Editor’s note: Bakr al-Kassem was released without charge on September 2, according to media reports. Beirut, August 27, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Monday’s detention of freelance journalist Bakr al-Kassem in northern Syria and his transfer to Turkish intelligence custody, and calls for his immediate release. “We are deeply concerned that Syrian opposition…
New York, August 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Belarusian journalist Dzmitry Luksha, who received a presidential pardon after serving 30 months of a four-year prison sentence. “Belarusian journalist Dzmitry Luksha unjustly served 2 ½ years behind bars when he shouldn’t have spent a day in jail,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program…
New York, August 26, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing of Reuters safety adviser Ryan Evans in an attack that also injured three journalists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. “The missile strike that killed Reuters safety adviser Ryan Evans and injured three other journalists is a sad and sobering…
Sulaymaniyah, August 23, 2024—A suspected Turkish drone strike killed two journalists and injured another in the Said Sadiq district of Sulaymaniyah province on Friday. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic August 23 drone strike that killed two journalists and injured a third in Iraqi Kurdistan,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s interim MENA program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Turkish authorities should swiftly…
Taipei, August 23, 2024 – The Hong Kong Immigration Department has denied a work visa to Bloomberg News reporter Haze Fan, a Chinese national who was previously detained for at least 13 months by national security officials in Beijing. “Hong Kong authorities should not normalize the practice of refusing foreign or mainland Chinese journalists visa…
New York, August 23, 2024— The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about a new law, to be enforced by the Taliban’s morality police, which bans journalists from publishing or broadcasting content that they believe violates Sharia law or insults Muslims. “The Law for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice grants…
Bangkok, August 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Myanmar authorities to immediately and credibly investigate Wednesday’s killing of journalists Win Htut Oo and Htet Myat Thu in a military raid on a home in southern Mon State. “The killing of journalists Win Htut Oo and Htet Myat Thu is an atrocity against the…
Mexico City, August 22, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Mexican authorities to immediately and comprehensively investigate the shooting of Ariel Grajales Rodas and take measures to ensure his and his family’s safety. Grajales, editor of news website Villaflores.com.mx, was shot multiple times by unidentified gunmen who broke into his residence in…
Kinshasa, August 22, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to ensure the safety and freedom of two journalists — Radio Tokomi Wapi reporter Martin Kasongo and Top Lomami radio reporter Michaël Tenende — after local officials in the south-central Lomami province threatened them in separate…
New York, August 21, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Belarusian journalist Ksenia Lutskina, who has served nearly half of an eight-year sentence, following a presidential pardon. Lutskina was among 30 political prisoners who were involved in “protest activities” and suffered from serious health issues and chronic conditions in jail who were pardoned by…