CPJ calls on Energy Transfer to drop subpoenas to Unicorn Riot, journalist Niko Georgiades
New York, April 7, 2021—Energy Transfer, the U.S. based company which partially owns the Dakota Access Pipeline, should immediately withdraw its subpoenas seeking unpublished reporting material from U.S. nonprofit media collective Unicorn Riot and from the organization’s reporter, Niko Georgiades, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The two subpoenas, filed with a Minnesota district court on…
Congolese security forces threaten 2 radio stations over reports on military abuse
Dakar, April 6, 2021 — Congolese authorities must ensure the safety of journalists at the privately owned broadcaster Radio Télé Communautaire Babombi (RTCB) and the community broadcaster Radio Communautaire Amkeni Biakato (RCAB), and should refrain from threatening them over their reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security forces have repeatedly threatened and intimidated…
Uzbek Interior Ministry statement threatens journalist Agnieszka Pikulicka with prosecution over LGBTQ reporting
Stockholm, April 6, 2021 – Uzbek authorities should ensure that journalist Agnieszka Pikulicka can work safely, and should refrain from making legal threats against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 28, Pikulicka, a freelance correspondent for Al-Jazeera and The Guardian based in Tashkent, the capital, visited LGBTQ activist Miraziz Bazarov, who…
CPJ Insider: April edition
CPJ turns 40! On April 3, 1981, three journalists in New York—Michael Massing, Victor Navasky, and Laurie Nadel—filed the certificate of incorporation for a new organization, the Committee to Protect Journalists, which was dedicated to the defense and promotion of the “human and professional rights of journalists around the world.” Forty years later, we remain…
Indian journalist Sandhya Ravishankar describes ‘conflict zone for female journalists’ ahead of Tamil Nadu elections
Political campaigning in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu has hit a fever pitch as the state prepares for elections on April 6. The contest is between political alliances led by the incumbent All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the main opposition party. The campaigns pose heightened…
‘I tried to kill myself slowly through hunger strikes’ – Chinese journalist opens up about imprisonment, alleged torture
In a rare interview, Tianwang 64 journalist Wang Jing told CPJ about her alleged torture at the hands of Chinese authorities during her nearly five-year imprisonment for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” She is now seeking asylum in the United States. China is the world’s worst jailer of journalists and authorities continue to harass journalists…
Mission Journal: ‘Trench warfare’ in Polish press as government eyes next election cycle
“Media without choice.” On February 10, this sentence ran on the otherwise empty front page of Gazeta Wyborcza, the largest critical newspaper in Poland. On the same day, Radio ZET, a commercial radio station, ran this message on repeat, evoking the country’s communist past: “You will not hear any of our normal broadcasts today…We are…
Kazakh journalist Aigul Utepova tried over political coverage
New York, March 31, 2021 – Kazakh authorities should immediately release journalist Aigul Utepova from house arrest, drop all charges against her, and allow her to work safely and freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 15, the Saryarkinsky District Court in Nur-Sultan, the capital, commenced Utepova’s trial on charges of participating…
Montenegro court rejects journalist Jovo Martinović’s appeal
New York, March 31, 2021 – Montenegro authorities should not contest journalist Jovo Martinović’s request to have his case reviewed by the Supreme Court and prosecutor general, and should allow him to work freely and without legal harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 28, the Court of Appeals in the capital,…
Jailed under Digital Security Act, Bangladeshi cartoonist Kabir Kishore says he was tortured
Bangladeshi cartoonist Kabir Kishore’s first stop after he was released from prison on March 4 after 10 months in custody was the hospital, where he was treated for a burst eardrum, leg injuries, diabetes, and other ailments after being taken from his home, jailed, and allegedly tortured. Days before his release, his colleague Mushtaq Ahmed, a co-accused…