CPJ welcomes jury ruling in US Capital Gazette murders
Washington, D.C., July 15, 2021—In response to news that a jury in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, today ruled that the man who killed four Capital Gazette journalists and a media worker in 2018 is criminally responsible for his actions, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “While today’s ruling can bring only limited…
Belarus police continue newsroom raids, target journalists’ association
Stockholm, July 15, 2021 – Belarusian authorities must cease their raids on independent news outlets and press freedom groups, and refrain from charging or imprisoning journalists over their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Early yesterday morning, Belarusian law enforcement officers raided the Minsk headquarters of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), a…
Exiled Turkish journalist attacked near his home in Germany
On the evening of July 7, 2021, Erk Acarer, an exiled Turkish journalist who is a columnist for the Turkish leftist daily BirGün, was attacked outside his home in Berlin by three assailants who used “fists and knives” while one told him, “you will not write,” according to journalist’s video and written accounts on Twitter, and to news reports. Acarer tweeted…
Ethiopia withdraws Addis Standard license, outlet ceases publication
Nairobi, July 15, 2021 – In response to Ethiopian authorities’ withdrawal today of the news website Addis Standard’s license, prompting the outlet to suspend operations, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “For years, Addis Standard has been an important source of critical reporting and commentary on Ethiopia. Today’s move to withdraw its…
Police detain camera operator Nazım Fayık while covering protest in Ankara, Turkey
On July 5, 2021, police disrupted a protest near a prison in Ankara, Turkey, and detained at least one journalist, according to news reports and video of the detention shared on social media. Police detained Nazım Fayık, a camera operator with the leftist pro-Kurdish website and TV broadcaster Artı Gerçek, along with five demonstrators at…
Central African Republic journalist Landry Ulrich Nguéma Ngokpélé detained overnight in defamation case
Lome, Togo, July 14, 2021 — Central African Republic authorities should drop their defamation investigation into journalist Landry Ulrich Nguema Ngokpélé and ensure that members of the press can work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 4 p.m. on June 3, police officers with the Central Office for the…
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…