In India’s hardest-hit newsroom, surveilled reporters fear for their families and future journalists
M.K. Venu, a founding editor at India’s independent non-profit news site The Wire, says he has become used to having his phone tapped in the course of his career. But that didn’t diminish his shock last year when he learned that he, along with at least five others from The Wire, were among those listed…
For Mexican journalists, President López Obrador’s pledge to curb spyware rings hollow
“Practically nothing.” RíoDoce magazine editor Andrés Villarreal spoke with a sigh and a hint of resignation as he described what came of Mexico’s investigation into the attempted hacking of his cell phone. “The federal authorities never contacted me personally. They told us informally that it wasn’t them, but that’s it.” Over five years have passed…
In Morocco, journalists – and their families – still struggle to cope with spyware fears
By CPJ MENA Staff Last July, when the Pegasus Project investigation revealed that imprisoned Moroccan journalist Soulaiman Raissouni was selected for surveillance by Israeli-made Pegasus spyware, the journalist could only laugh. “I was so sure,” his wife Kholoud Mokhtari said Raissouni told her from prison. Raissouni is one of seven local journalists named by the…
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…
CPJ recommendations to protect journalists against spyware
The arbitrary or unlawful use of spyware technologies violates human rights and causes direct damage to journalists and their ability to report freely and safely. These recommendations are necessary to protect journalists and their sources. For all governments For the U.S. government For European Union institutions For companies For international organizations See CPJ’s 2021 policy…
‘To persecute any critical voice’: Jailed Guatemalan journalist Zamora’s son on his father’s arrest
When Guatemalan police arrested José Rubén Zamora in July 2022, it marked the latest salvo in a decades-long campaign of harassment against the pioneering Guatemalan investigative journalist, who won CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award in 1995. Zamora, who founded elPeriódico in 1996 and still serves as president of the newspaper, was arrested on July 29….
CPJ submits report on Brazil to United Nations Universal Periodic Review
Brazil’s human rights record is under review by the United Nations Human Rights Council through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This U.N. mechanism is a peer-review process that surveys the human rights performance of member states, monitoring progress from previous review cycles, and presents a list of recommendations on how a country can better fulfill…
CPJ joins call for the release of Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah, lawyer Mohamed al-Baker
CPJ has joined 46 human rights organizations and individuals in calling for Egyptian authorities to immediately release Egyptian journalist and blogger Alaa Abdelfattah and his lawyer Mohamed al-Baker after three years of imprisonment. The September 29 letter also calls on British authorities to intervene to secure the release of Abdelfattah, who obtained U.K. citizenship while…
CPJ’s Yeganeh Rezaian on mass protests and journalist arrests in Iran
When mass protests erupted in Iran more than a week ago, the government cracked down hard. While clashes between security forces and demonstrators left many dead and disruptions to internet service made information hard to obtain, CPJ learned that security forces had arrested at least 28 journalists as of September 29. (Click here for CPJ’s…