US indicts 5 Iranian nationals over attempted kidnapping of US-based journalist Masih Alinejad
Washington, D.C., July 14, 2021 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today strongly condemned the alleged plot by Iranian intelligence operatives to kidnap Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad in the United States. Yesterday, U.S. prosecutors announced charges against five Iranian nationals for allegedly surveilling and planning to kidnap Alinejad, a New York-based journalist and human rights…
Sri Lankan anti-terror authorities interrogate journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan
Washington, D.C., July 14, 2021 — Sri Lankan authorities should stop harassing journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan and halt any further efforts to interrogate him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 12, officers with the Batticaloa district’s Terrorism Investigation Division, a branch of the Sri Lankan police, interrogated Nilanthan, a freelance Tamil journalist and…
Botswana police use Israeli Cellebrite tech to search another journalist’s phone
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe was not expecting security agents to appear at her home in a village outside Gaborone, Botswana’s capital, in July 2019, she told CPJ in a recent interview. But they didn’t come to arrest or charge her, she recalled – they came for her devices, hunting for the source for an article published by…
South African journalists attacked and threatened amid civil unrest, 4 radio stations looted
Lusaka, Zambia, July 13, 2021 – South African authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate recent attacks on media outlets and journalists covering civil unrest in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since July 4, protests have broken out in at least two provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which began over the jailing of…
Iraqi freelance journalist Ali al-Mikdam abducted, found beaten
New York, July 13, 2021 — Iraqi authorities should thoroughly and transparently investigate the abduction of freelance journalist Ali al-Mikdam and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the afternoon of July 9, unidentified people abducted al-Mikdam, a freelance reporter and activist, after he accepted an invitation to meet…
Somali journalist Hanad Ali Guled survives beating, knife attack by unidentified assailants
Nairobi, July 12, 2021 — Somali authorities should investigate the recent attack on journalist and press freedom advocate Hanad Ali Guled and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the night of June 23, four unidentified men attacked Hanad, chief editor of the privately owned broadcaster Goobjoog Television, according…
Mexican journalist Daniel Lizárraga expelled from El Salvador
Los Angeles, July 12, 2021 — Salvadoran authorities should reverse their decision to expel Mexican journalist Daniel Lizárraga and allow him to work freely in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 6, immigration authorities notified Lizárraga, a Mexican citizen and an editor for the independent Salvadoran news website El Faro,…
Moroccan journalist Soulaiman Raissouni sentenced to 5 years in prison
New York, July 12, 2021 – In response to the July 9 sentencing of journalist Soulaiman Raissouni to five years in prison on sexual assault charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Moroccan authorities should release journalist Soulaiman Raissouni immediately and refrain from filing trumped-up sexual assault charges against members of the…
Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries fights for survival after being shot
In Amsterdam, an unidentified attacker fired five shots at independent investigative journalist Peter R. de Vries. The shooter fled the scene, and the journalist is hospitalized in critical condition. De Vries has covered numerous high-profile criminal investigations, and received death threats in 2019. Dutch authorities arrested two suspects in the case: a 35-year-old Polish national…
CPJ calls on Burundi government to let all news outlets operate without conditions
Nairobi July 8, 2021— In light of Burundi’s decision to lift bans on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and pro-government news site Ikiriho, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on the country to reinstate all banned media outlets. CPJ also expressed alarm at the conditions the U.S. Congress-funded Voice of America (VOA) said were placed…