‘Watershed’ protests demand end to violence against journalists in Mexico
After reporter Maria Guadalupe Lourdes Maldonado López was shot and killed in her car outside her Tijuana home on Sunday, January 23, journalists in Mexico put out a call to action in group chats and across social media platforms. It was time to protest. Maldonado’s death was the third journalist killing in less than a…
CPJ Insider: February 2022 edition
CPJ on press freedom in the US: Behind the scenes with Katherine Jacobsen In January, CPJ published “‘Night and day’: The Biden administration and the press,” a special report written by former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie, Jr. The report, which featured interviews with media experts, journalists, and government leaders, found that while President…
Greek journalists summoned over criminal investigation into corruption reporting
Berlin, January 26, 2022 – Greek authorities should drop their investigations into journalists Kostas Vaxevanis and Ioanna Papadakou and ensure that members of the press do not face criminal charges over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Prosecutors with the Special High Court in Athens recently summoned Vaxevanis, publisher and reporter with…
‘Ongoing brutality’: Lourdes Maldonado third journalist killed in Mexico in less than a month
Mexico City, January 25, 2022 – Mexican authorities must immediately and thoroughly investigate the killing of reporter Lourdes Maldonado López, determine whether she was attacked in direct relation to her work and bring her attackers to justice. Maldonado, a veteran broadcast journalist, was shot dead in Tijuana, a city bordering the United States in the…
Soldiers briefly hold 2 journalists reporting on run-up to Burkina Faso coup
New York, January 25, 2022 – Authorities in Burkina Faso should ensure that journalists can report freely, safely, and without fear of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Sunday, soldiers at the Sangoule Lamizana military camp in Ouagadougou, the capital, briefly held freelance reporter Henry Wilkins and Associated Press reporter Sam Mednick,…
Turkish journalist Sedef Kabaş arrested for ‘insulting’ President Erdoğan
Istanbul, January 25, 2022 – Turkish authorities should immediately release journalist Sedef Kabaş, drop the charge of “insulting the president,” and cancel the fine and ban imposed on TELE1 TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On January 22, 2022, an Istanbul court charged Turkish freelance journalist Sedef Kabaş with insulting President Recep Tayyip…
Kazakh authorities detain 5 suspects in attack on journalist Amangeldy Batyrbekov
New York, January 25, 2022 – Kazakh authorities should continue their investigation into the attempted murder of journalist Amangeldy Batyrbekov and ensure that all those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. At about 11 p.m. on January 3, in the central city of Saryagash, an unidentified man tried to…
Asal Abasian on the danger of being a queer journalist in Iran
After journalist Asal Abasian escaped Iran for Turkey in 2021, they posted a photo of their cropped hair, freshly dyed green, on Instagram for their 30th birthday. “New year, New decade, New life…” Abasian wrote as the caption. As a queer journalist, Abasian’s sexual and professional identity had long put them at risk in Iran,…
CPJ cautiously welcomes UK court decision on Assange, says US must now drop charges
New York, January 24, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists cautiously welcomed a British court’s decision on Monday allowing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to apply to appeal against a lower court’s ruling that he could be extradited to face criminal charges in the United States. “We are glad that Julian Assange will be allowed…
CPJ monitoring Yemen ‘with concern’ after Saudi airstrikes kill dozens and shut down internet
New York, January 21, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is monitoring with concern the aftermath of a series of Saudi-led coalition airstrikes that killed at least 70 people and cut off nearly all of Yemen’s internet access after hitting a telecommunication facility in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida on Friday. “Journalists…