Russian journalist Valery Badmayev charged with ‘discrediting’ the army
Paris, December 13, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalist Valery Badmayev and stop harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On December 9, officials with the Russian Investigative Committee detained Badmayev, editor-in-chief of the Sovremennaya Kalmykia newspaper in Elista, the capital of the southern Republic…
Tajikistan authorities sentence 2 journalists to lengthy prison terms
New York, December 13, 2022 – Tajik authorities should immediately release journalists Khushruz Jumayev and Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, and stop imprisoning members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. The Tajikistan Supreme Court recently convicted Jumayev, a journalist and blogger who works under the name Khushom Gulyam, of membership in…
French intelligence agency summons 3 journalists for questioning
Berlin, December 12, 2022 — The General Directorate for Internal Security, France’s domestic intelligence agency, should immediately withdraw summonses issued to journalists Benoît Collombat, Jacques Monin, and Geoffrey Livolsi, and refrain from questioning members of the press over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On December 7, the agency issued summonses for…
Former Belsat TV contributor Larysa Shchyrakova detained in Belarus on undisclosed charges
Paris, December 9, 2022 — Belarusian authorities should publicly disclose the reason for former Belsat TV journalist Larysa Shchyrakova’s arrest or release her immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Tuesday, December 6, authorities in the southeastern city of Homel detained Shchyrakova, a former journalist with the banned Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV,…
Latvian regulator cancels broadcasting permit for exiled Russian broadcaster Dozhd TV
Paris, December 8, 2022 — Latvian authorities must reverse their decision to cancel the broadcasting permit of independent broadcaster Dozhd TV (TV Rain), the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday, December 6, the Latvian National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), the country’s media regulator, canceled the outlet’s broadcasting authorization “due to a threat…
Myanmar journalist Myo San Soe sentenced to 15 years in prison for terrorism
Bangkok, December 5, 2022 – Myanmar authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Myo San Soe and stop imprisoning members of the press on bogus terrorism charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On November 30, a court inside Pyapon Prison, in the Ayeyarwady region, sentenced Myo San Soe, a freelance reporter who contributed to the local Delta News Agency and Ayeyarwaddy Times, to 15 years in prison on charges…
Taliban bans radio broadcasts of VOA and RFE/RL in Afghanistan
New York, December 1, 2022 – Taliban authorities must cease their intensifying crackdown on the media in Afghanistan and reinstate the radio transmissions of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcasters Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture issued the ban, which went…
Journalist Wilder Alfredo Córdoba shot and killed in southern Colombia
Bogotá, November 30, 2022 — Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Wilder Alfredo Córdoba, determine if he was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Monday, November 28, two unidentified men on a motorcycle shot and killed Córdoba while he was…
Shanghai police detain foreign journalists covering anti-lockdown protests, beat BBC correspondent Edward Lawrence
Taipei, November 28, 2022 — Chinese authorities must immediately stop harassing and detaining journalists and ensure the safety of reporters covering protests against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Sunday, police in Shanghai assaulted Edward Lawrence, a journalist for British public broadcaster BBC, while he was covering a…
DRC journalist Olivier Makambu jailed over broadcast following defamation complaint
Kinshasa, November 23, 2022 – Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should immediately release journalist Olivier Makambu, drop all legal proceedings against him, and reform the country’s laws to ensure journalism is not criminalized, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Wednesday, November 16, two police officers arrested Makambu, program director of…