Belarusian authorities label newspaper, journalists’ association as ‘extremist’
Paris, March 7, 2023 — In response to multiple news reports that the Belarusian security service recently labeled the exiled Belarusian Association of Journalists and independent newspaper Brestskaya Gazeta as “extremist,” the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for authorities to stop harassing the organizations and let them work freely: “By labeling…
Togo journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Isidore Kouwonou summoned over insult, false news allegations
Accra, March 6, 2023–Togolese authorities should drop all legal proceedings against journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Isidore Kouwonou and allow them to work free from harassment or threat of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Both journalists have been summoned to the country’s High Court in the capital city of Lomé for a trial…
Voice News website, social media accounts attacked in Pakistan
On February 17, 2023, an unfamiliar account hijacked a Facebook page run by private broadcaster Voice News and published posts that staff fear may trigger harassment or criminal investigation, according to Ahmer Shaheen, the CEO and chief editor, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. The broadcaster’s website and second Facebook page have also…
Journalist Syed Fawad Ali Shah found jailed in Pakistan after going missing in Malaysia
On August 23, 2022, freelance Pakistani journalist Syed Fawad Ali Shah went missing in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, according to news reports. Shah had lived in Malaysia as a registered refugee since 2011, according to his wife Syeda, who spoke with CPJ. Syeda, who asked to be identified by her first name, said…
Slovak radio host Marta Jančkárová receives death threats following bias allegation
Berlin, March 2, 2023 — Slovak authorities should follow through on pledges to ensure the safety of radio host Marta Jančkárová and her family and thoroughly investigate death threats made against them as a result of her work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Jančkárová, who hosts the weekly debate show Sobotné Dialógy (Saturday…
Galina Timchenko
CPJ is honored to present its 2022 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award, for extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom, to Russian editor Galina Timchenko. Galina Timchenko is the CEO and publisher of Meduza, a popular Russian news website she founded in 2014 together with other exiled Russian journalists. Galina is no stranger…
Pham Doan Trang, Vietnam
CPJ is honored to present its 2022 International Press Freedom Award to Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang. Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang is serving a nine-year prison sentence under Article 117 of the penal code, a provision that bans making or spreading news against the state in Vietnam’s highly censored and state-dominated media environment. She…
Sevgil Musaieva, Ukraine
CPJ is honored to present its 2022 International Press Freedom Award to Ukrainian journalist Sevgil Musaieva. Sevgil Musaieva is editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, Ukraine’s leading independent online newspaper covering politics, economics, and culture – and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Musaieva mobilized her team to…
Abraham Jiménez Enoa, Cuba
CPJ is honored to present its 2022 International Press Freedom Award to Cuban journalist Abraham Jiménez Enoa. Abraham Jiménez Enoa is a freelance Afro-Cuban journalist and co-founder of the online narrative journalism magazine El Estornudo, launched in 2016. He is also a columnist for The Washington Post and Gatopardo. Jiménez is a prominent outspoken voice…
Editor Tamás Bodoky on threats to Hungary’s independent media funding
“Átlátszó” means “transparent” in Hungarian. Since launching an independent nonprofit media outlet under that name, editor-in-chief Tamás Bodoky and his colleagues have worked hard to live up to it, publishing detailed funding reports on their website, he told CPJ in a recent interview. But that hasn’t stopped pro-government institutions from accusing Átlátszó of serving foreign…