In Focus

Dakar, September 11, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Togolese authorities to investigate the seizure and assault of journalist Roland Yaovi Kodjo, prosecute those responsible, and ensure journalists’ safety, after armed men kidnapped Kodjo on September 5 and released him hours later after realizing they had targeted the wrong man. “The kidnapping and assault…

In Tunisia, at least four journalists and commentators sentenced to prison over the last year remain free, trying to work and carry on with their daily lives while knowing they could be arrested and taken into custody. Two others are in exile, unable to return home without risking imprisonment. Whether they will eventually be forced…

Ahead of this month’s parliamentary election, independent journalists in Kazakhstan have faced “unprecedented” pressure, ranging from criminal prosecutions to professional bans, and this crackdown warrants heightened international scrutiny to ensure the country upholds its obligations on media freedom. Voters go to the polls on August 23 to elect a unicameral parliament established under a new…

Six journalists have been murdered in Mexico this year, five of them in just over two months, marking one of the deadliest spikes in violence against journalists that CPJ has documented in over a decade. Despite several organized calls for justice in the Mexican states where the reporters were killed, government authorities have not addressed…

Journalists rely on confidential sources to uncover information that governments, corporations, and powerful individuals often want to keep hidden. When authorities subpoena journalists in attempts to compel them to reveal their reporting sources, they undermine one of the core functions of a free press in a democracy. The U.S. Department of Justice under the second…

Hungary’s new government has taken promising first steps to restore press freedom after years of state capture under former prime minister Viktor Orbán, but authorities must now move beyond quick fixes to deliver transparent, durable reforms that ensure the media is protected from any and all political interference. After his Tisza party won a  landslide…

Government-allied Wazalendo militiamen have threatened to kill or capture one reporter and to burn down another’s radio station because of unfavorable coverage, as frontlines shift under diplomatic pressure for peace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Rwanda-backed M23 and Congo River Alliance (AFC) rebels — who made unprecedented territorial gains in early 2025…

More than eight years after the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia sent shockwaves through Europe, all eyes are once again on the capital Valletta, where the alleged mastermind of her murder has been on trial since July 1.  Yorgen Fenech, a powerful businessman, is standing trial on a charge of complicity in murder…

As LGBTQ+ communities celebrate Pride this June, many journalists continue to face an ugly reality: simply reporting on this community can open them up to prosecution, physical attacks, threats, arrest, exile, and even death.  Avijit Roy, a Bangladeshi-born American who blogged about LGBTQ+ rights and free expression, was stabbed to death alongside his wife after…

After 100 days in office, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman must start living up to his election manifesto pledge of protecting press freedom by breaking the cycle of partisan persecution of journalists in Bangladesh, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Bangladesh has had three governments in under two years: the administration of long-time leader Sheikh Hasina’s…