Colombian journalist Mardonio Mejía Mendoza shot dead at home
Bogotá, January 29, 2024 — Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Mardonio Mejía Mendoza, determine if he was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Wednesday, January 24, a gunman shot and killed Mejía, founder and director of the independent Sonora Estero…
14 years on, wife of missing Sri Lankan journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda fights for justice
“I don’t know how long it will take, but I will get justice for my Prageeth,” Sandya Ekneligoda, wife of abducted Sri Lankan journalist and government critic Prageeth Ekneligoda, told CPJ via video call. It has been 14 years since Prageeth’s disappearance. Prageeth, a then 50-year-old cartoonist and columnist for the news website Lanka e…
CPJ condemns acquittal of suspected organizer of 1992 murder of Polish journalist Jarosław Ziętara
Berlin, January 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a recent Polish court ruling that, in a final, non-appealable verdict, acquitted former member of the Polish Senate and entrepreneur Aleksander Gawronik, who has been accused of being the initiator of the 1992 murder of investigative journalist Jarosław Ziętara. “We are deeply disappointed that the long…
Journalists still surveilled around the world ahead of Data Privacy Day
When journalists can’t protect themselves or their sources, everyone’s right to information is at risk. Ahead of Data Privacy Day on Sunday, we’re highlighting the ever-present threat of surveillance that journalists face today. ➡️ Just this week, CPJ called again for an immediate moratorium on the sale of spyware technology after the phones of two…
Pegasus spyware used to target Togolese journalists Loïc Lawson and Anani Sossou
New York, January 23, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by findings that the phones of Togolese journalists Loïc Lawson and Anani Sossou were infected with Pegasus spyware in 2021, and repeats its calls for an immediate moratorium on the use of such surveillance technologies and for legal proceedings against the journalists to be…
Jailed journalist numbers near record high in 2023
Israel has emerged as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists following the October 7 start of the Israel-Gaza war, CPJ’s 2023 prison census has found. Israel ranked sixth—tied with Iran—behind China, Myanmar, Belarus, Russia, and Vietnam, respectively. Overall, CPJ documented 320 journalists behind bars for their work as of the census date December…
Israel among top jailers of journalists worldwide, as imprisonments globally continue unabated, CPJ finds
New York, January 18, 2024—Amidst a months-long war, Israel emerged for the first time as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, with 17 recorded behind bars as of December 1, 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) annual prison census. This is the highest number of Palestinian journalists in detention since…
Palestinian journalists are being imprisoned by Israel in record numbers
In October, when the Israel-Gaza war began, Alaa al-Rimawi snapped into action, covering developments on J-Media, the West Bank-based news agency he directs, as well as on TikTok and Facebook. But his conflict coverage would be short-lived. Less than two weeks after the start of the war, Israel banned J-Media on security grounds and quickly…
2023 prison census: Jailed journalist numbers near record high; Israel imprisonments spike
By Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director Worst Jailers | New Developments | Regional Repression | Census Methodology Israel emerged as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists following the October 7 start of the Israel-Gaza war, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2023 prison census has found. Israel ranked sixth – tied with Iran – behind…