Brazilian newspaper faces judicial harassment
São Paulo, June 20, 2016–A series of court cases filed against journalists and employees at the Brazilian newspaper Gazeta do Povo constitute judicial harassment and should be dropped immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Judicial officials in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná have filed 46 individual civil suits against five employees at…
Reporters Without Borders representative, two others jailed in Turkey
New York, June 20, 2016–Authorities should immediately release and drop all charges against two human rights defenders and a journalist arrested in Istanbul, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in Istanbul today ordered Erol Önderoğlu, the Turkey representative of the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and two other people arrested…
Syrian journalists critically injured in bomb attack on home
New York, June 17, 2016 – Independent Syrian journalist Hadi Abdullah and cameraman Khaled Eissa were wounded by an improvised explosive device (IED) that destroyed their house in the Syrian city of Aleppo late Thursday night, according to media reports. Eissa is reported to be in critical condition.
Two Chinese writers sentenced for ‘subversion’
New York, June 16, 2016 – Chinese authorities should release Lü Gengsong and Chen Shuqing and drop all charges against them stemming from their writing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The two were individually sentenced to more than a decade in prison on “subversion” charges today, according to press reports.
Bolivian officials threaten journalists with jail
Bogotá, June 16, 2016 – Enraged over press coverage of a government influence-peddling scandal that helped crush President Evo Morales’s reelection hopes, high-ranking Bolivian officials are lashing out at the country’s independent media and demanding that journalists be sent to prison.
Journalist Jay Torres murdered in Garland, Texas
New York, June 16, 2016–The Committee to Protect journalists is alarmed by the killing of Texas journalist Jacinto Hernández Torres, whose body was found on Monday night in Garland, a northeast suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The journalist, who went by the name Jay Torres, was a freelance contributor for nearly 20 years…
Syrian journalist in Turkey survives second assassination attempt
Beirut, June 13, 2016 — The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the attempted assassination of Syrian journalist Ahmed Abd al-Qader in the southeastern Turkish town of Urfa. Sunday’s attack on the journalist was the second in three months.
Journalists attacked, equipment stolen during protests in Caracas
New York, June 3, 2016–Several journalists were attacked and some had equipment stolen while covering protests in Caracas Thursday, according to news outlets and a local freedom of expression group. Some of the journalists who were attacked said that the Venezuelan National Guard did not intervene to prevent the attacks and in one case, forced…
Masked men attack muckraking Sri Lankan editor
New York, June 3, 2016 — Sri Lankan authorities should ensure a thorough investigation into an attack on the editor of the Sinhala-language Meepura newspaper Thursday and hold the perpetrators responsible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Criminal defamation suits in Peru and Chile could have chilling effect
New York, June 3, 2016 — Two criminal defamation suits filed against journalists by the president of Chile and a Peruvian governor could have a chilling effect on the press in both South American countries, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.