Stockholm, August 12, 2021 – Belarusian authorities should immediately release journalist Syarhey Hardzievich and cease jailing independent reporters in retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 2, the Ivanavskiy District Court in the country’s southwestern Brest region convicted Hardzievich, a correspondent with the independent regional news website Pershy Region,…
Istanbul, August 12, 2021 – Turkish authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the attack on political commentator Emre Erciş and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. This afternoon, an unidentified attacker shot Erciş in his foot and leg while he was walking in Istanbul’s Fatih district…
Stockholm, August 10, 2021 – Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov should reject legislation approved by parliament that imperils press freedom in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 28, the Jogorku Kengesh, the country’s parliament, approved the bill “On Protection from Inaccurate (False) Information” by a vote of 97 to 5, according…
Stockholm, August 3, 2021 – Russian authorities should remove The Insider and all other media organizations and journalists from the country’s register of foreign agents and stop harassing the outlet’s editor-in-chief Roman Dobrokhotov, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 23, the Russian Justice Ministry added independent Latvia-based investigative news site The Insider…
Exposing those who abuse power for personal gain is a dangerous activity. Nearly 300 journalists killed for their work since CPJ started keeping records in 1992 covered corruption, either as their primary beat, or one of several. The risk was reaffirmed this month with the release of the Pegasus Project, collaborative reporting by 17 global…
New York, July 30, 2021 – Maltese authorities “created an atmosphere of impunity, generated by the highest echelons” ahead of the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the results of a Maltese public inquiry into the journalist’s October 2017 killing found yesterday, according to news reports. Caruana Galizia, who reported on alleged government corruption…
On July 23, 2021, lifeguards at a beach in Istanbul beat reporter Çağdaş Evren Şenlik and cameraman Ayhan Arıtürk from the pro-government A Haber news television and damaged their equipment, according to reports and videos from their employer and other pro-government outlets. Şenlik and Artürk were there to report on drownings at beaches in Şile…
Stockholm, July 27, 2021 – Belarusian authorities should reverse their decision to dissolve Press Club Belarus and allow the organization and its staff to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 21, the Minsk City Executive Committee, the city administration headed by a presidential appointee, initiated the dissolution of the independent…
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined four other human rights and free expression organizations in a joint statement calling on Kyrgyzstan authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the death in prison of journalist Azimjon Askarov. The statement notes that authorities have failed to thoroughly and credibly investigate the circumstances of Askarov’s July 25,…
Stockholm, July 22, 2021 – Belarus authorities should immediately drop all proceedings against the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and allow members of the press and their trade organizations to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Justice Ministry of Belarus applied to the country’s Supreme Court to dissolve BAJ, the…