Alerts

  
Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime looks on during a press conference, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti December 12, 2024. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol

Haiti’s presidential council expands defamation laws as end of political immunity looms

Miami, January 16, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Haitian authorities to rescind a decree that broadens criminal defamation laws after Haiti’s ruling body, the Transitional Presidential Council, published the decree without prior public discussion. “The Transitional Presidential Council is in place to provide stability at a time of deep upheaval in Haiti. Measures like…

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U.S.-based journalist Sevinj Osmanqizi, seen here, has been sentenced in absentia, along with France-based journalist Ganimat Zahid, on anti-state charges. (Courtesy of Sevinj Osmanqizi)

Azerbaijan sentences exiled journalists to lengthy prison terms in absentia

January 16, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijani authorities to stop targeting exiled journalists after a court sentenced U.S.-based journalist Sevinj Osmanqizi on January 14 to eight years in prison in absentia on charges of calling for mass unrest and the overthrow of the state. The ruling follows a seven-year sentence handed down on December 23 to…

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Le Trung Khoa Pic

CPJ calls on Vietnam to roll back media repression ahead of Communist Party congress

Bangkok, January 16, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges authorities in Vietnam to roll back a crackdown on independent media and release imprisoned journalists ahead of next week’s Communist Party congress. On December 31, Hanoi’s People’s Court convicted Le Trung Khoa, editor and founder of the Germany-based news site Toibao.de, in absentia and sentenced him…

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Sandra Muhoza

Burundi: Sandra Muhoza sentenced to 4 years in prison in 2nd trial

Nairobi, January 15, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Burundian authorities to end the persecution of jailed journalist Sandra Muhoza who has been given a four-year sentence for comments she made on WhatsApp, after almost two years in detention. Muhoza, who was informed of the court’s decision on January 14, was also fined 200,000…

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Carlos Castro (Screenshot: Milenio/YouTube)

Mexican reporter’s death continues pattern of impunity after 6 journalists killed last year

Mexico City, January 14, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Mexican authorities to swiftly and comprehensively bring journalist Carlos Castro’s killers to justice and to end a troubling continuation of impunity after at least six journalist were killed in the country last year. Castro, 25, was shot dead January 8 while eating at a restaurant in the…

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FILE - A person walks into the One Franklin Square Building, home of The Washington Post newspaper, June 21, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

In highly unusual move, FBI searches Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home, seizes devices 

Update: After publication, the Washington Post reported in an update that its newsroom has also been subpoenaed.  Washington, D.C., January 14, 2026– Federal agents with the FBI have made a highly unusual move of searching the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, and seizing her electronic devices, in a move that the Committee…

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U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) speaks during AmericaFest, the first Turning Point USA summit since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. December 20, 2025. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

CPJ calls on U.S. House Committee to drop Seth Harp subpoena

Washington, D.C., January 13, 2026– The Committee to Protect Journalist calls on the U.S. House Oversight Committee to drop its subpoena of investigative journalist Seth Harp and calls on the Justice Department to refrain from pursuing criminal charges against Harp in relation to his work.  Harp published to X a photograph and biography of an officer he reported was…

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Political commentator Peter Schutz during a talk show on Slovak public broadcaster STVR. Schutz, a prominent columnist for daily newspaper SME, was physically attacked in a shopping mall on January 10.

Slovak newspaper columnist Peter Schutz physically attacked 

Berlin, January 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Slovak authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the physical attack on Peter Schutz, political commentator with the daily newspaper SME, and to swiftly determine whether he was targeted for his work. “The attack on Peter Schutz is a deeply concerning development in an increasingly hostile environment for the…

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A Syrian security officer stands next to munition strewn on the ground following a ceasefire which ended several days of fighting between Syrian security forces and Kurdish fighters in the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood of Aleppo.

Journalists detained, barred in Syria as government regains Aleppo areas

Sulaymaniyah, January 12, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern after Syrian government forces detained three journalists and imposed restrictions on independent reporting in the Aleppo neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah following the government’s recapture of the areas following clashes with Kurdish units affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces. “We are deeply troubled by…

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CPJ calls for immediate release of 3 imprisoned Venezuelan journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Venezuelan authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalists Rory Branker, Nakary Mena Ramos, and Gianni González, drop all charges against them, and ensure that journalists in Venezuela can work freely and without fear of retaliation. “Pervasive attempts to silence critical voices under Venezuela’s Chavez and Maduro regimes must…

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