Mumbai police open investigation into Republic TV journalists
New Delhi, October 27, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Mumbai police to stop trying to intimidate journalists at Republic TV and drop all criminal investigations into the news channel. On October 23, Mumbai police opened an investigation into five members of the privately-held news channel’s editorial team in relation to…
Daily Sangram reporter arrested in Bangladesh sedition case
New York, October 22, 2020— Bangladeshi authorities should immediately release reporter Ruhul Amin Gazi and let him work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday evening, police officers in the Hatirjheel neighborhood of Dhaka, the capital, arrested Gazi, a reporter with the Daily Sangram newspaper, according to news reports. The arrest came after…
CPJ Insider: Press freedom accountability project, journalists freed, and more
Press Freedom Accountability Project On May 26, 2020, the day after George Floyd was killed, two reporters covering a demonstration in Minneapolis were struck by projectiles. Since then, the number of press freedom violations during Black Lives Matter protests has risen dramatically. More than 850 violations have been reported to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker—which…
CPJ calls on Bangladeshi prime minister to arrange for release of journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol
CPJ asks Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to arrange for the immediate and unconditional release of jailed journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol, whose ill health makes him especially vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, potentially putting his life in danger.
Honduran journalist Luis Alonzo Almendares shot and killed
Miami, September 29, 2020 — Honduran authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Luis Alonzo Almendares, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 6 p.m. on September 27, in the central Honduran city of Comayagua, two unidentified individuals on a motorcycle shot Almendares, a local freelance…
Head of US Agency for Global Media ignores request to testify
Michael Pack, head of the United States Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America and several other outlets, has decided to ignore a bipartisan request to testify in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the dangers journalists face under his leadership. CPJ spoke with former VOA staffer Al Pessin about how…
Kuwaiti authorities detain blogger Mohamed al-Ajmi for ‘insulting religion’ in tweets
On August 23, 2020, the Kuwaiti public prosecutor’s office ordered the detention of Mohamed al-Ajmi, a blogger and member of the Kuwaiti freedom of expression group the National Committee for Monitoring Violations, and held him until August 25, according to news reports, social media posts by the journalist, and a report by the Arabic Network…
Charges remain against journalists arrested during George Floyd protests
Washington, D.C., August 17, 2020 – Nearly three months after the height of national Black Lives Matter protests, at least six journalists are still facing charges stemming from their coverage, according to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists and its partner site, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. CPJ today called on state and municipal…
Beirut’s journalists report on the explosion that tore through their lives and city
Six minutes after the explosion at the Port of Beirut on the evening of August 4, 2020, Natalia Sancha, a correspondent for the Spanish newspaper El Pais, was on her motorcycle, heading to the scene of the blast. Like so many journalists in the city, she was documenting the catastrophe as she was living it. The…
Mohamed Monir’s death of COVID-19 is a warning sign for journalists held in Egypt’s prisons
“I am very sick! I need oxygen therapy. Someone help me! Someone please help me get admitted to the Moneera hospital! I am very sick! Please do something before I completely run out of breath!” The Egyptian journalist Mohamed Monir panted, short of breath, as he made a plea from his home over Facebook Live on July 7….