Egyptian journalist Hossam Bahgat is set to go on trial for a tweet
On November 2, Egyptian investigative journalist Hossam Bahgat is set to go on trial over a tweet. In the December 2020 post on Twitter–where he has more than 260,000 followers–Bahgat, who is also the executive director and founder of local rights group the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, criticized the former president of the National…
CPJ welcomes acquittal of Venezuelan journalist Braulio Jatar
Miami, September 13, 2021 — In response to the recent acquittal of Venezuelan journalist Braulio Jatar, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are relieved that the Venezuelan government’s torturous five-year legal harassment of journalist Braulio Jatar is finally over,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna, in New York….
Afghanistan
How the Taliban takeover is affecting Afghan media As the Taliban consolidated power in Afghanistan following its takeover in August 2021, journalists faced growing obstacles in doing their work and a bleak prognosis for the future of the vibrant media landscape that developed in the country over 20 years. The initial months of Taliban control…
Tanzania ruling party newspaper Uhuru returns after two-week suspension
On August 11, 2021, authorities in Tanzania issued a 14-day suspension of Uhuru, a newspaper owned by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ruling party, following allegations that the paper had published a false and seditious report about the country’s president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, according to media reports and a statement by government spokesperson, Gerson Msigwa. Earlier that day, Uhuru had published a front-page story…
‘Be patient and prevent despair’: An exiled Syrian journalist’s advice for fleeing Afghan reporters
Syrian journalist Okba Mohammad was 20 years old when he arrived in Spain after fleeing the Syrian civil war with CPJ’s help in May 2019. “I felt that everything around me was strange: the people, the country, religion, culture,” he told CPJ in a recent interview via messaging app. But he also felt a sense…
Taliban fighters detain, flog, and beat journalists covering protests in Afghanistan
Washington, D.C., September 8, 2021–The Taliban must immediately cease detaining journalists in Afghanistan, end the use of violence against them, and allow the media to operate freely and without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Over the last two days, the Taliban detained and later released at least 14 journalists covering…
Jammu and Kashmir police raid homes of four journalists
New Delhi, September 8, 2021 – Police in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir should stop raiding the homes of journalists and immediately return any seized electronic devices, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities in Srinagar, the main city in Jammu and Kashmir, today raided the homes of four journalists–Showkat Motta, the editor of Kashmir…
Pakistani journalists detained by Taliban in Afghanistan
Washington, D.C., September 3, 2021–Taliban leaders must instruct their fighters to immediately cease detaining and harassing journalists in Afghanistan and allow the media to operate freely and without fear of violence or reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 25, Taliban fighters detained Abdul Mateen Achakzai and Muhammad Ali, a reporter and…
Singapore High Court rules that The Online Citizen bloggers defamed prime minister
Bangkok, September 3, 2021 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed alarm at the Singapore High Court’s ruling awarding Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong more than US$156,500 in damages in defamation suits against bloggers Terry Xu and Rubaashini Shunmuganathan. The High Court on September 1 ruled that Xu, chief editor of The Online Citizen news blog,…
The US is failing Afghan journalists
Many journalists have fled Afghanistan since the Taliban took power, but many more—including ones who worked for U.S.-funded outlets—are still struggling to get out, with little help from the Biden administration to help them reach safety. “The president and his team promised to support press freedom and the rights of journalists around the world. In…