Ukrainian investigative program ‘Schemes’ targeted with car burning, alleged surveillance
New York, August 17, 2020 – Ukrainian authorities should conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the torching of a car affiliated with the “Schemes” TV program and the alleged surveillance of one of the program’s journalists, and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 7, Mykhailo Tkach,…
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants abduct US journalist Bilal Abdul-Kareem and driver in Syria
New York, August 17, 2020 — The militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham should immediately release reporter Bilal Abdul-Kareem and his driver and stop detaining journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 13, in the northern Syrian town of Atmeh, masked militants with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Al-Qaeda offshoot formerly known as Al-Nusra…
Vietnamese blogger Truong Duy Nhat’s 10-year jail sentence upheld on appeal
Bangkok, August 17, 2020 – A court in Hanoi upheld Vietnamese blogger Truong Duy Nhat’s 10-year prison sentence in a one-day hearing on August 14, according to news reports and CPJ’s communication with the journalist’s family. “Vietnamese authorities should halt all legal action against Truong Duy Nhat and release him from prison immediately,” said Shawn Crispin,…
Russian journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiev: Jailed ‘without a single proof of his guilt’
Abdulmumin Gadzhiev, religion section editor of the independent newspaper Chernovik, has been in pre-trial detention in Makhachkala, in the Russian republic of Dagestan, since his June 14, 2019, arrest on terrorism charges, according to CPJ research. On March 27, 2020, authorities filed new charges against Gadzhiev, accusing him of participation in an extremist organization, as…
Ethiopian authorities detain journalists, media workers on incitement allegations
On August 5 and 6, 2020, security personnel in Ethiopia arrested three current and one former employee of the privately-owned Amhara Satellite Radio And Television (ASRAT), according to an August 10 statement from the media outlet on Facebook and the four individuals’ lawyer, Henok Aklilu, who spoke with CPJ via phone. Journalists Belay Manaye and Mulugeta Anberbir,…
Hong Kong journalists “tiptoeing under a python in a chandelier”
The impact of Hong Kong’s new security law was felt by journalists this week with the police raid of the Apple Daily newsroom and arrests intended “not just to thwart [the founder Jimmy] Lai and his media group, but to intimidate Hong Kong’s entire community of journalists,” wrote CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler in…
Colombian court orders authorities to compensate journalist Claudia Julieta Duque for years of harassment and surveillance
New York, August 13, 2020 – In response to a decision by the Administrative Tribunal of Cundinamarca finding that the Colombian state violated journalist Claudia Julieta Duque’s rights and ordering multiple government entities to compensate her, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The Cundinamarca Administrative Tribunal’s ruling is a necessary and overdue…
North Macedonia journalist Tanja Milevska receives death and rape threats
Over several days following July 11, 2020, Brussels-based journalist Tanja Milevska, a reporter for the North Macedonia state news agency MIA, received numerous threats and threatening messages on social media, according to a report by her employer and the journalist, who communicated with CPJ via email. Milevska told CPJ that the messages began after she…
Turkish courts play whack-a-mole with independent news outlets
In March, 2020, Turkey’s Constitutional Court issued an unexpected decision, overruling a local court that blocked a news website in 2015, according to news reports. But the editor who filed the appeal with the court remains unhappy, he told CPJ via WhatsApp, because the original website remains inaccessible in Turkey — along with the 62 replacements…
Cartoonist Xavier ‘Bonil’ Bonilla threatened by son of former Ecuadorian president
Bogotá, Colombia, August 13, 2020 – Ecuadorian authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate the threat to cartoonist Xavier Bonilla, ensure he has adequate protection, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 6, Jacobo Bucaram Pulley, the son of former President Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz, tweeted a threatening message…