Colombia to file criminal charges against journalist Diana Díaz for revealing censorship at public media network
The Colombian Attorney General’s office announced on October 19, 2020, that it will file criminal charges against Diana Díaz, a former public TV station manager, for leaking to the Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) a recording of a conversation in which her supervisor suggested canceling a program because its host had criticized a proposed…
Conspiracy theories grow in the U.S., creating threats to journalist safety
On the eve of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, conspiracy theories have abounded online amid the global pandemic and a polarized political climate. Journalists covering nearly every beat grapple with misinformation, which is false but may be spread by mistake, as well as disinformation, when falsehoods are shared intentionally. QAnon has emerged as one…
Al-Manassa editor Nora Younis on censorship in Egypt
This summer, Egyptian authorities raided Al-Manassa for the first time since the independent news website was established in 2016. News reports describe at least six police officers storming the outlet’s only office in Cairo, confiscating a laptop, and arresting Nora Younis, the editor-in-chief. The following day, the public prosecutor’s office charged her with multiple unfounded…
Violence hits journalists covering Nigeria protests
In Nigeria, local media say journalists are experiencing violence during demonstrations against police brutality. CPJ calls on Nigerian authorities to ensure that the press is able to do its work freely and safely. In 2019 and 2020, at least two Nigerian journalists–Precious Owolabi and Alex Ogbu–were killed during protests, according to CPJ research. The press…
Daily Sangram reporter arrested in Bangladesh sedition case
New York, October 22, 2020— Bangladeshi authorities should immediately release reporter Ruhul Amin Gazi and let him work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday evening, police officers in the Hatirjheel neighborhood of Dhaka, the capital, arrested Gazi, a reporter with the Daily Sangram newspaper, according to news reports. The arrest came after…
Turkish courts pursue trials, asset seizures in multiple cases against journalists
October 22, 2020, Istanbul – Turkey must stop harassing journalists and prosecuting them on trumped up charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, a court Istanbul rejected an appeal by exiled journalist Can Dündar, thereby allowing authorities to seize his assets in Turkey, the news website Duvar English reported. Today, another Istanbul court…
Venezuelan intelligence services raid Correo del Caroní newspaper, detain employees
Miami, October 22, 2020 — Venezuelan authorities must stop harassing and threatening the Correo del Caroní newspaper, its owner, and its employees, and allow them to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 20, at about 9 a.m., agents from the Bolivarian Intelligence Service raided the headquarters of Correo del Caroní,…
CPJ joins call for release of 4 Iwacu journalists one year after arrest in Burundi
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 64 other press freedom and human rights organizations today in a statement calling for the immediate and unconditional release of four journalists with the independent Burundian outlet Iwacu, who were arrested one year ago. The statement called the journalists’ detention a “stark reminder” of Burundi’s “little tolerance for independent…
Q&A: Financial Times reporters Dan McCrum and Stefania Palma on Wirecard and pressures on business journalists
Dan McCrum and Stefania Palma, business reporters for the Financial Times, spent years investigating German payments company Wirecard and revealed in a series of articles that the darling of the stock markets and the German tech scene faked its accounts. When it filed for insolvency in June 2020, Wirecard owed creditors billions of dollars, and…
Indian authorities seal Kashmir Times office in Srinagar
New Delhi, October 21, 2020–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the ongoing harassment of the Kashmir Times and its editor, Anuradha Bhasin, by the Jammu and Kashmir administration and called on authorities to immediately reopen and allow staff to work from its Srinagar office. On October 19, officials from the Estates Department of the…