In Marcos Jr.’s Philippines, milder tone belies harsh media reality
At a waterfront courthouse in Tacloban City, a long-time hotbed of communist insurgency in the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas island region, heavily armed guards were escorting jailed journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio to trial. The picturesque setting belied the harsh reality of the April 17 hearing. Cumpio could be put behind bars for life if found guilty…
Media coverage of CPJ ‘Deadly Pattern’ report on journalists killed by Israeli military
On May 9, 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists published “Deadly Pattern,” a report on the Israeli military’s killing of 20 journalists in 22 years — and how no one has been held accountable for those deaths. Some of the global coverage of the CPJ report:
In Turkey, cautious optimism that tough election could be good for press freedom
Turkey’s powerful Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) are facing one of the toughest challenges of their two decades in office. Polls ahead of the country’s May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections suggest that the president and his long-ruling party could lose to the opposition coalition of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of…
A deadly reporting field for Palestinian journalists
Palestinians make up 90% of the journalists and media workers killed by the IDF in CPJ’s database. (The other 10% were foreign correspondents; no Israelis were killed.) Those figures are partly a reflection of broader trends in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; over the last 15 years, 21 times more Palestinians than Israelis have been killed, according…
How Israel probes journalist killings
Israel’s procedure for examining military killings of civilians such as journalists is a black box. There is no policy document describing the process in detail and the results of any probe are confidential. If an incident taking place during active combat raises the suspicion of a violation of international law, the office of the army…
CPJ joins call urging authorities to drop charges against Asheville Blade reporters
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined the Freedom of the Press Foundation and over 45 other organizations in a letter on Wednesday, May 3, calling for the Buncombe County district attorney’s office to drop charges against Asheville Blade reporters Veronica Coit and Matilda Bliss. The pair were arrested on December 25, 2021, while covering the…
CPJ joins call for Bangladesh authorities to end crackdown against journalists and online critics
On World Press Freedom Day, Wednesday, May 3, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined five civil society organizations in a statement calling on the Bangladesh government to end the harassment of journalists and protect media freedom ahead of the national elections scheduled for January 2024. The statement calls on the Bangladesh government to immediately suspend…
CPJ joins call for Indian government to withdraw latest amendment to Information Technology Rules
Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, May 3, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined 16 press freedom and human rights organizations in a Tuesday statement calling on the Indian government to review and withdraw the overbroad provisions of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, and to withdraw the latest amendment to the rules, announced…
CPJ, 14 organizations call on Kenyan authorities to expedite investigations into killing of journalist Arshad Sharif
CPJ and 14 human rights organizations and press associations issued a joint statement on Tuesday, May 2, calling on Kenyan authorities to expedite investigations into the killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif and to ensure accountability in a transparent judicial process. In October 2022, Kenyan police said an officer fatally shot Sharif in Kajiado County…
CPJ, 47 rights organizations call on Ethiopia to end internet shutdowns
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 47 human rights organizations in an April 27 letter calling on Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to ensure unfettered internet and digital communications access. The letter expressed alarm at the weaponization of internet shutdowns in the country, highlighting several recent disruptions, including on April 3 when authorities blocked access…