Political reporter Altan Sancar threatened at gunpoint in Turkey
Istanbul, March 24, 2022 – Turkish authorities should thoroughly investigate a recent threat against journalist Altan Sancar, determine whether it was related to his work, and ensure the journalist’s safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Wednesday around 12:30 a.m., Sancar, a reporter for independent news website Diken and independent online radio Özgürüz…
Myanmar sentences journalists Hanthar Nyein and Than Htike Aung to 2 years in prison
Bangkok, March 24, 2022 – Myanmar authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalists Hanthar Nyein and Than Htike Aung, and stop sentencing members of the press to prison for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Monday, March 21, a military court in Yangon’s Insein Prison convicted Hanthar, co-founder of the local…
Cameroon journalist Malcolm Barnabé Paho detained for 2 days, prosecuted for defamation
Dakar, March 23, 2022 — Cameroonian authorities should drop the prosecution of journalist Malcom Bernabé Paho and decriminalize journalism in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On February 22, the national gendarmerie arrested Paho, director of the newspaper Midi Libre Hebdo; opened a criminal defamation case against him; and detained him for…
Russian newspaper Pskovskaya Guberniya searched; journalists flee amid home raids
Paris, March 23, 2022 — Russian authorities should stop harassing independent journalists and let all members of the press work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On March 5, officers with the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Center for Combating Extremism and the OMON special riot police raided the office of Pskovskaya Guberniya, an…
Guatemalan journalist Orlando Villanueva shot dead in Puerto Barrios
Guatemala City, March 23, 2022 — Guatemalan authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of journalist Orlando Villanueva, determine if it was connected to his journalism, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the afternoon of March 8, an unknown number of unidentified individuals…
Vietnamese journalist Le Van Dung sentenced to 5 years in prison
Bangkok, March 23, 2022 – Vietnamese authorities should release journalist Le Van Dung immediately and stop imprisoning members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. The People’s Court of Hanoi convicted Dung in a two-hour trial on Wednesday, March 23, under Article 117 of the penal code, an anti-state provision that bans…
Russian journalist Andrey Novashov detained, charged with spreading ‘fake’ information
Berlin, March 22, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately release journalist Andrey Novashov, drop all charges against him, and refrain from threatening journalists with prison over their work and commentary, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Monday, March 21, authorities in the Siberian region of Kemerovo detained Novashov, a reporter with the U.S. Congress-funded…
Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina released after 10 days; at least 4 other journalists briefly detained
Paris, March 22, 2022 – Russian forces in Ukraine must immediately cease detaining journalists and should ensure that members of the press can cover the war in Ukraine freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Tuesday, March 22, the independent Ukrainian television station Hromadske announced that Viktoria Roshchina, a reporter with the station…
Tunisian authorities detain Mosaique FM correspondent Khalifa Guesmi over terrorism article
New York, March 21, 2022 – Tunisian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Khalifa Guesmi and stop intimidating journalists into revealing their sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On March 17, Guesmi, a correspondent at local independent radio station and news website Mosaique FM, published an article about the dismantling of a…
Republic of Congo newspaper Sel-Piment suspended for 6 months, director detained for 7 days
Dakar, March 21, 2022 — Authorities in the Republic of Congo should lift Sel-Piment’s suspension immediately and refrain from detaining journalists for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On December 30, 2021, police arrested Augias Ray Malonga, acting director of the privately owned newspaper Sel-Piment, at his home in Brazzaville, the capital,…