‘I thought about the efforts and struggles of two decades… and cried’
The founder of a news agency dedicated to covering the lives and concerns of Afghan women on how female journalists are still reporting the news In November 2020, I decided to create an Afghan news agency run by and for women—an online news service that would counter the prevailing patriarchal norms of Afghanistan. The news…
Keeping hope alive
Afghan journalists in exile continue reporting despite an uncertain future “I lost my family, my job, my identity, and my country,” Afghan journalist Anisa Shaheed told CPJ in a phone interview. A former Kabul-based reporter for TOLONews, Afghanistan’s largest local broadcaster, Shaheed is one of hundreds of journalists who fled Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover…
Inside an Afghan news network’s struggle to survive
Threats, insults, beatings, and censorship: Former Ariana News staffers detail dire challenges during a year under Taliban control For veteran journalist Sharif Hassanyar, the final breaking point came in September last year. The Taliban had ousted the elected government of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani almost a month earlier, and the last American soldiers had since…
Iraqi Kurdish authorities detain, raid, harass journalists and media outlets covering protests
Beirut, August 9, 2022 – Iraqi Kurdistan authorities should immediately cease detaining and harassing journalists and media workers and allow them to report on political unrest freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On August 5 and August 6, Asayish security forces in several locations in Iraqi Kurdistan interfered with the work…
Kyrgyz authorities block news website Res Publica under controversial false news law
Stockholm, August 8, 2022 – Kyrgyzstan authorities should immediately restore access to independent news website Res Publica and repeal a recently enacted false information law that severely threatens press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On July 21, Res Publica editor-in-chief Zamira Sydykova announced on the outlet’s website and on her Facebook page…
Journalist Isabella Yevloyeva faces 3rd criminal case for ‘fake’ reporting about Russian army
Paris, August 8, 2022 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against Isabella Yevloyeva, and stop using laws on “fake” information about the Russian military and government to intimidate journalists and censor any reporting on the war in Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On July 27, authorities opened a criminal case…
Israeli authorities order 4-month detention of Palestinian journalist Amer Abu Arafa, block TRT reporter Majdoleen Hassouna from leaving West Bank
New York, August 5, 2022 – Israeli authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Amer Abu Arafa and allow reporters to travel freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On August 1, the Ofer Israeli Military Court ordered Abu Arafa, a correspondent for the London-based Quds Press News Agency, to be held in administrative…
Nigerian authorities fine 4 broadcasters over reporting on security issues
Abuja, August, 5, 2022 – Nigerian authorities should immediately drop the fines recently issued to four media outlets, and should ensure that the press can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Wednesday, August 3, the National Broadcasting Commission regulator announced on its Facebook page that it had issued fines of 5…
Zimbabwe police charge 2 journalists with publishing false information
Lusaka, August 5, 2022 — Zimbabwean authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalists Wisdom Mdzungairi and Desmond Chingarande and allow them to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Tuesday, August 2, police summoned Mdzungairi, editor-in-chief of the privately owned media company Alpha Media Holdings, and Chingarande, a senior reporter with…
Journalists face growing hostility as Ethiopia’s civil war persists
Ethiopia’s 21-month-old civil war is accelerating the deterioration of press freedom in the Horn of Africa nation. The conflict between the federal government and the rebel forces led by the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) has prompted a media crackdown that extinguished the glimmer of hope sparked by the initial reforms of Prime Minister Abiy…