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The Torch

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Mourners surround a car carrying the coffin of Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad on January 4, 2020. (AFP/Ahmad Al-Rubaye)

In wake of Soleimani’s killing, journalists at risk in Iraq

Following the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis on January 3, journalists reporting in Iraq face heightened risks. According to CPJ research, pro-Iran militias have previously targeted journalists for kidnapping. Journalists planning to cover events in Iraq can find safety advice in CPJ Emergencies’ latest advisory…

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CPJ’s #FreeThePress campaign highlighted several jailed journalists. (Photos: Various)

Year in review: The state of press freedom in 2019

This year, journalists worldwide faced attacks, arrests, and censorship. In September, we released our annual 10 Most Censored list, highlighting the range of online and offline techniques used to censor journalism and restrict press freedom. Meanwhile, protests in over two dozen countries posed risks to members of the press. Journalists faced threats while covering civil…

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25 journalists were killed this year for their work

In the Philippines, a court convicted the mastermind of the November 23, 2009, massacre of 58 people in Maguindanao. The attack killed 32 journalists and media workers, and was the deadliest event for the press that CPJ has ever recorded. This week, CPJ released its 2019 report on journalists killed worldwide, finding that at least…

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CPJ/Rebecca Redelmeier

China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt are world’s worst jailers of journalists

This week, CPJ released its 2019 prison census, finding that China, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia are the worst jailers of journalists worldwide. For the fourth consecutive year, at least 250 journalists are imprisoned globally. While the majority face anti-state charges, the number charged with “false news” rose to 30 compared with 28 last year….

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Protesters hold pictures of murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia as they gather outside the prime minister's office in Valletta, Malta, on November 20, 2019. (AFP/Matthew Mirabelli)

Unprecedented government control of media in Hungary

CPJ joined partner organizations in a joint mission to Hungary, and found that the country’s government has a level of control over the media that is unprecedented for a European Union member state. The mission found that the Hungarian government has pursued strategies to silence the press and delegitimize journalists. CPJ continues to document attacks…

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A demonstrator gestures during a protest in La Paz, Bolivia, on November 9, 2019. (Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach)

Warrantless searches of devices at ports unconstitutional, US court rules

On Tuesday, a U.S. federal court ruled that warrantless searches of digital devices by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials are unconstitutional. Last year, CPJ’s report “Nothing to Declare” found that CBP agents’ stop and search powers risked undermining press freedom. Watch our video explainer of how searches of electronic devices at the U.S. border…

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CPJ Mexico Representative Jan-Albert Hootsen asks President Andrés Manuel López Obrador about his commitment to protecting journalists’ safety at the president’s daily press conference in Mexico City on November 6, 2019. (Prometeo Lucero/Article 19)

Protect yourself against NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware

CPJ’s Emergencies Team released a safety advisory this week for journalists targeted by the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware and other digital surveillance technology. The advisory details how journalists can identify attacks, respond if they have been targeted, and protect themselves and their sources. For more information, consult CPJ’s Digital Safety Kit. In Mexico City on…

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CPJ's 2019 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free. (Source: CPJ data from September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2019)

The worst countries in the world at prosecuting journalist murderers

CPJ released the 2019 edition of its annual Global Impunity Index this week, which lists the worst countries in the world at prosecuting murderers of journalists. Somalia tops the list for the fifth year in a row. During the 10-year period covered by the index, 318 journalists were murdered for their work worldwide. In 86%…

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Tens of Australian newspapers blacked out their front pages on Monday, October 21, 2019, to protest against secrecy laws. (Andy Park/Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Australian newspapers stand together for press freedom

In Australia, around two dozen newspapers blacked out their front pages on Monday to fight back against secrecy laws. The campaign, led by Australia’s Right to Know Coalition, follows the June raids on the ABC’s Sydney headquarters and the home of Annika Smethurst, a politics editor for the Sunday Telegraph, the legality of which is…

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CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler was denied entry to Pakistan on October 16. (CPJ)

CPJ’s Butler denied entry to Pakistan to attend a human rights conference

On Wednesday, Pakistani immigration authorities denied entry to CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler, citing a blacklist managed by the Ministry of Interior. On Sunday, a Turkish air strike hit a civilian convoy in northern Syria, killing two Syrian Kurdish journalists. Saad Ahmed, a reporter for the local news agency Hawar News, died shortly after…

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