Polish court fines journalist Ewa Siedlecka for criminal defamation
Berlin, December 15, 2021 –Polish authorities should not contest journalist Ewa Siedlecka’s appeal of her criminal defamation conviction and should reform the country’s criminal defamation laws so they can no longer be used against journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 24, 2021, the District Court for Warsaw-Śródmieście convicted Siedlecka, a columnist…
Hungary’s Szabolcs Panyi on how Pegasus surveillance has hindered his reporting
It took five months for Hungary to acknowledge publicly that it had bought the Pegasus spyware allegedly used to hack the phones of hundreds around the world. In November, Lajos Kósa, a top official from Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party, acknowledged the purchase in a media interview after a parliamentary meeting; Minister of the Interior Sándor…
Ukrainian investigative journalist Pavlo Biletskiy’s cars destroyed in alleged arson attack
Vilnius, Lithuania, December 9, 2021 — Ukrainian authorities should thoroughly investigate the alleged arson attack on investigative journalist Pavlo Biletskiy and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the early morning hours of December 5, unknown individuals burned two cars that belonged to Biletskiy, chief editor of independent news agency…
UK ruling on extraditing Wikileaks’ Assange ‘seriously damages journalism’
New York, December 10, 2021–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed deep disappointment at a British court’s decision to uphold the United States Justice Department’s appeal to extradite Julian Assange, which allows the U.S. to continue pursuing the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder, according to news reports. “On the same day the Nobel Peace Prize…
Turkish President Erdoğan sues Greek and French outlets for alleged insults
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has filed lawsuits in Turkish courts against employees of the conservative Greek daily Dimokratia and the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Law, which criminalizes “insulting the president.” None of the defendants have appeared in Turkish courts, according to news reports. Erdoğan is suing…
Number of journalists behind bars reaches global high
Editor’s note: Numbers for each prison census are adjusted yearly as CPJ learns of arrests, releases, or deaths in prison. The numbers for CPJ’s 2021 census have been revised from 293 to 302 in accordance with this policy. For the most recent data, see cpj.org/data/imprisoned/ The number of journalists jailed around the world set another record…
In Belarus, Lukashenko’s vindictiveness reaches new heights
On May 23, Belarusian authorities caused a global outcry when they diverted a Lithuania-bound commercial flight to the Belarus capital of Minsk so they could arrest two passengers on the plane: self-exiled journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega. This shocking tactic was seen as emblematic of just how far President Aleksandr Lukashenko is…
Uzbek blogger Fatima Jurayeva allegedly beaten while investigating state electricity company
New York, December 8, 2021 — Uzbek authorities must swiftly and transparently investigate the recent alleged attack on blogger Fatima Jurayeva and ensure her safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 22, the chief accountant at the Ulug’nor district office of the state-owned electricity company Hududiy Elektr Tarmoqlari, in Uzbekistan’s eastern Andijon region,…
New Greek criminal code amendment threatens journalists with jail for spreading ‘false’ information
Berlin, December 8, 2021 — Greek lawmakers should revoke an amendment to the country’s criminal code that threatens journalists with prison sentences for spreading what the prosecution deems “false” information, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 11, 2021, Greek lawmakers approved an amendment to Article 191 of the country´s criminal code that…
CPJ welcomes convictions in retrial for Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija’s murder
New York, December 2, 2021 – In a retrial today, the Higher Court in Belgrade convicted four former Serbian state security officers of the 1999 murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, owner of the mass-circulation Dnevni Telegraf, Serbia’s first private daily, and the weekly magazine Evropljanin, independent regional news website Balkan Insight reported. Ćuruvija, 51, was…