2 French journalists, Togolese fixer detained 26 days following arrest while documentary filming in northern Togo
Dakar, August 21, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls on Togolese authorities to drop the charges against French journalists Sebastian Perez Pezzani and Gaël Mocaër, and their Togolese fixer, Komi Mawufemo Vedomey, and to release Mocaër and Vedomey who have spent 26 days in detention since they were arrested July 27 while filming a documentary in northern Togo. On August 20, 2026,…
Kazakhstan sentences journalist Gulnara Bazhkenova to eight years in prison as pre-election press crackdown intensifies
New York, August 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is shocked by the eight-year prison sentence handed down to Gulnara Bazhkenova, former editor-in-chief of independent outlet Orda, in Kazakhstan on August 18, and warns that this latest prosecution appears to be part of an escalating crackdown on the media ahead of elections this month. An Almaty…
Mexican journalist Carlitos Ricardo Parias shot by US immigration authorities, without medical care after 300 days in detention
Miami, August 18, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities to ensure that Mexican journalist and TikTok streamer Carlitos Ricardo Parias receives adequate medical care after spending 300 days in immigration detention at California’s Adelanto Detention Facility. Parias, 45, who reports independently under TikTok handle Richard Noticias LA, was shot in the left…
Bangladesh war crimes tribunal issues fresh warrants for 3 journalists over press conference questions
New Delhi, August 18, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Bangladeshi authorities to drop their new crimes against humanity case against journalists Shyamal Dutta, Mozammel Babu, and Farzana Rupa, and stop criminalizing news reporting. Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday ordered prison authorities to produce the journalists, who have been detained since 2024…
DRC shutdown of internet, mobile networks in east extends for over a month amid war
Kinshasa, August 17, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to restore mobile telecommunications and internet services that have been cut off for more than a month in the Fizi Territory, which includes the city of Baraka, in the eastern province of South Kivu. “The intensification of…
Cameroon journalist held incommunicado for photo of Anglophone unrest
Update: After publication on August 14, George Atabong Lekeaka was released, according to his lawyer Emmanuel Aleambong Nkea. Dakar, August 14, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Cameroonian authorities to release George Atabong Lekeaka, who has been held incommunicado since Monday for publishing a photo of security officers on patrol during clashes with separatist…
Brazilian Supreme Court breaks source confidentiality over judge’s ‘stalking’ claims against journalist
São Paulo, August 14, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court has decided personal allegations are a reason to break source confidentiality, a right guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution, in journalist Luís Pablo Conceição Almeida’s reporting. Brazilian Supreme Federal (STF) Judge Flávio Dino accused Luís Pablo of “stalking”…
In Ethiopia, 5 journalists pressured to apologize for terrorism to win release
Nairobi, August 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities to immediately release five journalists who have been in detention for three years awaiting trial, instead of pressuring them to admit to, and apologize for, taking part in a deadly insurgency in exchange for their freedom. Gobeze Sisay, Meskerem Abera, Genet Asmamaw, Dawit…
Gabon’s online news outlet Info241 suspended for publishing allegations about president
Dakar, August 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Gabonese authorities to reinstate the privately owned news site Info241, which was suspended by the country’s media regulator for relaying comments by an influencer about President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema and his entourage. “Deciding to shut down a 13-year-old media outlet is more an act of…
Russia sentences journalist Vasilisa Shishkina to 12 years in jail on treason charges
Berlin, August 12, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Russian authorities to swiftly clarify the circumstances surrounding the prosecution of journalist Vasilisa Shishkina on treason charges and her subsequent sentencing in May to 12 years in prison amid reports that she was targeted because of her work. Shishkina, an editor at the regional outlet Nomer…