CPJ calls on Venezuelan government to release human rights defender
CPJ and 24 other international press freedom groups, led by IFEX, signed an open letter urging the Venezuelan government to immediately release lawyer and human rights defender Eduardo Torres, a member of the Venezuelan Program for Human Rights Education-Action. Government officials confirmed that Torres was detained May 13 but have since provided no information on…
CPJ signs manifesto remembering 3rd anniversary of Dom Phillips killing
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined other 49 civil society organizations and journalists in a manifesto organized by the Javari Valley Indigenous People Union (UNIVAJA) to remember the third anniversary of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira killings on June 5, 2022, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Issued on World Environment…
CPJ, partners warn El Salvador, Nicaragua legislation could harm press freedom
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 21 other international and local press freedom organizations in a joint statement Friday rejecting laws approved in El Salvador and Nicaragua that could severely affect press freedom, freedom of expression, and access to information in those countries. On May 16, Nicaraguan lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment that allows the…
CPJ, partners urge Pakistan to halt arbitrary deportations of Afghan journalists
New York, May 28, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists, alongside PEN International and 13 partner organizations, has issued a joint statement urging Pakistan’s government to immediately halt the arbitrary mass deportation of Afghan journalists and other nationals at risk of Taliban persecution. The statement expresses grave concern over Pakistan’s “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan,” which was…
CPJ, human rights organizations urge Jordanian authorities to reverse decision to block websites
In a joint statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 23 other human rights organizations called on the Jordanian government to immediately reverse the May 14 decision to block 12 websites and lift the ban on all affected platforms unconditionally. The statement urges the government to publicly disclose the legal basis for the actions against…
CPJ, others call on UK prime minister to exert diplomatic pressure to secure writer Alaa Abdelfattah’s release
In a joint letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 31 other press freedom and human rights organizations urged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to intensify his diplomatic efforts to secure Egyptian-British writer Alaa Abdelfattah’s release. The letter follows a February call between Starmer and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, which has yet to yield…
CPJ, partners press Cambodia to release environmental reporter Ouk Mao
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined CamboJA and other partner organizations in a joint advocacy statement on May 22 urging Cambodia to free Ouk Mao, also known as Uk Mao, an environmental reporter with the local Intriplus News website. Plainclothes officers arrested Mao without a warrant on May 16. He is being held in pre-trial detention…
CPJ, 58 groups call for journalist Zhang Zhan’s immediate release on 5th anniversary of unjust arrest
New York, May 14, 2025—CPJ and 58 other press freedom and human rights groups condemned the Chinese government’s ongoing arbitrary detention of independent journalist Zhang Zhan and called for her immediate release on the fifth anniversary of her arrest. Zhang was first detained on May 14, 2020, while reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China. Zhang completed a four-year prison sentence for…
CPJ, others call on Nicaragua to reverse decision to leave UNESCO
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined six other international press freedom organizations in a statement urging the Nicaraguan government to reverse its May 4 decision to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), saying the move further erodes freedom of expression in the country. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay confirmed Nicaragua formally…
CPJ submit a joint report to UN ahead of Kuwait’s human rights review
The Committee to Protect Journalists, in partnership with the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)—an independent, nonprofit civil society organization—has submitted a report on the state of human rights in Kuwait to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of Kuwait’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session on May 7, 2025. The UPR, a United Nations…