Turkey’s government sends a bleak message on press freedom
CPJ’s recent press freedom mission in Turkey got off to a disappointing start. International organizations led by the International Press Institute, and including Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa, a think tank focused on seven European countries, gathered in Ankara and Istanbul to discuss our concerns about possible updates to…
‘It is becoming unbearable:’ Journalists say they have become ‘scapegoats’ at anti-vaccine protests
Journalists covering demonstrations against COVID-19 countermeasures have been called “terrorists,” “pedophiles,” “murderers,” and “scumbags.” Protesters have harassed and assaulted members of the press, and told them that “the nooses are ready.” Threats like these have become increasingly familiar for reporters in Europe and the United States, where the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a CPJ partner,…
CPJ joins call for European Parliament to strengthen Digital Services Act
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 13 freedom of expression and digital rights organizations in a letter calling on members of the European Parliament to ensure that the proposed Digital Services Act protects freedom of expression. The draft legislation, which is currently being reviewed, will become binding legislation for all EU member states once…
CPJ joins call for European Commission to strengthen Rule of Law report
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 61 organizations in a joint statement urging the European Commission to strengthen its annual Rule of Law report. The Rule of Law report, published in July, which provides a basis for the annual rule of law dialogue among European Union officials and member states, includes summaries of areas…
‘Action should follow words’: Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family wants Maltese journalists to work without fear
Last week’s indictment of businessman Yorgen Fenech marked a critical step in the quest for accountability in the murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. According to news reports, Malta’s attorney general has called for a life sentence plus an additional 20 to 30 years behind bars for Fenech, the alleged mastermind of…
Pegasus Project revelations show added layer of risk for corruption reporters
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…
CPJ joins statement calling on Kyrgyz authorities to investigate death of journalist Azimjon Askarov
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,…
Azerbaijani journalist Sevinj Vagifgizi was ‘astonished’ to learn of Pegasus spyware on phone
Azerbaijani authorities have long had a firm grip on the media by imprisoning, harassing, and persecuting journalists both at home and abroad as well as blocking their websites. Now authorities are alleged to have used a new tool in their quest to muzzle independent reporting: spyware. Several Azerbaijani journalists have been named in the collaborative…
‘Obviously very chilling’: Peter R. de Vries killing shows the danger of Dutch crime reporting
The brutal slaying of crime reporter Peter R. de Vries has shocked the Netherlands. Although still one of the least violent countries for journalists in the world, reporters, parliament, and local press freedom groups warn that threats, intimidation, and violence against outlets and individual journalists reporting on organized crime are on the rise. More than 80 percent of Dutch journalists experienced…
Iceland fishing company goes ‘guerilla’ on journalists who uncovered alleged corruption
When in March of this year a neighbor alerted Helgi Seljan, an investigative reporter for Iceland’s public broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), that she had seen someone lurking around his house, he was alarmed, he told CPJ in a video interview. Seljan said that the neighbor recognized the alleged lurker as Jón Óttar Ólafsson, a former police…