As staff flee, TOLO News vows to keep broadcasting from Afghanistan – for now
Saad Mohseni had a lot to worry about when the Taliban rolled into Kabul on August 15. Mohseni is CEO of the Moby Group, which owns and operates Afghanistan’s biggest news and entertainment networks, TOLO News and TOLO TV. The company’s 400 employees would have to adapt one way or another to the nation’s new,…
Iran arrests financial reporter Amir-Abbas Azarmvand on security charges
Washington, D.C., September 1, 2021 — Iranian authorities should immediately release journalist Amir-Abbas Azarmvand, drop the charges against him, and let him work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, Azarmvand, a financial reporter for the state run Iranian economic newspaper SMT, was arrested at 8:30 a.m. at his parents’ home in Tehran…
Peruvian journalist Carlos Yofré López convicted in one criminal defamation case, on trial in another
Bogotá, August 31, 2021 – Peruvian authorities should drop criminal defamation charges against journalist Carlos Yofré López and prosecutors should not contest López’s appeal of his conviction in a separate criminal defamation case, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Both cases allege criminal defamation due to the journalist’s investigative work. In one case, López,…
CPJ welcomes Katherine Jacobsen as U.S. and Canada program coordinator
New York, August 30, 2021–The Committee to Protect Journalists is pleased to announce that Katherine Jacobsen has been named U.S. and Canada program coordinator. Jacobsen will lead CPJ’s work reporting on press freedom in the United States and Canada and head advocacy efforts to improve press freedom in both countries. “I’m delighted that Katherine will…
Nicaraguan authorities charge journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro with financial crimes
Guatemala City, August 27, 2021 — Nicaraguan authorities should immediately drop criminal charges against journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro and stop using the country’s justice system to harass and silence the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 24, the Nicaraguan attorney general’s office published an official statement announcing criminal charges against Chamorro,…
CPJ disappointed by U.S. appeals court ruling in Jamal Khashoggi lawsuit
Washington, D.C., August 27, 2021–In response to today’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in the Committee to Protect Journalists’ lawsuit asking the U.S. intelligence community to confirm or deny the existence of documents providing information on its duty to warn Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi of threats to…
Afghanistan’s free press disappearing
In recent weeks in Afghanistan, the Taliban has physically attacked journalists, raided homes, and forced female state TV anchors off the air. As they seek safety, Afghan journalists fear for their lives, going into hiding and deleting their social media presences to avoid being targeted. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan this month, CPJ…
Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan hospitalized after her health declines in prison
Taipei, August 26, 2021 – Chinese authorities must release imprisoned journalist Zhang Zhan immediately and ensure that she receives proper medical care, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Zhang, an independent video journalist, was arrested last May and sentenced to four years in prison in December for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after she…
‘Action should follow words’: Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family wants Maltese journalists to work without fear
Last week’s indictment of businessman Yorgen Fenech marked a critical step in the quest for accountability in the murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. According to news reports, Malta’s attorney general has called for a life sentence plus an additional 20 to 30 years behind bars for Fenech, the alleged mastermind of…
Mexican journalist Jacinto Romero shot and killed in Veracruz
Mexico City, August 24, 2021 – Mexican authorities must immediately and transparently investigate the killing of journalist Jacinto Romero Flores, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 10:45 a.m. on August 19, unidentified attackers in a vehicle shot and killed Romero, a reporter for radio broadcaster Ori Stereo FM, while he was driving…