Nobel laureate Maria Ressa acquitted of tax evasion in the Philippines
This week marked the fourth anniversary of the murder of Ghanaian journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, who was gunned down by unidentified men months after threats by a local politician. Despite Ghanaian leaders’ promises of justice, a 2019 framework for improved relations and the safety of journalists, police assurances of progress, and two arrests, nobody has…
Resources for journalists covering the environment or extreme weather
Whether you’re a reporter on the frontlines of extreme weather events like fires and flash floods or an environmental journalist digging into stories of corruption, poor governance, bad business, or the science of the climate crisis, the list of potential risks is long. CPJ has assembled resources intended to help journalists carry out this critical…
Turkish journalist Sezgin Kartal arrested for alleged PKK membership
Istanbul, January 18, 2023 – Turkish authorities should immediately release journalist Sezgin Kartal and stop filing terrorism charges against members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On January 10, police raided Kartal’s Istanbul home and took him into custody; on January 13, a local court ordered him to be held in…
Hold The Line Coalition welcomes acquittal of Maria Ressa and Rappler, calls for all remaining cases to be closed
January 18, 2023 – The Hold the Line Coalition (HTL) welcomes Wednesday’s Philippine Court of Tax Appeals verdict, which has acquitted Nobel laureate Maria Ressa and Rappler, the news organization she founded, of tax evasion in four of seven cases brought by the government. If they had failed to defend the charges, Ressa could have…
Four years since murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, Ghana’s journalists still attacked with impunity
The January 16, 2019, murder of Ghanaian journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, who was gunned down by unidentified men months after threats by a local politician, sent shockwaves through the country’s press corps and yielded promises from leaders to find the killers and bring them to justice. But four years later – despite police assurances of progress and two arrests – nobody has been…
Iranian journalists face long prison terms, lashes, and harsh restrictions over protest coverage
Washington, D.C., January 11, 2023 – Iranian authorities must drop all charges filed against journalists in retaliation for their coverage of protests in the country and stop handing down harsh prison sentences to members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Iranian authorities have arrested at least 88 journalists since September 2022,…
Ugandan constitutional court strikes down criminalization of ‘offensive communication’
Nairobi, January 10, 2023 — In response to news reports that Uganda’s constitutional court on Tuesday, January 10, struck down Section 25 of the country’s Computer Misuse Act, which criminalized “offensive communication,” the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement welcoming the decision: “The Ugandan constitutional court’s decision to nullify provisions of a law…
Benin journalist Virgile Ahouansè held for 2 days, charged with spreading false news
Dakar, January 10, 2023 — Beninese authorities should drop the false news charges against journalist Virgile Ahouansè and ensure that members of the press do not face legal harassment for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On December 19, an officer with the police criminal brigade called Ahouansè, news director of the…
At least 15 journalists on Turkish list of wanted terrorists
On December 30, exiled Turkish journalist Can Dündar revealed that he had been added to the so-called terrorist “gray list,” a database published by the Turkish Interior Ministry that identifies alleged terrorists and offers rewards for their capture. Dündar, who reported on alleged weapon smuggling from Turkey to Syria in 2014, received CPJ’s 2016 International…
CPJ calls for release of 2 journalists jailed for covering Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests
Taipei, January 5, 2023 – Hong Kong authorities must immediately release two journalists jailed in relation to their coverage of protests in 2019 and 2020, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Freelancers Tang Cheuk-yu and Choy Kin-yue are among many facing criminal charges for documenting the city’s historic pro-democracy demonstrations during that period. A…