Jimmy Lai marks 1,000 days in jail
CPJ joined 10 other press freedom and human rights groups on Monday in calling on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take immediate and decisive action to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and a British citizen. Lai, 75, has spent more than 1,000 days behind bars…
Belarus detains journalist Andrei Tolchyn on extremism charges
New York, September 28, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the 72-hour detention of Belarusian journalist Andrei Tolchyn on extremism charges. “Belarusian authorities continue to detain journalists on spurious grounds, with their preferred weapon being extremism charges,” Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator said on Thursday. “Authorities should drop all charges against…
CPJ, partners to release report on Greece’s failure to investigate journalist murders
New York, September 22, 2023—On September 29, 2023, A Safer World For The Truth coalition will release, “Impunity in Europe: the uninvestigated murder of Greek journalist Sokratis Giolias,” a report highlighting a pattern of inaction by Greek authorities in the investigation of murdered journalists. Investigative journalists Sokratis Giolias and Giorgios Karaivaz were murdered in the…
Kazakhstan publishes ‘foreign agent’ register with names of journalists and media outlets
New York, September 21, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern over Kazakhstan’s publishing of the names of journalists, media outlets, press freedom organizations, and information agencies as part of a new registry of individuals and entities that receive foreign funding. “Kazakhstan’s inclusion of journalists, media, and human rights organizations in a published list of…
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering Libya’s 2023 floods
Days after September floods killed thousands in the coastal Libyan city of Derna, protesters took to the streets to blame local authorities for failing to maintain the local dams. On September 19, Libya’s eastern administration ordered local and foreign journalists to leave the city of Derna by noon that day on the grounds that the…
French intelligence agents search home, detain journalist Ariane Lavrilleux over leaks investigation
Berlin, September 20, 2023—France’s domestic intelligence agency should immediately release freelance journalist Ariane Lavrilleux from custody, drop all criminal investigations against her, and refrain from questioning her about her sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, September 19, police officers with the General Directorate for Internal Security, accompanied by an investigating…
‘Network abuse’: Attacks on 3 media sites involved services of US, UK firms
Cyberattackers used services of technology companies based in the U.S. and U.K. to target media sites from Somalia, Kosovo, and Turkmenistan, Qurium, a nonprofit hosting the sites, said Tuesday. Earlier this month, CPJ reported on how cyberattackers used a Nebraska company, RayoByte, in attempts to knock those same media sites offline, as well as at…
Turkish courts keep 2 reporters in pretrial detention, grant bail to bodyguards charged with attack on a journalist
Istanbul, September 15, 2023—Turkish authorities should not continue imprisoning journalists for their reporting while granting bail to those charged with assaulting them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, September 14, the 2nd Tatvan Court of Penal Peace granted bail to Yücel Baysali and Engin Kaplan, two bodyguards of the mayor of the…
Apple warns Latvia-based journalists about possible hacker attacks
New York, September 15, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday issued an urgent call for authorities to investigate allegations that journalists working in Latvia were targeted by state-sponsored hackers. CPJ’s call follows reports on Thursday—a day after the disclosure that the phone of exiled Russian journalist Galina Timchenko had been infected by Pegasus spyware—that…
Pegasus spyware found on exiled Russian journalist’s phone
An investigation revealed that the phone of Galina Timchenko, an exiled Russian journalist who heads independent news website Meduza, was infected by NSO Group’s Pegasus surveillance spyware while she was in Germany earlier this year. The infection took place shortly after Russia designated Meduza as an “undesirable” organization – a measure that banned the outlet from operating on Russian territory.