world leaders must do about spyware
In late June, the general counsel of NSO Group, the Israeli company responsible for the deeply intrusive spyware tool, Pegasus, appeared before a committee established by members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Called the PEGA Committee colloquially, the Parliament established it to investigate allegations that EU member states and others have used “Pegasus and equivalent…
Kazakh outlet Orda, staff subjected to months of threats, online harassment, cyberattacks
New York, October 12, 2022—Authorities in Kazakhstan should thoroughly investigate recent threats against independent news website Orda and its chief editor Gulnara Bazhkenova, and ensure the outlet and its staff’s safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On October 5, unidentified individuals sent a severed pig’s head to Orda’s editorial offices in the southern…
Belarusian journalists detained, forced to make ‘confession’ videos
Paris, October 12, 2022—Belarusian authorities are continuing their crackdown on the country’s independent media with a spate of fresh arrests and detentions of several journalists. On Thursday, October 6, police in Minsk, the capital, detained Snezhana Inanets, a reporter at the independent news website Onliner, and her husband Aliaksandr Lychavko, a local historian and reporter…
CPJ condemns Belarus ‘witch hunt’ after three BelaPAN journalists sentenced to lengthy prison terms
Paris, October 6, 2022 – Belarusian authorities must immediately release Andrei Aliaksandrau, Dzmitry Navazhylau, and Iryna Leushyna, three former and current employees of independent Belarusian news agency BelaPAN who were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 4 to 14 years on various charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. All three have denied the charges, and Leushyna and…
Turkish parliament to vote on criminalizing the spread of ‘false information’
Istanbul, October 5, 2022—The Turkish parliament should not approve the draft bill on misinformation that would criminalize spreading “false information,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Turkey’s parliament, known as the Grand National Assembly, started discussing the draft bill on Tuesday evening and is set to finish voting this week, according to multiple news…
Tajikistan journalist Abdullo Ghurbati sentenced to 7.5 years in prison
New York, October 4, 2022 – In response to news reports that a court in Tajikistan on Tuesday sentenced Tajikistani journalist and documentary filmmaker Avazmad Ghurbatov, who works under the name Abdullo Ghurbati, to seven and a half years in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement condemning the ruling: “We condemn today’s harsh and…