Israel-Gaza War
Israel is engaging in the deadliest and most deliberate effort to kill and silence journalists that CPJ has ever documented. Palestinian journalists are being threatened, directly targeted, and murdered by Israeli forces, and are arbitrarily detained and tortured in retaliation for their work. Israel has systematically destroyed media infrastructure in Gaza, and tightened censorship throughout…
Gaza journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout describes 33 harrowing days in Israeli custody
Diaa Al-Kahlout, the veteran Gaza bureau chief for the Qatari-funded London-based newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, had been covering the Israel-Gaza war for two months when he became part of the news. On December 7, Al-Kahlout was detained along with members of his family by Israeli forces in a mass arrest in Beit Lahya in northern Gaza….
Peruvian authorities target journalist Gustavo Gorriti in bribery probe
Bogotá, April 2, 2024 – Peruvian authorities must drop their investigation of journalist Gustavo Gorriti and respect the right of reporters to maintain confidential sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On March 27, Alcides Chinchay, a public prosecutor in the capital city of Lima, opened a preliminary investigation into Gorriti, the editor-in-chief of…
CPJ Insider: April edition
CPJ staff recognize imprisoned journalist Evan Gershkovich It has been a year since Russia detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich during a reporting trip and falsely accused him of espionage. CPJ staff gathered in recognition of his imprisonment to renew calls for his immediate release as he faces up to 20 years in a…
Togo journalist Apollinaire Mewenemesse detained for defamation
Dakar, April 1, 2024—Togolese authorities must release journalist Apollinaire Mewenemesse, drop all legal proceedings against him, and reform the country’s laws to prevent journalists from being arrested for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. An investigating judge charged Mewenemesse, publishing director of the privately owned weekly newspaper La Dépêche, with numerous defamation,…
Rare rebuke for Chinese police who harassed state journalists covering gas explosion
Police blocked and harassed reporters from the state-owned broadcaster CCTV at the site of a fatal gas explosion in Sanhe, a city in China’s northern Hebei province, on March 13, 2024, according to news reports. The explosion was triggered by a gas leak at a restaurant, which killed seven and injured 27. During a live…
Albanian PM accused of trying to intimidate journalist Ambrozia Meta
Berlin, March 27, 2024—Albanian government officials must stop undermining press freedom by using abusive language and intimidating behavior against journalists who ask critical questions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. CPJ’s statement follows an exchange documented in video footage and media reports between journalist Ambrozia Meta and Prime Minister Edi Rama at a March…
‘Powerful enemies’: Did a prosecutor order the murder of Haitian journalist Garry Tesse?
Haitian journalist Garry Tesse was on his way to work at a local radio station in the southern city of Les Cayes when he disappeared shortly after exiting a taxi. His naked and disfigured corpse was found six days later face down on the seashore close to downtown. One of his eyes was gouged out,…
CPJ welcomes UK High Court’s delay on Assange extradition, calls on US to drop charges
Washington, D.C., March 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the British High Court’s Tuesday ruling, which could allow Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to contest his extradition to the United States. According to the court’s decision, the U.S. government has three weeks to give assurances that Assange will be able to rely on First Amendment…
Russian journalist Igor Kuznetsov given 3-year suspended sentence, remains behind bars
New York, March 22, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday condemned the three-year suspended sentence issued to Russian journalist Igor Kuznetsov for participating in an extremist group and called on authorities to release him immediately and drop all charges against him. On Wednesday, a court in the Russian capital, Moscow, gave Kuznetsov, a reporter…