For the second year in a row, the number of journalists imprisoned for their work hit a historical high, as the U.S. and other Western powers failed to pressure the world’s worst jailers–Turkey, China, and Egypt–into improving the bleak climate for press freedom. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser
In August, Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen told the daily newspaper Information that the government had authorized sales of online surveillance software to several Middle Eastern countries. While acknowledging the potential for human rights violations that could result from the use of these tools, the minister said that Denmark has an interest in the fight…
Washington, D.C., August 15, 2017–Iranian authorities should immediately reverse an order banning 152 journalists and media workers with the BBC’s Persian service from buying or selling assets, cease harassing BBC journalists, and lift their ban on the station, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Iran has a history of cracking down on the independent press ahead of elections, with authorities arresting journalists and forcing reformist outlets to shut down. As Iranians prepare to vote in presidential and city council elections on May 19, authorities have turned their attention to Telegram, arresting several channel administrators for the app.
New York, April 28, 2017–Iranian authorities should immediately drop all charges against freelance journalist Issa Saharkhiz, who was sentenced yesterday to one year in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The sentence was handed down the day after Saharkhiz was released from jail on a separate charge, according to the journalist’s son and…
Security forces arrested Morad Saghafi from his home in Tehran on March 16, 2017, according to the official ILNA news agency, but to date have not made public any charges against him or the reason for his arrest. Saghafi is the editor of Goftegoo Magazine, which focuses on culture and social sciences. In a March…
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 40 human rights groups calling on the U.N. Human Rights Council to support the resolution to renew the mandate of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A vote on the resolution is scheduled to take place during the…
New York, March 15, 2017–Iranian authorities should immediately release Ehsan Mazandarani, Hengameh Shahidi, and all journalists jailed for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The arrests come ahead of presidential elections scheduled for May.