CPJ, others call for lawsuits against Greek journalists and outlets to be dropped
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined eight other international press freedom organizations in support of journalists and media outlets in Greece ahead of a series of abusive lawsuits filed by Grigoris Dimitriadis, former general secretary and the nephew of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Dimitriadis filed two lawsuits against newspaper EFSYN and online investigative portal…
Palestinian journalists are being imprisoned by Israel in record numbers
In October, when the Israel-Gaza war began, Alaa al-Rimawi snapped into action, covering developments on J-Media, the West Bank-based news agency he directs, as well as on TikTok and Facebook. But his conflict coverage would be short-lived. Less than two weeks after the start of the war, Israel banned J-Media on security grounds and quickly…
In Tajikistan, independent media throttled by state repression
Giant portraits of President Emomali Rahmon adorn even the most nondescript buildings in Tajikistan’s capital of Dushanbe. Throughout the country, his sayings are featured on posters and billboards. Their ubiquitous presence underscores the consolidation of power by Rahmon – officially described as “Founder of Peace and Unity, Leader of the Nation” – since he emerged…
Israel-Gaza war takes record toll on journalists
Update: As of December 31, 2023, at least 77 journalists and media workers were killed; 70 of them Palestinian. More journalists have been killed in the first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year, according to CPJ data. By December 20, 2023, at…
Photos: Israel-Gaza war takes unprecedented toll on journalists
The Israel-Gaza war has been devastating for civilians, including journalists covering the conflict. While a few conflicts have taken the lives of hundreds of journalists over a period of years, no other war has taken so many journalists’ lives in such a short time span, according to CPJ data that has been gathered since 1992. Here…
‘Our kids miss their mom’: Husband of journalist Alsu Kurmasheva speaks out about her detention in Russia
Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor with the Tatar-Bashkir service of U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, has been in Russian detention since October 18, when authorities in the western city of Kazan charged her with failure to register herself as a foreign agent. If found guilty, Kurmasheva faces up to…
CPJ dismayed after Romanian authorities close investigation into harassment and smear campaign against journalist Emilia Șercan
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined nine other press freedom groups on Tuesday in expressing disappointment after Romania’s prosecutor’s office at the Bucharest Court of Appeal decided to close the investigation into the harassment and smear campaign against investigative journalist Emilia Șercan. Since January 2022, Șercan has received threatening emails and social media messages, and several…
In Haiti, murders of journalists go unpunished amid instability and gang violence
Dumesky Kersaint never flinched when it came to investigating violence in his gang-controlled suburb of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. On the morning of April 16, the 31-year-old radio reporter left before dawn to cover a previous night’s shooting near his home in Carrefour-Feuilles. He never came back. Several hours after setting out, Kersaint’s body was found…
Timeline: The 35-year road to justice for murdered journalist Hugo Bustíos Saavedra
When Hugo Bustíos Saavedra was killed in 1988, Peru’s government was embroiled in conflict with leftist guerilla groups, many civil liberties had been suspended, and efforts to seek justice in the journalist’s death seemed futile. CPJ and other press freedom groups unsuccessfully tried for years to pressure Peru’s government to investigate Bustíos’ murder, including by asking…
Faces of impunity across the world
CPJ’s 2023 Global Impunity Index lists the top 12 countries where the murderers of journalists go free. But impunity knows no borders. The mosaic below shows the faces of slain journalists around the world. Beneath each journalist’s photo is the location of their death. Click the images for more details about these unsolved cases. (Photo grid by Geoff McGhee)