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….
Police occupy, close 2 television stations in Somaliland
Nairobi, July 1, 2020 — Authorities in Somaliland should immediately withdraw security personnel from the studios of the privately owned Universal TV and Star TV stations, and allow the stations to reopen and the journalists return to work without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 25, police officers ordered journalists to…
Local officials arrested, attacked, and confiscated equipment of radio journalists in western Uganda
Between April 3, 2020, and May 28, 2020, officials in the western Uganda district of Kabale arrested journalist Rogers Asiimwe of Freedom Radio; assaulted journalist Bob Rumanzi, also of Freedom Radio; and temporarily confiscated the phone of Richard Akandwanaho, then of Voice of Kigezi radio, the journalists told CPJ in interviews via messaging apps. …
Algerian journalist Ali Djamel Toubal sentenced to 2 years in prison over Facebook posts
New York, June 22, 2020 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed dismay at the one-day trial and sentencing of Algerian journalist Ali Djamel Toubal and called for his immediate release. On June 17, a state prosecutor summoned Toubal, a reporter for the independent daily newspaper Ennahar, to the Mohammadia Court in the city…
China’s COVID-19 countermeasures include restricting press freedom
In the nearly 71 years of Communist Party rule in China, the country’s citizens have enjoyed brief periods of relatively free speech, as during the abortive Hundred Flowers Campaign in 1956-57, or the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when investigative journalists covered local corruption and pollution. When the coronavirus outbreak first began spreading in…
Mexican reporter’s car firebombed in Sonora state
Mexico City, May 29, 2020 — Mexican authorities should immediately provide journalist Marco Antonio Duarte Vargas with protective measures and credibly investigate threats against his life, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 27, at about 11:30 p.m., unknown assailants set fire to Duarte’s car at his home in Ciudad Obregón, in the…
