New York, June 17, 2021 – Russian authorities should drop all court proceedings against journalist Yury Dud and ensure that he can work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 10, the Zyuzinsky District Court in Moscow accepted a lawsuit filed against Dud, who runs the YouTube channel vDud, for…
In 2018, journalist Mohammad Shubaat was in Daraa, Syria, caught between advancing forces aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the closed borders of Israel and Jordan. Despite the dire threat to Shubaat and many of his colleagues, it would take over a year of intense negotiations with some 20 countries by the Committee to…
Stockholm, June 16, 2021 – Kazakh authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate all threats made to employees of the independent newspaper Aq Zhayiq and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since the beginning of the year, unidentified individuals have sent dozens of death threats to Azamat Maitanov, the outlet’s editor-in-chief, and…
Berlin, June 16, 2021—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern after Germany’s Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, removed legal provisions that exempted journalists from surveillance during terrorism investigations. Amendments to Germany’s Federal Constitutional Protection Act — approved on June 10, 2021 — give domestic and foreign intelligence services and the federal police powers to…
New York, June 15, 2021 – The Union of European Football Associations should ensure that all journalists can report from its events freely and without political interference from host countries, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since late May, UEFA, an umbrella organization comprised of 55 national soccer associations across Europe, has denied or…
Vilnius, Lithuania, June 15, 2021 — Russian authorities should stop detaining and harassing journalists for their work, and should drop any investigation into reporters Veronika Samusik and Vasiliy Krestyaninov, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 11, Moscow police detained Samusik, a correspondent with the independent news website Sota.Vision, while she was covering a performance…
Forced confessions—sometimes tied to public humiliation—have a long and inglorious history, and were a fundamental component of ancient judicial systems in the East and West. Obtaining a confession, by any means, for centuries was often a key part of achieving a conviction and meting out punishment. At the Salem witch trials, the accused could escape…
New York, June 15, 2021 – In response to the Slovak Supreme Court’s ruling today to cancel the acquittals of two defendants in the 2018 murder of investigative reporter Ján Kuciak, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We welcome the Slovak Supreme Court’s decision to cancel the acquittals of Marián Kočner and…
Stockholm, June 14, 2021 – Uzbek authorities should conduct an impartial and thorough investigation into the recent attack on three employees of the independent news website Effect.uz, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the afternoon of June 7, a group of people shoved, hit, and chased Rahmatullo…
Istanbul, June 14, 2021 – Turkish authorities should not imprison journalist Sinan Aygül, and the country’s Constitutional Court should accept his case, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On April 29, the First Penal Chamber of the Van Regional Court of Justice, an appeals court in eastern Turkey, upheld Aygül’s 2019 conviction on charges…